The New York Knicks look to pad their series lead against the Cleveland Cavaliers when the two teams meet in Game 2 of their best-of-seven NBA opening round playoff series. The Cavaliers hope they can use their league best defense to square the series.
The Knicks who took Saturday’s opener 101-97, are listed as a +5.5 point underdog at BetOnline. Cleveland is listed as a -220 moneyline favorite while New York is priced at +190. The total is 214.
New York Knicks (1-0, #5 seed)
Former Villanova teammates Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson did the heavy lifting for New York in the game one victory.
Hart and Brunson each came up big in the fourth quarter Saturday night, when the Knicks squandered all of a 10-point lead before recovering to edge the host Cavaliers 101-97. Brunson alone scored 21 points in the second half.
The duo combined to score 16 of the Knicks’ 23 fourth-quarter points. They were also instrumental in the final two minutes, scoring seven points in the game ending 9-4 run.
Brunson finished with a team high 27 points:
Jalen Brunson (27 PTS, 2 STL) was CLUTCH in his first playoff appearance as a Knick!
He had 21 points in the 2nd half to help lead the Knicks to a Game 1 win in Cleveland.#NBAPlayoffs presented by Google Pixel pic.twitter.com/iuDjLo7C60
— NBA (@NBA) April 16, 2023
Hart finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds. He also hit a clutch 3-pointer in the closing minutes.
Josh Hart with a huge bucket to beat the shot clock!#NBAPlayoffs #NBA #NewYorkForever
pic.twitter.com/nYCNH3NezE— NBA Highlights (@NBATransaction7) April 16, 2023
Hart suffered a sprained ankle in the game and the team says he’s doubtful for Tuesday night.
Cleveland Cavaliers (0-1, #4 seed)
It shouldn’t be a total surprise that the Cavs trail in the series. After all they lost three of the four regular season meetings against the Knicks. They shouldn’t worry either given they’ve got the best offensive player in the series in Donovan Mitchell. The native New Yorker didn’t disappoint in his Cleveland postseason debut.
Donovan Mitchell showed OUT in his Cavaliers' playoff debut 👏
◽️ 38 PTS
◽️ 8 AST
◽️ 5 REB
◽️ 3 STL pic.twitter.com/8YeznEiTsX— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) April 16, 2023
Jarrett Allen (14 points, 14 rebounds) recorded a double-double while Darius Garland finished with 17 points for the Cavs.
The Cavaliers outshot the Knicks 43.4% from the field (to 42%) and 32.3% from beyond the arc (to 27.6%). However Cleveland was badly beaten in the rebounding department. New York won the battle of the boards 51-38 and gathered 17 offensive caroms.
Looking Ahead
In many ways, the Knicks’ offense was limited by a Cavaliers’ defense that led the league with 106.9 points allowed per game. Julius Randle was the only Knicks player to make more than one three-pointer, and Mitchell Robinson was the only Knicks’ start to shoot over 50% from the floor, and he hit 3-of-5 shots.
And even though they stole Game 1 on the road, it’s tough for me to see the Knicks winning the series. As it stands, the Cavaliers have the best offensive player in this series (Mitchell), the best defensive player in this series (Evan Mobley), and statistical advantages in most categories.
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