In a thrilling first game of the postseason, the New York Knicks topped the Cleveland Cavaliers 101-97 to steal home court advantage.
New York held a near 10-point lead for a majority of the second half, however a late game run from the Cavs tightened up the game in the final few minutes.
Once the Cavs took a 93-92 lead, Jalen Brunson and the Knicks answered the call. Josh Hart hit a three, Brunson scored the next four points, and Quentin Grimes nailed two free throws to extend the lead to four and seal the deal.
Knicks' Depth Proves Importance
Coming into this series, one of the clear advantages for New York was their bench unit. That belief held true for game one as the Knicks’ second unit completely outplayed the Cleveland bench.
The core of Immanuel Quickley, Hart, Obi Toppin and Isaiah Hartenstein all had a positive plus/minus with the average of the group being a +11 rating. On the other hand, the Cleveland bench had a -7.8 rating.
Hart specifically had an enormous impact off the bench. He had 17 points and 10 rebounds with five of those being offensive. Mitchell Robinson also chipped in five offensive rebounds which helped towards the Knicks advantage in second chance points (23-12).
Hart also spent a majority of his minutes guarding Donovan Mitchell, and although Mitchell scored 38 points, there is no denying Hart made him work for every point he scored. He would later hit a huge three-pointer to give the lead back to New York after the Cavs went on a run to take a 93-92 lead.
The overall disparity in bench points was a staggering 37-14 in favor of New York. This discrepancy is one that will most likely remain true for however long this series continues, and it will continue to be an important boost for the Knicks.
Defensive Strategy
Although Mitchell had a stellar performance individually, the New York defense played incredibly well in game one. Even with Mitchell scoring the way he was, the Knicks never over committed to him and they made sure Mitchell's teammates did not get easy looks just because he was making shots.
This strategy panned out well as very few Cavaliers were able to get it going offensively other than Mitchell. Evan Mobley really struggled this game as he scored only eight points on 4-13 from the field. Much of the credit for this struggle goes to the defense of Julius Randle as he used his strength advantage to make it difficult for Mobley to get to his spot.
Mitchell's main running mate Darius Garland did have 17 points on an efficient 7-13 from the field, however he only had one assist and a whopping five turnovers. Points off turnovers ended up being a huge advantage for the Knicks as they had 26 compared the the Cavs 10.
Jarrett Allen was probably the next most impactful player offensively for Cleveland, however he really struggled defensively this game, especially on the boards.
Robinson dominated the offensive rebounds, and if not for Julius Randle flying in for an offensive rebound on the last possession of the game, then Cleveland would have had a chance to take the game to overtime with a two or win the game with a three.
It is unlikely that Mitchell's supporting cast all underperforms like this again, however it will be intriguing to see if the Knicks continue to allow Mitchell to get his points if they believe it is taking the rest of his team out of rhythm.
Knicks Have Room To Improve
To be able to withstand subpar shooting performances from Julius Randle, RJ Barrett, and Immanuel Quickley had to feel great for Tom Thibodeau and the rest of the team.
Randle scored 19 on 7-20 from the field, Barrett scored seven points on 2-12 from the field, and Quickley scored three points on 0-5 from the field. Randle and Quickley should not be much of a concern as Randle shot the ball well in the first half while also impacting the game defensively throughout. Quickley did not see as many minutes due to Brunson and Hart's performance.
Barrett really struggled throughout this game. He was able to get a lot of favorable matchups as it was usually Mitchell guarding him who is four inches shorter than Barrett. Even with this advantage, Barrett looked uncomfortable with the ball and at many times was stripped when he did attack the basket.
With the struggles of Barrett throughout the game, the final minutes at the wing were given to Quentin Grimes and Hart. Thibodeau has shown he will ride the hot hand down the stretch and that is exactly what he did in this situation.
Looking at the game as a whole, there were some striking similarities between the two squads. Both had their star guards show up in Mitchell for Cleveland and Brunson for New York, however many key supporting pieces struggled to make an impact.
Game two will most likely be defined by who else can step up and perform for both the Cavs and Knicks. We will see what adjustments are made Tuesday night in Cleveland.
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