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He Knicks They blew a second-half lead and lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers, 110-104, on Monday night at Madison Square Garden.
Here are the conclusions…
-Things got off to a slow start on offense for both teams and neither side was able to adapt thanks to strong defensive play. New York missed its first seven three-point attempts, while Cleveland was 1 of 7 from deep to start the contest.
-With 2:07 left in the first quarter, Cam Payne He finally hit a triple for the team’s first of the night. Karl-Anthony Towns followed up with a three-pointer on the Knicks’ next possession that brought them within three points in the quarter.
–Jalen Brunson He had a quiet first 12 minutes, scoring just two points on 1-of-6 shooting as New York entered the second quarter trailing 22-18.
-That’s when the Knicks offense came alive. They scored 34 points in a total team effort: Brunson, jose hart and Miles McBride each one had seven while Mikal Bridges added six.
-The defense also remained steady, holding the Cavs to 23 points (despite a decent 7-of-16 shooting from the field) and 45 points in two quarters. It wasn’t the prettiest, but New York entered the second half with a seven-point lead, 52-45.
-Outside the locker room at first it was difficult to get baskets. However, that soon changed for the Knicks, who opened a 13-point lead over Cleveland with 4:29 left in the quarter thanks to OG AnunobiThe triple.
-From that point on, however, the Cavaliers went on a 13-2 run to reduce their deficit to just two points. In that time, New York was 1 of 6 from the field. Through three quarters, the Knicks’ lead was reduced to 78-74.
-That lead faded early in the fourth quarter after Georges Niang He hit a 3-pointer to put Cleveland up 81-80, its first lead since leading 31-29 with 8:17 left in the second.
-While the Cavs made their first four shots of the quarter (two of them triples), New York started the frame just 1 of 4 (two missed triples). Free throws by Hart and a basket by McBride tied the game at 84-84 before the Knicks retook the lead on a three-point shot by McBride.
-However, the advantage was short-lived, since darius garland He responded with a three-pointer, the first of three deep shots he made in the fourth quarter. He finished with a game-high 34 points.
-Cleveland’s lead reached eight points with 3:51 left, but New York kept fighting and reduced it to three with just under two minutes left. In the end, it wasn’t enough and the Knicks lost their second game of the young season.
-All five starters finished with double-digit points, while Towns and Hart each had a double-double, although Hart added five turnovers to his tally.
Game MVP: Darius Garland
Garland finished with 34 points on 12-of-19 shooting (5-of-8 on 3-pointers) in 33 minutes and made some clutch 3-pointers in the fourth quarter when the Cavs needed it most.
Highlights
What’s next?
The Knicks will hit the road for a four-game road trip that begins Wednesday night with a 7:30 pm kickoff against the Miami Heat.