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The Phoenix Suns started the evening promising, jumping out to a 26-21 lead after the opening quarter. It looked like just maybe this group was starting to figure it out… until it was clear they weren’t. Boston dominated in the second half, and the Suns’ offensive struggles continued.

They have now scored just 158 points combined in their last two games.

The third quarter was unacceptable. Phoenix mustered just 11 points and was outscored by 19 in that quarter, which dug them a hole too deep to get out of. They went on a 14-0 run to make it somewhat competitive late in the game, but Boston applied another knockout punch to create distance and unleash the third string.

We could sit here and talk about injuries, but Boston is dealing with a couple of their own. No Jaylen Brown or Jayson Tatum, yet the Celtics were a well-oiled machine. Phoenix will need to figure this out quickly because none of Devin Booker, Dillon Brooks, or Jordan Goodwin is coming to save the day anytime soon.

Some credit is due to Boston, but the Suns just didn’t do anything well tonight.

Game Flow

First Half

The game started with each team trading threes: one from Derrick White and then a corner hit from Jalen Green. Sam Hauser drained a

Boston jumped ahead to a 10-5 advantage, getting easy looks early from deep and from crashing the glass. Phoenix went on a 7-0 run to take a 12-10 lead.

Phoenix’s offense picked up a bit as Jalen Green and Collin Gillespie started to get in a rhythm. Even Ryan Dunn got in on the scoring action!

The defense followed suit. After allowing 10 points in the opening 3 minutes, they held Boston to just 11 points the rest of the quarter.

Phoenix led 26-21 after the opening quarter. Jalen Green and Ryan Dunn led the way with 7 points each.

We got some early Rasheer Fleming minutes! He didn’t do much in his first stint, but he was playing aggressive point-of-attack defense. Oso continued to show his ability to be feisty and mix it up a bit, which is a welcome sight for Suns fans.

The tempo was in favor of Phoenix for the first six minutes or so, but Boston went on a 7-0 run to cut the Suns’ lead down to four, 41-37, leading to a Jordan Ott timeout.

Boston stormed back to take a 44-41 lead after a Derrick White triple extended their run to 14-0. The offense fell flat. Grayson Allen hit three free throws after a failed challenge attempt by Joe Mazulla to even the game back up at 44.

Boston finished strong to take a 50-44 lead into the half, led by 18 points from Derrick White. Royce O’Neale, Grayson Allen, and Jalen Green all had 9 points to pace the Suns in the opening 24 minutes.

Second Half

The Suns opened up the third quarter a bit flat, carrying over from the end of the 2nd quarter. Boston’s suffocating defense seemed to squeeze the life out of them and built their lead back up to 11, their largest at the time.

Boston’s defense continued to stifle the shorthanded Suns, and Sam Hauser got hot, propelling the Celtics’ lead to 19. It quickly turned into another one of those nights. There wasn’t a lot to highlight in the 3rd quarter unless you are a Celtics fan.

Boston won the third quarter 30 to 11 to take an 80-57 lead into the 4th. Yes, 11 points were scored in total by the Suns in the third. Eleven.

Phoenix opened the 4th on a 9-0 run, showing a bit of life after a disastrous third to cut the lead down to 14. It was a 14-0 run dating back to the end of the third.

Derrick White and company decided to turn it up a notch as soon as it became a game again, and they were able to take a convincing lead and slam the door shut on the Suns.

Then we had garbage time… the rookies got some run. And that was all she wrote.

Up Next

The Suns will host the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night at the Morg.

For Lon Rosen, becoming the Lakers’ president of business operations is a full-circle moment.

Rosen started his career with the Lakers as an intern while in college before becoming a front office executive in the 1980s, eventually becoming an agent and business executive – including being the Dodgers’ executive vice president and chief marketing officer since 2012.

“Being able to sort of return to really where I started, it’s a really exciting thing for me,” Rosen told a handful of beat reporters on Tuesday night. “And I like the challenge, and I’m really looking forward to it. There’s really great people working with me, which is what makes things enjoyable.”

Rosen added: “For me, it’s a challenge. It’s something new, but it is sort of like returning home. But because I still have my connection with the Dodgers, it’s a fun thing.”

