After pulling off an impressive win on the road in Game 1, the Knicks were unable to get much of anything going in Game 2, falling to the Cavaliers 107-90, the second-lowest point total for New York all season.
The tone of Game 2 was different right from the outset. After the Cavaliers stumbled against the Knicks’ physicality in the first game, much of the discussion was about how Cleveland needed to respond, with point guard Darius Garland going so far as to say that the Cavaliers needed to “hit first.”
Garland did exactly that on Tuesday night, leading the Cavaliers with 32 points on 8-of-17 from the field, including 6-of-10 from beyond the arc. He was everywhere for Cleveland, getting into the lane with ease, and responding with a big shot seemingly every time the Knicks tried to claw their way back into the game.
In reality, once Cleveland tied the game at 22 with 48.1 seconds left in the first quarter, it was never really much of a game.
The Cavaliers would go on a 16-4 run from that point before building up a 20-point lead at the half. The Knicks were able to get the lead back down to 16 late in the third quarter, but a Darius Garland three stopped a mini-run and all but sealed the game.
The Knicks simply didn’t have the offense to make the game much of a contest.
The Cavaliers switched their defensive strategy in Game 2, sending aggressive traps at the Knicks’ ballhandlers when they crossed halfcourt. It’s a strategy that has worked numerous times against the Knicks during the regular season since Jalen Brunson is one of the only players who can break defenders down off of the dribble.
The Knicks also have the worst assist rate of any team in the league, and the traps take advantage of their inconsistent ball movement.
On Tuesday night, the traps worked to perfection. New Yorked turned the ball over 15 times, including 14 in the first half. When the Knicks were able to get out of the trap, their offense had no rhythm. The guards became too dribble-dominant, running down the shot clock before trying to get to the basket but finding no room against the Cleveland big men.
Another reason that the Knicks found it difficult to get to the basket was that they often didn’t have enough shooters on the floor. Too often, head coach Tom Thibodeau went with a lineup that included Mitchell Robinson, RJ Barrett, and Josh Hart. That allowed the Cavs to pinch into the paint to take away Brunson’s drives to the basket, forcing the point guard into too many out-of-rhythm threes.
Brunson would finish with 20 points, six assists, five rebounds, and four steals in 36 minutes, but he was just 1-of-8 from beyond the arc. Randle, who led the team with 22 points, was the only Knicks player to make multiple three-pointers, going 3-of-7 from deep.
Another new tactic for the Cavaliers was targeting Brunson on defense. They made sure that whoever Brunson was guarding was used on frequent pick-and-rolls, which forced Brunson onto Garland or Caris Levert, who both had huge offensive nights.
LeVert was the Cavaliers’ second-leading scorer with 24 points. The rest of the Cavaliers bench only scored five points; however, LeVert alone was enough for the Cleveland bench to outscore the New York bench 36-27.
With Josh Hart clearly impacted by a sprained ankle, the Knicks bench looked lifeless. Immanuel Quickley had another poor game, following up his 0-for-5 night in Game 1 by shooting 1-for-4 in 19 minutes on Tuesday up until the final four minutes of the game. He also found himself on the bench for long portions of the game as both Quickley and Thibodeau seemed to lose confidence in his ability to help the team.
With a lot of series left to go, the Knicks are going to need Quickley to play with the confidence he has all season because they simply don’t have enough shooting and scoring to beat Cleveland if Quickley is not going to be a factor. Perhaps the strong final half of the fourth quarter, which saw Quickley score seven points and knock down a three will get him going.
But it’s clear that the Knicks left Game 2 searching for answers. Despite being down by 25 points with under seven minutes to play, Thibodeau kept Randle, Brunson, and Hart in the game to play with Quickley.
Given that both Randle and Hart are not 100%, one would have to assume that Thibodeau was hoping his key players could regain some comfort together, but you have to wonder if resting them for the remainder of the game would have been the better option. Especially considering Randle barely avoided a serious injury when he was fouled by Jarrett Allen on a dunk with 2:22 left in the game.
At the end of the day, the Knicks will still return home to Madison Square Garden with the series knotted 1-1. That’s still an advantageous position to be in, but they are going to need to find answers for the Cavaliers’ defensive pressure because continuing the version of basketball they played on Tuesday night would turn this series into a nightmare in a hurry.
For more Knicks coverage, visit amNY Sports
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