NEW YORK — It was sometimes ugly, sometimes beautiful and overall dominant from the Knicks.
New York didn’t win style points Friday night but dominated where it mattered most — on the scoreboard — riding a resurgent RJ Barrett and an energized crowd to a 99-79 victory to take a 2-1 series lead.
The Cavs shot just 36.8% on the evening, which was lowlighted by a disaster from Game 2 hero Darius Garland.
The former All-Star missed (shield your eyes, children) 17 of his 21 attempts, as the Cavs managed the fewest points of the 2023 playoffs.
Much of Cleveland’s poor production was about the Knicks’ swarming defense. Their active hands and feet. But the Cavs also weren’t ready for the moment at Madison Square Garden, while Barrett (19 points, 8-for-12 shooting) and Jalen Brunson (21 points, six assists) rose to the occasion.
Garbage time started early in the fourth quarter when Obi Toppin’s dunk provided the Knicks a 20-point advantage. Then the Knicks stepped on their opponent’s throat.
The Cavs were shell-shocked. Garland went from scoring 32 points on 17 shots in Game 2 to just 10 points on 21 shots in Game 3.
It reached the point of Derrick Rose, buried on the Knicks bench all season, entering the game with 2:30 remaining at the urging of the crowd. His alley-oop pass to Toppin served as the icing on the Garden celebration.
The atmosphere was charged Friday night, the first playoff game at MSG in two years. It started well before tipoff, with the rowdiness and decibel levels providing clear evidence that the NY State Liquor Authority still hasn’t banned James Dolan from selling alcohol.
Donovan Mitchell, the focus of the series as its top star and local product, predicted “chaos.”
“It’s gonna be exciting. It’s gonna be fun. It’s gonna be a dogfight. We sent a statement in Game 2, and you expect them to respond,” Mitchell said after the morning shootaround. “That’s their character. That’s their makeup as a group. We’ve gotta be ready to match that energy and not get too overwhelmed with the noise.”
Mitchell was ready to be the villain. It wasn’t targeted like two years prior with Trae Young, but the crowd obliged.
“I think as a competitor you want to be booed,” Mitchell said. “But at the end of the day it’s just five-on-five basketball. Yes, there’s noise, crowd noise, media attention and all these things. But it’s just basketball. Stick to what we’ve been doing. It’s our first time in the playoffs. We’ve played on the road before, done different things, succeeded on the road and it’s understanding that it’s a different type of atmosphere. Enjoy it. Embrace it. We have a job to do. Don’t let it consume you. Just go out there and play the game we’ve been playing and we will be fine.”
Except they weren’t fine. Only Mitchell, who finished with 22 points, was fine. The rest of the Cavs were overwhelmed by the environment, especially Garland.
It was a sloppy start from both teams, a series of nervous-energy blunders, missed shots and overall ugliness. Garland bricked his first nine attempts, many wide open. Randle missed his first five shots. Only Barrett and Mitchell found an early rhythm.
But the Knicks broke out of their funk in the second quarter, taking a 13-point lead into the break. The Cavs never really got going.
Barrett entered on a miserable stretch and was waiting for his first breakthrough playoff performance. It happened Friday.
“The shots I’m shooting are the shots that I work on. I’m very happy with my shots,” Barrett said before the game. “Got to make them.”
He did. The Cavs didn’t.
Now the Knicks are two wins away from winning their first playoff series in a decade.
Grimes injury
Knicks starting guard Quentin Grimes suffered a bruised right shoulder in the second quarter and never returned. He finished with two points on 1-for-5 shooting in 13 minutes.