“I’ve spoken to others that do this type of work. Luckily there’s a great team that works here at the Lakers that I’ve met for the last two days. And I have a really great team that works for the Dodgers and we all just fit together,” he added.

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In a wide-ranging conversation, Rosen addressed a variety of topics.

He confirmed the plan for president of basketball operations/general manager Rob Pelinka to continue to lead the franchise’s basketball operations, along with input from special advisers Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi,

Pelinka told reporters earlier in the month he and franchise governor Jeanie Buss will lead front office expansion.

“Rob’s empowered to do what he does,” Rosen said. “And he’s talked about it and I can talk about it; Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi, they have involvement helping Rob a bit. It gives you a deeper bench, and I think Rob appreciates that. And it is unique. But they have a skill set that they can transfer some of it here. And that’s really how we look at it. 

“I have a really good relationship with Rob. I’ve known Rob Pelinka from when he was representing Kobe [Bryant]. I met him many many years ago.” 

Friedman, Zaidi and Rosen are among the Dodgers connections added to the legendary NBA franchise since Mark Walter, who’s also the majority owner of the Dodgers, bought majority ownership of the team from the Buss family in the fall. 

Lakers icon Magic Johnson won’t rejoin the franchise in an official role. Johnson was the team’s president of basketball operations from February 2017-April 2019 before he abruptly resigned. 

“He’s always gonna have some type of involvement with all the teams, but he is not gonna have day-to-day involvement,”  Rosen said. “It’s gonna be no different since he left the Lakers. Obviously he’s a huge fan of the Lakers, but he’s not gonna be, ‘Hey Rob go sign this player. Do that.’ He’ll always be involved with all the teams that he’s involved in, but no, he’s not gonna have day-to-day involvement at all. He is a super Laker fan and he’ll continue to be a super Laker fan. It’s not bad to have that.”

Rosen also had a message for fans after the recent increased season ticket prices for next season – which included a 3% “admin fee”.

“We hope they renew,” Rosen said. “And obviously it reflects on what the market is now and the demand for tickets. You can look at how tickets sell and what the prices are. You look at the primary and secondary market and you can see where their demand is.”

Rosen said he’ll spend a “majority” of his time working for the Lakers, but will still provide “some services” to the Dodgders. 

“We’re gonna look at best practices for both teams,” Rosen said. “I haven’t gotten into the weeds of how the Lakers operate, but I have a sense of how they operate and they operate very well. There’s things that we do at the Dodgers that we do really really well. 

“Both organizations are gonna learn from each other. I don’t know where it’s all gonna fall. People say, the Dodgers are, the, this gold standard. And you know what, we do a really nice job there. And the job here is, I’ve been to a lot of games here. I know their business model is very successful, so I just gotta make sure I don’t mess it up.”

ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson left the game against the Washington Wizards with a left hip flexor injury Tuesday night.

Johnson was injured in the first quarter and ruled out after being evaluated by the training staff.

“There was enough there not to send him back in the game,” coach Quin Snyder said.

Johnson, who earned his first All-Star Game berth this season, will be re-evaluated before the Hawks face the Wizards again Thursday to complete back-to-back games in Atlanta. It’s not known if he will miss any additional playing time.

Johnson finished with five points, three rebounds and two steals in about 5 1/2 minutes against the Wizards. He came into the night averaging 23.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and 8.1 assists.

His absence cleared the way for Jonathan Kuminga to score a season-high 27 points in his Hawks debut. He was acquired from Golden State at the trade deadline.

The Hawks beat the Wizards 119-98.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

CLEVELAND — Brick by brick, the Knicks were dismantled by the Cavs.

An atrocious shooting night ended Tuesday with a 109-94 loss for the Knicks, who folded easily to their fellow Finals contender and left Rocket Arena tied for third in the East.

The third quarter was the breaking point. Or better yet, the bricking point. It was horrendous.

The Knicks managed just 11 points in those 12 nasty minutes, shooting a combined (shield your eyes, children) 3-for-24 overall, 1-for-12 from beyond the arc and 4-for-8 from the foul line.

It was their lowest-scoring quarter of the season and looked the part.

