Knicks Drown in Cavs Threes
The most apparent reason the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the New York Knicks was their 46% three point shooting. Kevin Love and Donovan Mitchell were both 8-13 from deep. Mitchell also had 12 assists to go with his game high 38 points, a dagger in the heart of all us Knick fans who opposed the trade. The Knicks were an excellent 54%, 35-65 from 2, and a respectable 10-27 for 37% on threes.
Where was this game lost? It was a high scoring and very evenly played first half. The Cavs led by 3, 62-59. The Knicks were able to get their running game going in the 3rd period and out-scored Cleveland 34-22 behind Jalen Brunson’s scoring. IQ pushed the ball and Obi had a pair of impressive dunks. The Knicks were at their best.
So where was this game lost? Isaac ‘The Cooler’ Okoro entered the game shutting down Quickley and holding Brunson to one basket. In 22 min. Kevin Love had a +/- rating of +16: ‘The Cooler’ was +24. The importance of Jalen Brunson’s ability to roam free cannot be over-emphasized. He is the engine that drives the Knicks and Isaac Okoro shut him down. This is the less apparent reason the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the New York Knicks.
Do our eyes deceive us, or is Evan Fournier playing better and harder on the defensive end? Evan looks very comfortable on the offensive end as well, letting the game come to him and scoring efficiently. Fournier came back in the final quarter and hd cooled down form his earlier appearances, badly missing 2 threes. Until then he was 3-3 and 3-4 inside the arc. Seems like the Quentin Grimes effect is motivating Evan. Perhaps it’s catching. RJ could play better, especially on D, if he could feel Grimes breath on his neck.
Barrett did have an efficient night on offense. His stroke reappeared from deep, hitting 3-4. Inside, RJ was able to take advantage of the taller Dean Wade with a 3-6 night. The return of an efficient RJ Barrett from beyond the arc would be the best news to come out of this game.