Knicks Get Whipped In Game 2 - Series Tied 1-1

Thibs has to consider allocating some of RJ's playing time to Grimes or giving Deuce McBride a shot. If Barrett is not going to contribute efficiently on the offensive end, bring in a better defender.

Let me start here: If, before the start of Game 1, I asked Knicks fans if they would sign up for a split of the first two contests in Cleveland and the series being tied at one game apiece headed back to MSG, most fans would have settled for such a pact. 

And that's where the Knicks find themselves. It's now a best-of-5 series, and New York has home court advantage. 

That's the big-picture view. Now, let's zoom in on the awfulness that was Game 2. 

The Cavs beat the Knicks 107-90 Tuesday night in Cleveland, and the final score doesn't convey just how lopsided the matchup was. 

In the days after their embarrassing defeat in the series opener, nearly every Cavs player and their head coach talked about needing to be more physical and punching back against New York. That's precisely what they did in Game 2. Cleveland, as expected, played like a desperate team whose season was on the line. Because it was. 

And they played like a team who finished the regular season as the top-ranked defense in the league. Because they were. As a reminder, Cleveland ranked first overall in opponents' points per game (they were the only team to allow fewer than 107 PPG) and ranked first in Defensive Rating (they were the only team in the league to allow fewer than 110 points per 100 possessions). They held teams under 100 points an NBA-best 24 times in 2022-23 (and were 23-1 in those contests). No other team had more than 16 such games. 

Cleveland did it again on Tuesday, limiting the Knicks to 90. New York converted 36.7% of their FG attempts and 24.1% of their three-point tries. Only once during the 82-game regular season did NY score 90 points or less.

Jalen Brunson, who was masterful in the second half Saturday night, tried to do too much early in Game 2. New York needed him to carry the load in Game 1, but that was partly because the Cavs didn't run double-teams at him, allowing Brunson to get good looks against Cedi Osman. However, they blitzed him far more frequently last night, and NY did not handle the traps effectively. Brunson often held onto the ball too long, failing to skip the ball to the other side of the floor (Quentin Grimes only had two FG attempts the entire game). When Brunson made the right decision and fed a teammate at the nail or on a skip pass, the Knicks failed to make quick, sharp decisions.   

Brunson finished the contest shooting 5-of-17 from the floor, including 1-of-8 from behind the arc. Remarkably, it was the first time in Brunson's career in either the regular season or the playoffs (372 total games) he attempted more than 15 shots and converted five or fewer.