Knicks vs. Cavaliers Playoff Series Update
Through two games, it looks like the NBA Playoffs First Round Series that features the fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers and fifth-seeded New York Knicks, is going to be a close, hard-fought series that could very well go all seven games.
Game one was played last Saturday in Cleveland, and it was a close one. The Knicks jumped out to a 30-24 lead after the first quarter, and had a five-point advantage at halftime, leading 50-45. It was clear from just the first half that this wasn’t going to a high-scoring series with final scores in the 120s or 130s, but, instead, would be a low-scoring, defensive battle that looks like a throwback to the 1990s NBA, with every basket being crucial. The Knicks added three points to their lead in the third, outscoring the Cavaliers 28-25 in this quarter to go up 78-70 going into the fourth. Later in the fourth, the Knicks led by eight and were on the verge of sealing the win.
Donovan Mitchell and the Cavaliers had other plans and went on a 9-0 run to take a 93-92 lead. On the next Knicks’ possession, Josh Hart responded with a clutch three to give the Knicks a lead that they wouldn’t give up. Cleveland had a chance to tie or take the lead in the final minute when they were down 99-97 with 31 seconds left, but Julius Randle got an offensive rebound off of a Jalen Brunson miss passed to Quentin Grimes, who was fouled. Grimes made both free throws to give the Knicks a four-point lead and essentially seal the win, and they won game one 101-97. Brunson led the Knicks with 27 points, with Randle adding 19 points and 10 rebounds. Mitchell had 38 points and eight assists, while Darius Garland had 17 points.
Game two, played Tuesday night in Cleveland, was a completely different story from game one. While game one was a close contest, with the Knicks prevailing in the end, game two was a complete blowout, Cavaliers’ victory. The final score was 107-90, but it wasn’t even that close, and from the end of the second quarter to the final buzzer, the Cavaliers had a sizeable lead. The Cavs led by three after the first quarter but outscored the Knicks 34-17 in the second quarter to go into halftime with a 20-point, 59-39 lead. Their lead got as high as 29 in the fourth quarter, and while the Knicks did close the margin to 17 by the end of the game, the result was never in doubt. Darius Garland had 32 points and seven assists for the Cavaliers, while Donovan Mitchell had 17 points and 13 assists. For the Knicks, Julius Randle had 22 points and eight rebounds, and Jalen Brunson added 20 points and six assists.
With the Knicks winning game one and the Cavs winning game two, this series is all tied up at 1-1, with the first team to win four games advancing to the Eastern Conference Semifinals, where they will play the winner of the series between the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat. Game three of the Knicks-Cavs series is Friday night at Madison Square Garden in NYC, with Game four being on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m., also in NYC.