“No matter what we did, we either turned the ball over or we had a tough shot,” coach Mike Brown said after arriving late to his postgame news conference. “So we made some play calls tonight. But we didn’t generate anything from the calls that we made.”

So they entered the fourth quarter down 18 and couldn’t recover, not against a stout Cavaliers defense and without the help of competent shooting. Brown finally waved the white flag with 2:42 remaining, emptying his bench and sending the starters on a walk of shame.

Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, Jalen Brunson, Landry Shamet and OG Anunoby combined to miss 42 of their 61 attempts. Bridges was aggressively misfiring at 6-for-17 on the evening. Brunson was worse at 6-for-19.

Karl-Anthony Towns was perfect but only took five shots, with four of those in the first quarter. It furthered KAT’s head-scratching trend of alternating strong performances with disappearing acts. Anunoby (five points, 2-for-9 from the field) has struggled since returning from a toe injury.

Brown’s attempt to give an opportunity to Jeremy Sochan was also a miscalculation, with the newcomer appearing utterly lost in his two first-half minutes. Mohamed Diawara got the call in the second half and also tossed up bricks.

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“We just didn’t play well enough,” Hart said. “We didn’t execute offensively.”

It was an all-around dud. The Cavs responded with a balanced but not especially potent attack. They shot just 42.5 percent as a team, but it didn’t matter against the Brickerbockers. Mitchell Robinson, who has owned the Cavs frontcourt since the 2023 playoffs, was the lone positive for the Knicks with 15 rebounds, including eight offensive.

The Knicks (36-22) are now even with the Cavs (36-22) and two games behind the No. 2 Celtics, who beat the Suns on Tuesday night.

But the Cavs are surging. They revamped at the trade deadline, acquiring James Harden for the talented but habitually unavailable Darius Garland. They also brought in bench pieces Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis.

It’s all been positive for Cleveland, which has won 13 of 15 after Tuesday’s blowout. Kenny Atkinson just missed out on guiding Harden in Brooklyn before he was unceremoniously dumped by GM Sean Marks and owner Joe Tsai. Now he’s excited for the chance in Cleveland.

“His composure, calmness,” Atkinson said of Harden, who scored 20 points Tuesday. “He’s just got a command of the game. That settles everybody down. It’s huge. He knows where the ball’s got to go. He knows the end-of-game stuff. Sharp, sharp player.”

The Knicks understood the difficulties of defending Harden and Donovan Mitchell, perhaps the best offensive backcourt in the NBA.

But defending wasn’t the problem Tuesday for the Knicks. It was the bricklaying.

“Ugly game,” Brown said.

The New Orleans Pelicans stepped in front of their home crowd at 17-42, a team so bad they make late-stage tank commanders nervous. And the Golden State Warriors, because this is who they are a lotta nights without their firepower, made it close down the stretch but ultimately faltered.

Final score: 113-109 Pelicans. Here’s the crime scene: the Warriors got outscored 31-19 in the first quarter and spent the next three quarters playing catch-up basketball against a team vying for a high draft pick in the lottery . Golden State won the second quarter, won the third, won the fourth but alas, still lost the game. Missing their stars Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Kristaps Porzingis doesn’t seem to be like a good enough reason to lose this game considering they just knocked off the Nuggets Sunday with similar injury woes.

They almost did bail themselves out, which marks the resilience this team has possessed all season with or without their stars.

De’Anthony Melton was the best player on the floor for the Dubs, dropping 28 points on 8-of-21 shooting while going 9-of-11 from the free throw line, keeping Golden State’s pulse going when it had no business still beating. Moses Moody added 24 on 7-of-13 with a +13 that screamed “this man is figuring it out”. Brandin Podziemski hauled down 15 rebounds — 5 offensive — looking like the second coming of Westbrook. And Draymond Green orchestrated 6 assists with his usual controlled chaos. These guys fought. Credit where it’s due.

But the team shot 11-of-45 from three, which cost them on a night when their feisty opponents only made 10 threes of their own. If the Dubs knock down their usual clip beyond the arc tonight they probably pull away pretty easily.

On the other hand the Pelicans forced enough turnovers (all 20 of them) to the tune of being gifted 18 points off of Golden State’s mistakes. That’s how you get a lottery team jump started in their home arena.

