The New York Knicks lost to the Cavs in Game 2 of their First Round NBA Playoff series, 107-90. Here’s where the blame lies for the Knicks’ blowout loss.
After taking Game 1 on the road, the New York Knicks were blown out by the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2, falling 107-90.
It was, overall, a lack of offense and a semi-bad performance on the defensive end that doomed New York in Cleveland on Tuesday night. The Knicks struggled to make shots consistently, particularly midway through the second quarter. Meanwhile, the Cavs offense was substantial but not spectacular.
To make matters worse, Julius Randle took a hard hit in this game late. While he was able to shoot the free throw, he was then forced back to the locker room. At the very least, this injury will affect him for the rest of the series. At worst, he could be out and things could get very bad for the Knicks heading back to New York if that’s the case.
With the game being a blowout, it didn’t really make sense for Randle to still be out there with the Knicks not having a chance to win this one. As the broadcast mentioned, the Randle injury felt very similar to the Derrick Rose injury, which occurred during meaningless playoff minutes. In both circumstances, Tom Thibodeau was the head coach.
But getting a bit more in depth, the Knicks have three things to blame for the disappointing loss that evens the series at 1-1.
Knicks lose Game 2 vs. Cavs: 3 things to blame for playoff blowout
3. Poor shooting from Jalen Brunson
Shooting woes were common for the Knicks in this game, which is putting it nicely. As a team, they shot horribly, converting on just 36 percent of attempts from the floor and only 24 percent from the 3-point line. Jalen Brunson, who has been the spark plug for New York, was a posterchild for the struggles, shooting just 29 percent from the floor in the loss.
2. Julius Randle joined the poor shooting parade too
Brunson’s running mate, Julius Randle, was not that much better. He shot 40 percent from the floor with a lot of his struggles coming from inside the 3-point line. Inside the arc, the versatile Knicks forward shot just 38 percent. It was apparent in the matchup that Randle couldn’t outmuscle the Cavs’ bigs and it cost New York a great deal.
1. Knicks couldn’t handle the physicality of the Cavs
It seemed like, at least in Game 2, that the Cavs were able to out-muscle the Knicks and were just plain more physical than New York was. That can’t happen in this matchup. This is a strength of New York and this has to show when they go home in front of the New York crowd in Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks were able to get a win on the road, which was huge and the primary goal of any team that is starting on the road. Still, this performance was very dismal and the offense can not perform like this for the rest of the series. If the Knicks want to win this series, avoiding a replay of Game 2’s performance is a must.