Trying to match the star power of Madison Square Garden, Rocket Arena sat Taylor Swift and her dunce, Travis Kelce, courtside for Game Three of the Eastern Conference Finals. Nice try, we say. In the stands and on the court, the Cavaliers are outmatched in this series. No NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in the Playoffs, which is exactly the dire situation Cleveland finds itself in. With 30 points from Jalen Brunson, more brilliance from Mikal Bridges, and more automatic shooting from Landry Shamet, New York never trailed in their tenth straight win. Final score: 121-108.
Smile, folks. Your New York Knicks are one win away from their first Finals appearance of the century.
Two minutes in, this tilt smelled like a romp. Mirroring Game Two, Bridges got a steal and New York took a 5-0 lead in the first minute. Like a well-oiled machine, the visitors grabbed defensive boards and made their shots while the home team missed theirs. Falling behind by eight, Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson signaled a timeout.
The skipper reminded his crew to attack the paint, and five of their next eight buckets came at the cup. At the other end, the Knicks spread the wealth, with four starters scoring and assists on half their makes. The Ohio Players were determined not to give away an easy win, though. Knicks coach Mike Brown tried to deploy point-KAT, but yet again Cleveland applied better coverage than Atlanta or Philadelphia.
“No sweat,” said Karl. Although he had difficulty making the pass, he easily rose up over defenders for shots and reached double-digit points before double-digit minutes.
The Cavs had made about half their shots, which would have been a nice performance if New York hadn’t made three-quarters of theirs. Keeping with the theme, Shamet joined the game and canned a triple to make the lead ten with 3:30 left. Everything was falling for our heroes, who took a 37-27 lead into Q2.
To begin the second frame, Jose Alvarado assumed lead guard duties, playing alongside Miles McBride, Shamet, Josh Hart, and Karl-Anthony Towns. Cleveland chipped a few points off its deficit before Jalen returned. Mitchell Robinson was in, too, and when Jaylon Tyson attacked him for a jam, Cleveland was on a 21-11 run that tied the game.
Despite the run, nobody with a rooting interest in the Knicks had anything to worry about. On the court, Brunson returned to Harden-hunting to score off the glass. Down the stretch, Donovan Mitchell returned and took turns with James Harden missing shots, and the Knicks regained a nine-point lead before securing a 60-54 halftime score.
For once, the Cavs were winning the paint (28-18) and the glass (18-16). They just sabotaged themselves everywhere else. They made just 21% from deep compared to New York’s 38%, and they produced no fast-break points despite forcing nine Knicks turnovers. (At one point, New York had outscored them 17-0 on fast-break points.) Harden led all scorers with 14 points, while OG Anunoby had 13. OG would finish the night with 21 points on 10 shots, plus seven boards and four dimes. Just another day at the office for one of the NBA’s best defenders.
After intermission, Cleveland had some success with Mitchell shooting at the perimeter and Evan Mobley inside, but the Knicks were dishing and swishing. Towns and Anunoby took turns feeding Bridges for layups. Hats off to Mikal: in the seven games since his rocky first-round series, he has shot 57-of-85 from the field and hit 44% from deep. Check out these numbers:
New York’s defense was tight in the third quarter, too, with Hart leading the way with three steals in about a minute. His shooting was less impressive than in Game Two, but he was a demon in his 34 minutes.
The Cavs had opportunities; they simply lacked the personnel to get back into the black. After two Mobley free throws cut the gap to three, New York outscored its foes by ten to reach its largest lead of the night. Harden did some vintage Beard things, scoring on a crafty drive or two, and Mobley and Sam Merrill made buckets, but six turnovers (Mobley had three, Harden two, and Mitchell one) erased their gains. Plus, Brunson was cooking. Even with defenders draped over his shoulders, Cap put up 12 points in the period and locked down a 91-82 lead by the break.
The home team needed to come out strong in the fourth. Instead, it missed three shots while the guests scored five unanswered points and went ahead by 14. Still, Cleveland had chances, but left a pile of points at the charity stripe. Mitchell converted just 2-of-6 from the line, adding to the misery of his -22 evening.
Shamet dropped three straight three-pointers, which were brutal counterpunches to every Cavalier swing. Amazingly, he has shot 7-of-8 from downtown in this series. Then, when Brunson went high off the glass at the six-minute mark, the lead touched 16 points. Anunoby hit from deep, and the lead hit 17.
Mitchell and Mobley cut it to a dozen, and the latter had a triple rattle out that would have made this game interesting again with 2:30 remaining. Instead, from their slumped shoulders and shuffling steps, you could see that their spirits were broken. Bridges hit a jumper, Brunson sailed in for a layup, and the Cavs were toast.
Max Strus, who spent much of the game complaining to the refs, was fouled by Hart while making a triple with a minute left. Tony Brothers upgraded it to a flagrant one, giving Strus a freebie and Cleveland possession. But Mobley missed on a close-range turnaround, New York got it back, and the funeral bells were clanging loudly.
As the Cleveland faithful trudged toward the exits, chants of “Let’s Go Knicks” reverberated through Rocket Arena. When Brunson put a bow on things at the line, he was serenaded with “MVP! MVP! MVP!” On the road. In an ECF game. It still seems impossible, but quoth PolyphonicSpreewell: “Well well well. It really is happening.”
Up Next
Get your broom ready again. The Knicks will play Game Four here on Monday. Rest up, Knickerbockers.