Zion Williamson scored 26 on 11-of-21 shooting while the Warriors defense wrestled against his physicality Saddiq Bey added 18. Jordan Poole, playing against his former team with something to prove, dropped 12-6-3 off the bench. Of course he did.

This is a team that’s 30-28, scratching for playoff positioning, as they await the return of at least a couple of their best players. One broken quarter against one of the league’s worst teams decided everything tonight. Tough.

2025-26 Sixers Bell Ringer standings:
Tyrese Maxey – 21
Joel Embiid – 9
VJ Edgecombe – 8
Paul George – 6
Dominick Barlow – 2
Andre Drummond – 2
Jared McCain :’( – 2
Kelly Oubre Jr. – 2
MarJon Beauchamp – 1
Adem Bona – 1
Justin Edwards – 1
Quentin Grimes – 1
Trendon Watford – 1
15th roster spot – 1

We won’t be planning a parade for a win against an Indiana Pacers team with a starting five worth of talent on the sidelines, but it sure was nice to see the Philadelphia 76ers just suit up and handle their business. The Sixers jumped out in front with a scorching hot second quarter that saw them rack up 45 points in the frame. They avoided the usual third quarter bugaboo, actually extending the lead coming out of halftime, and were able to limit everyone’s minutes as they mostly coasted in the fourth quarter of the 135-114 win. It was a blistering offensive performance, as their 57.6 percent shooting from the floor was the team’s best mark in two years (h/t Erin Grugan). Philadelphia has now won two straight games as they’ll head back home to face Miami on Thursday. Let’s talk Bell Ringer first.

Tyrese Maxey: 32 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers

Maxey was on a clear triple-double pace on the evening before getting to take the rare fourth quarter off. It’ll pay off later in the week that Tyrese got to keep a little extra tread on the tires. Tonight, he was dynamite offensively, and not because he had some terrific outside shooting night (just 2-of-8 from three). Instead, it was Tyrese’s ability to carve into the paint and weave his way in and around and under defenders, finishing with a bunch of dazzling lay-ins and creative passes to teammates, and drawing fouls. His body control and shooting touch while sprinting faster than everyone else on the court is simply marvelous. Maxey also had a play where he backed the defender down repeatedly and then canned a turnaround jumper, years of putting in the work in the weight room on display. A more competitive game and we’re likely looking at a 40-point triple-double from Tyrese, just an outstanding evening.

Joel Embiid: 27 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 block, 4 turnover

After missing the past five games, Joel made his return to action and looked like he hadn’t missed a beat. Offensively, the gravity he creates for others is night and day from when he’s unavailable. Embiid had a couple nice assists where the double team came and he found Kelly Oubre Jr and Trendon Watford open for buckets. Joel knocked down a couple jumpers himself, but a lot of his work tonight actually came as a roll man, adeptly finishing through some traffic around the hoop. Defensively, Embiid looked in fine form, spryly getting around the court to rotate and challenge shots. Overall, it was about as good as we could have hoped to see from the big man in his return, who can sometimes tend to fall on the sluggish side after a layoff.

VJ Edgecombe: 23 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover

With Embiid back and Tyrese cooking, Edgecombe was able to have a highly efficient night, shooting 9-of-13 from the field. He wasn’t some wallflower though, attacking across all three levels. VJ nailed a couple spot-up threes, had a handful of hard drives at the hoop to finish through contact, and also showed off that advanced middie game with a pull-up and a fadeaway jumper. Really, everything just looked smooth and unforced for him tonight; he picked his spots and otherwise filled in all the gaps doing the little things elsewhere. It was the ideal “play off the stars” kind of game from the rookie.

“You can’t curate your circumstances,” said Mark Daigneault before the Oklahoma City Thunder played the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night, and that stuck with me. It’s true in every aspect of life, as he went on to mention, but seems especially true in sports. Especially true in basketball, and even more so in the final months of the season. You can build a great roster, create great plays, have great team chemistry — but so much of that goes out the door in the final stretch of the season.

