The Cavaliers stormed into Madison Square Garden last night and took down the Knicks 115-107, just four nights after New York handed them a 12-point loss in Cleveland. It was a tough one for the home team, especially after fighting back to tie the game midway through the fourth, but Cleveland just wouldn’t let it slip. James Harden dropped a season-high 32 points on 9-14 shooting, and Tyrese Proctor added a season-high 15 points off the bench, sealing the deal for the Cavs in the final minutes.
Cleveland’s Revenge Tour was Led by Harden and a Free Throw Barrage
This wasn’t the same Cavs team we saw last week. Back then, Peyton Watson was taking most of their early shots. This time, Kenny Atkinson’s club had a leveled attack, and man, their defense was humming. Evan Mobley and Watson were swatting shots, while Donovan Mitchell and Harden were picking pockets like it was their job, which, you know, it is. Mitchell himself put up 23 points, picking on Mohamad Diawara, dribbling around him, and burning him with a fadeaway. Jarrett Allen, who missed last week’s game, came back strong with an 11-14 double-double, grabbing five early boards. Benchman Proctor led the team with eight points in a quarter and Watson crashed the boards and dished out dimes. The biggest difference, though? The Cavaliers attempted a whopping 14 more free throws than New York. That’s a massive gap, and it absolutely played a role in the outcome.
Knicks’ Struggles Go Beyond a Historic Night for Towns
Even with Karl-Anthony Towns hitting his eleventh double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds on 7-11 shooting, tying Willis Reed for the longest double-double streak to start a Knicks season, it wasn’t enough. The Knicks shot better from the floor and in the paint overall, but giving up 19 points off turnovers is just brutal. New York’s starters looked sluggish early, which probably wasn’t helped by Josh Hart returning to the lineup after missing three games with an ankle injury and illness. He only managed six points in 26 minutes, and combined with Mikal Bridges and Andre Drummond, shot a painful 0-for-6 in the first half. Only Jalen Brunson, with 27 points on 12-23 shooting, and OG Anunoby, with 14 points, had any points on the board until Diawara finally checked in. The team converted only 25% of their first eight longball attempts and didn’t even attempt a single free throw in the first frame. You gotta wonder what coach Brown was thinking, assigning Shamet to defend Mitchell instead of Bridges. You could practically feel the confidence waning.
After dropping the first quarter, winning the second, and tying the third, the Knicks just couldn’t hold on. Cleveland hit nine straight shots at one point, leading by as many as 12. It’s tough to watch your team fight back only to see the game slip away in the final minutes, especially at home. The Knicks need to tighten up those turnovers and figure out how to get to the line more, or this could be a long season of missed opportunities.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Posting and Toasting.
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