The Cleveland Cavaliers chose to give up an inexplicably large run earlier in Game 2 than they did on Tuesday. An 18-0 run in the third quarter allowed the New York Knicks to turn a tie into an 18-point advantage. They cruised to an easy 109-93 victory to take a 2-0 series lead.
Donovan Mitchell’s lack of mobility is the main concern coming out of this game.
Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson has been asked repeatedly about Mitchell’s health, but says that he doesn’t know of any injuries. However, something is clearly bothering Mitchell. The burst and explosiveness just weren’t there in Game 2.
If Mitchell isn’t 100%, it’s difficult to see the Cavs getting back into this series.
Despite the poor ending, Cleveland got off to a strong start.
Evan Mobley’s 10 first-quarter points allowed the Cavs to weather the initial storm. He promptly knocked down a couple of triples, then went to work inside to jumpstart the Cavs’ offense. That, combined with Cleveland going 5-10 from three, was good enough to give them a narrow 27-24 lead after one.
That good three-point shooting didn’t last.
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Cleveland’s offense faltered in the second quarter. They created numerous good outside looks, including wide-open threes for Sam Merrill, but they couldn’t get many to fall. They went 1-11 from three in a 22-point quarter. That would be a theme throughout the rest of the game.
New York couldn’t use the poor shooting from Cleveland to pull away. They went just 4-11 from three themselves, but were able to do enough inside the arc to come away with a four-point lead at the break.
The Knicks took control in the third quarter.
Cleveland’s offense completely disappeared, going scoreless for five-and-a-half minutes. The Cavs couldn’t reliably get into the paint, and they couldn’t convert the clean outside looks they got.
The Knicks scored 18 unanswered by doing the opposite. They doubled up Cleveland’s attempts at the rim while also going 5-10 from three in the third.
Josh Hart, who the Cavs were willing to let shoot threes in Game 1, but got going in the third quarter. He scored 12 of his 24 points in that frame, going 4-6 from the field and 3-3 from distance. New York used that momentum to end the third with a 15-point advantage.
The Cavs fought back some in the fourth quarter, but it was a little too late. They cut the deficit to seven, but weren’t able to get enough stops or convert enough from beyond the arc to get much closer.
Poor shooting did the Cavs in. They went just 9-35 from three (25.7%) after hitting just 32% of their outside looks in Game 1.
The poor shooting in Game 1 made a little more sense. Some of those outside looks came from players they were okay giving up those shots to, like Mobley, who took eight. That wasn’t the case in Game 2.
Sam Merrill went 0-7 from three. Nearly all of those looks were about as clean as you could possibly hope for. The same could be said for Max Strus (1-4), Mitchell (2-7), and Jaylon Tyson (0-3).
Those shooting struggles extended to the free-throw line. The Cavs missed 10 of their 32 foul shots.
Mitchell, despite being hobbled, led Cleveland in scoring. He had 26 points on 8-18 shooting with just one assist.
Mobley had 10 points in the first quarter. It seemed like it was going to be a promising night for him, but he wasn’t able to get enough touches after the hot start to really get anything going. He attempted just two shots in the final three quarters, finishing with 14 points on 5-8 shooting with six rebounds.
James Haren had 18 points on 6-15 shooting with two assists and no turnovers. Jarrett Allen contributed 13 points on 5-10 shooting with 10 rebounds.
Hart led the Knicks with 26 points on 10-21 shooting, which included going 5-11 from three. The rest of the Knicks starters finished with double-digit points: Jalen Brunson (19), Mikal Bridges (19), Karl-Anthony Towns (18), and OG Anunoby (14).
Brunson contributed 14 assists, which is one more than the Cavs did as a team.
The Cavs’ backs are against the wall. They need to win Game 3 to keep their season alive. We’ll see if they can climb out of a 2-0 hole again as they did against the Detroit Pistons.
Game 3 is at 8 PM on Saturday.