You can’t pick and choose what players will be available to you by the time March rolls around. Sometimes, the players you have are dealing with minutes restrictions or lingering injury issues (see: Jakob Poeltl). The schedule doesn’t stop for you, though. You need to adapt to it.

Now, when you’re dealing with the circumstances at hand, and your opponent is as well, but theirs are worse (see: SGA still out), then maybe you should take advantage of that. The Raptors did not tonight.

Toronto’s performance against OKC is a huge reason why I am of the belief that people overreact when this team loses. I know that sounds weird, but listen (read?). This current iteration of the Toronto Raptors isn’t built to win a championship — I’ve said this before. They are having a good growth year, sure. RJ Barrett said exactly that after the game tonight, to think back to where they were last season at this time. How much better they are, but also hhow mucht hey still have to learn.

He’s right, and games like this are proving what this roster is lacking. Poeltl, of course, is a big hole in this roster as his injury is managed, and he doesn’t play both games on back-to-backs. They also lack the offensive punch needed to compete with the best NBA teams.

Once a team like OKC shuts down the Raptors’ best offensive player (Ingram), there isn’t much Toronto can do to recover. Scottie Barnes, of course, helps. Other than that, the Raptors’ offence tonight lacked the accuracy needed to overcome the Thunder. OKC’s defence was too suffocating, the Raptors weren’t shooting well enough, and they weren’t defending with 100% intensity 100% of the time. That’s important when playing the reigning champions.

What was great about their performance, though, was the urgency they played with in the fourth quarter. Too little too late? Maybe. Better than just rolling over, though. Barrett even compared it to how they lost to the Pistons a few weeks ago — that tonight they at least put up a fight. What you can’t do after coming back like that is let OKC go on a 9-0 run, though. Lesson learned.

The other bit of news, as we head into the second night of a back-to-back tomorrow, is that Scottie Barnes tweaked his quad in the final minutes of tonight’s game. The team says he has a quad contusion and is questionable for tomorrow’s game against San Antonio.

The Milwaukee Bucks got back in the win column after a disappointing loss in their last game, beating the Miami Heat 128-117. Kevin Porter Jr. led all scorers with 32 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. Ryan Rollins and Bobby Portis also chipped in 21 each. Norman Powell scored 26 for the Heat. 

NBA.com Box Score

Game Recap

There was no denying that Kyle Kuzma struggled on Sunday, scoring just three points. He quickly put that behind him to open things up tonight, scoring nine of the Bucks’ first 11 in a back-and-forth opening six minutes. While Kuzma was powering the Bucks’ offense, the Heat’s All-Star guard Norman Powell was cooking for them; he scored six straight points to put Miami up three in the later stages. The Heat clung to a two-point advantage until Porter drilled a triple with 13 seconds left. The bucket put Milwaukee up by one after the first 12 minutes, 30-29. 

Both teams’ benches went band-for-band in the first few minutes of the second, until the Bucks created a cushion after a 6-2 run, prompting an Erik Spoelstra timeout. Ousmane Dieng scored his first home points as a member of the Bucks, nailing a three to give the home team a double-digit edge. However, Miami’s shooters then caught fire, converting four straight from beyond the arc before Andrew Wiggins scored in transition to tie the game, capping a 14-2 run. The game remained deadlocked until Cam Thomas completed a three-point play and then drilled a step-back jumper with one second left; Thomas’ five-point burst gave the Bucks a 63-58 lead at the break. 

The Heat threw the first punch out of the locker room, going on a 7-0 run to regain the lead. A couple of Bucks who were held scoreless in the first half, AJ Green and Myles Turner, helped them respond in kind; Green’s first three of the night capped an 8-2 run to put Milwaukee back in front. Things remained tight between the two squads, but Miami regained the edge and held it for the rest of the quarter. A Bobby Portis floater with 46 seconds left cut the Heat lead down to 93-89 going into the fourth.

Miami was making shots from distance to open the final frame, drilling a pair to grab their largest lead of the night at nine. Milwaukee battled back, as Green, Portis, and Dieng converted three straight from long range, flipping the game back in the home team’s favor. KPJ then came up clutch with the biggest shot of the night, swishing an and-one fall-away triple to put the Bucks up two. The four-point play sparked a 10-0 run for Milwaukee, which was more than enough. The Bucks’ defense held the Heat without a field goal for a whopping 6:34! 

Stat That Stood Out.

The Bucks needed a closer in this game, and KPJ answered the call. 10 of his 13 fourth-quarter points came in the final 5:35 of the game.

During a 20-minute interview with the media Tuesday, new Lakers president of business operations Lon Rosen said Magic Johnson won’t be involved in any “day–to-day” involvement with the team and that hopes season-ticket holders will “renew” them despite the enormous increase for next season.

Rosen, who has been an executive vice president and chief marketing officer with the Dodgers since 2012 when Mark Walter and Guggenheim Baseball Management purchased the club, took over the Lakers job after Tim Harris resigned from that role.

Rosen, who is back with the Lakers after Walter purchased the team for a $10-billion valuation, was asked about Johnson’s role with the Lakers and how he would be involved with Rob Pelinka, the team’s president of basketball operations and general manager.

Johnson was president of basketball operations for the Lakers from Feb. 21, 2017 until April 9, 2019, when he abruptly resigned.

Read more:Lakers are trying to unlock the greatness in Deandre Ayton

“Earvin's involved with all types of things. He owns football teams, baseball teams, soccer teams, insurance companies, a lot of things. He's always gonna have some type of involvement with all the teams, but he is not gonna have a day-to-day involvement (with the Lakers),” Rosen said. “It's gonna be no different since he left the Lakers. Obviously he's a huge fan of the Lakers, but he's not gonna be, 'Hey Rob go sign this player. Do that.' He'll always be involved with all the teams that he's involved in, but no, he's not gonna have day-to-day involvement at all. He is a super Laker fan and he'll continue to be a super Laker fan. It's not bad to have that. You see the involvement he had the other day when Pat (Riley) was here (to have his statue unveiled) and he'll always be involved that way.”

Rosen was asked about ticket prices increasing for the 2026-27 season.

There have been reports from Lakers fans that gave an example of their tickets in the 300-level increasing to over 45% from $6,192 to $9,035.

One fan said his increase was about 15% and another 3% fee if the tickets were not paid for upfront.

“We hope they renew. And obviously it reflects on what the market is now and the demand for tickets,” Rosen said. “You can look at how tickets sell and what the prices are. You look at primary and secondary market and you can see where their demand is.”

Pelinka told the media after the trade deadline that he’ll work with Walter and Jeanie Buss, who is still the board of governor for the Lakers, when it comes time to make basketball decisions this summer.

Both Andrew Friedman, the president of baseball operations for the Dodgers, and Farhan Zaidi, a special advisor with the Dodgers, will be advisors for the Lakers and Pelinka. Zaidi was seen at the Lakers’ practice facility Monday.

“Rob's empowered to do what he does,” Rosen said. “And he's talked about it and I can talk about it. Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi, they have involvement helping Rob a bit. It gives you a deeper bench, and I think Rob appreciates that. And it is unique. But they have a skill set that they can transfer some of it here. And that's really how we look at it. Look, I have a really good relationship with Rob. I've known Rob Pelinka from when he was representing Kobe (Bryant). I met him many many years ago."

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Knicks (37*-22) won two difficult games before they entered Rocket Arena to face the Cavaliers (37-22). In both wins—against the Rockets and the Bulls—there were the customary lulls we’ve come to expect from New York. Tonight, they topped that by going full lull, playing listless hoops from start to finish. They shot horribly from deep (10-of-37), scored a season-low 11 points in the third quarter, and took the L, 109-94.

That finish makes the Cavs 20-6 in their last 26 games and ties them with New York for third place. It also concluded the regular season series between these two, which the Knicks won 2-1.

Cleveland ruled the opening quarter, staying in front for nearly the full 12. Donovan Mitchell (23 PTS) set the tone with buckets, steals, and dishes, while Evan Mobley (12 PTS, 7 RBS) drained an early three and Jarrett Allen (19 PTS, 10 RBS) cleaned the glass. Through the first frame, the Ohio Players shot 54% from the field, buried 5-of-11 threes, and doled out 10 assists on 14 made baskets. They committed just four turnovers while capitalizing on New York’s six giveaways.

In the quarter, the Knicks shot 50% from the field but poorly from deep. Josh Hart (10 PTS) provided some energy, distributing to Mikal Bridges (18 PTS, 6-of-17 FG) and Karl-Anthony Towns (14 PTS, 7 RBS, 5 FGA!) before hitting his own three to cut the deficit to two. Inside they had success with three blocked shots (OG Anunoby, Towns, Bridges) and buckets around the rim, but they were a step slow against Cleveland’s length and quick transitions. Mitchell’s steal-and-layup plus dimes to his teammates—including late threes from Dean Wade (11 PTS)—helped the Cavs close the frame up 35-26.

Wade hit a triple early in the second quarter to go ahead by a dozen, and the Cavs benefited from even more Knicks turnovers. In fact, their 12 turnovers were the most New York committed in a first-half this season. Quite an achievement!

Mitchell Robinson (11 PTS, 15 RPBS, 2 BLK, 19 MIN) came in and pulled boards out of Allen’s grasp. Mitch singlehandedly kept New York within reach with rebounds, a putback, and an alley-oop from Jose Alvarado, while Towns added a putback and later a three. For Cleveland, Mitchell and Allen continued to chip in buckets and Dennis Schröder was a nuisance on defense.

When Jalen Brunson (20 PTS, 6-of-19 FG) returned after a breather, he steadied the offense with a drive and a late pull-up three. The Knicks went on a 10-2 run late in the deep end of the quarter to cut the deficit to one. From there, Cleveland outscored them by five. Bridges hit a floater in the final seconds, but the home team still carried a 60–54 lead into halftime.

Through the half, Cavs outshot New York from deep (35% to 27%), grabbed seven offensive rebounds to the Knicks’ three, and turned 12 New York turnovers into 11 points. New York shot 51% overall, owned the paint 32-26, and blocked six shots to Cleveland’s three, but their blunders kept them on the outside looking in. Mitchell led all first-half scorers with 15, while Brunson had 13 for the good guys.

After intermission, this game got sloppier than my kid’s bedroom. James Harden (20 PTS) opened the third quarter with a step-back jumper, Mitchell forced a Towns turnover, and Allen converted a putback. The Knicks failed to do anything well—Bridges missed twice, Towns committed another turnover, etc.—before Brunson set up OG Anunoby for a three. When Harden swished from deep, the deficit was 11 again and Coach Brown needed a timeout.

New York continued to throw rocks from deep, making 5-of-21 after two and half quarters. They continued to turn the ball over, too, which explains why they couldn’t get the differential to low-single digits. With four minutes left, and down by 14, Brown tried a lineup of Brunson, Alvarado, Landry Shamet, Mohamed Diawara, and Robinson. Same results. To close the period, Brown dusted off Jordan Clarkson. Nada,otra vez. New York scored their fewest points in a quarter (11), and went into the fourth trailing 83-65.

Weirdly, OG Anunoby logged 34 minutes, took nine shots, and finished with five pints. He must have worn his invisibility cloak, because I barely saw him on the court.

In Q4, the misery continued, and the hole reached 19 points until Alvarado (5 PTS, 1 STL, 1 BLK) hit from the corner. In need of energy, Jose seemed most likely to bring some pep. On another possession, GTA snaked into the paint and kicked out to Josh Hart, who hit another (finally) three-pointer. Unfortunately for them, they couldn’t gain ground because they couldn’t stop Mitchell at the other end.

Bridges missed another layup, Mobley put back a Mitchell miss, and a befuddled Brown called for time. The clock still had seven-and-a-half minutes on it, but the Knicks had done nothing yet to convince us that a rally was possible. A few minutes later, when Brunson missed off the glass on a drive, it became abundantly clear that Cleveland had secretly put a transparent lid on the visitors’ rim—there was no other logical explanation for how badly New York had shot. Unless they were drugged . . . or had lyme disease . . . or ate pizza in Utah.

The deficit reached 20, the reserves came on, and this turkey was finally, mercifully cooked.

Up Next

New York travels to Milwaukee to face the Bucks on Friday. Safe travels, Knickerbockers.

Box Score

* Should be one more. Let’s gather to protest outside the NBA’s offices.