Knicks 107, Cavaliers 98: Effort an issue as New York bullies Cleveland again

CLEVELAND — It was easy to assess the Cavaliers' stinging defeat to the hated New York Knicks on Sunday in a nationally televised game: effort. New York lost All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson 13 seconds into the game to an injury to his left knee. Instead of succumbing to their misfortune, the Knicks rallied together and bullied Cleveland 107-98 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The Cavs (39-21) lost for the fourth time in their last seven games to fall out of first place in the Central Division and to third in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Brunson, the Knicks' leading scorer at 27.7 points per game, was helped to the locker room after the injury and never returned. Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said he thought the play affected his team. "We let our guards down," he said. "We thought it would be a lot easier. They stepped up." That could definitely be said of Knicks forward Josh Hart, who finished with a triple-double with 13 points, a career-high 19 rebounds, 10 assists, two steals and two blocks in 45 minutes. "Josh Hart is a winner," Bickerstaff said. "He does whatever it takes to win ballgames. He's a heck of a player." The Cavs coach saw an omen of things to come on the first play of the game when the Knicks grabbed an offensive rebound. "That set the tone," he said. The Knicks (36-25) played harder than the Cavs, got many of the 50/50 balls and outrebounded Cleveland 47-39. Guard Donte DiVincenzo led all scorers with 28 points, as he buried six of 14 attempts from the 3-point line. Bickerstaff was particularly miffed at the Cavs' effort in the third quarter, as they allowed the Knicks to score 36 points -- 16 by DiVincenzo. "We came out in the second half and gave up 36 points," he said. "We have to be better than that." Cleveland was playing without leading scorer Donovan Mitchell (knee) and valuable sixth man Caris LeVert (elbow). The Cavs missed their offensive capabilities, but their downfall can be traced to the defensive end, where they just couldn't stop New York from scoring at will. Just like in the first round of the playoffs last April, the Knicks seem to have their number and might be a better team. They won the season series vs. Cleveland 2-1, which might come into play later in the season. The Cavs focused much of their offseason on adding 3-point shooting to shore up deficiencies that New York uncovered. Their two main additions couldn't have played any worse against the Knicks. Swingman Max Strus finished with six points on 2-of-9 shooting and forward Georges Niang was scoreless and missed all six attempts from the field. When asked how the Cavs can match New York's physicality, swingman Isaac Okoro said, "You have to want it." Guard Sam Merrill paced Cleveland with 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting from behind the arc. He said the game resembled a "dogfight." "They made things difficult for us. That's the style they play," he said. Point guard Darius Garland added 19 points and five assists, while center Jarrett Allen had 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists, power forward Evan Mobley 13 points, 13 rebounds and six assists and Okoro 17 points. Mobley said the Cavs "took it on the chin." "We have to come out with energy and maintain it for the whole game," he said. "We have to get that flow back." The Knicks blitzed the Cavs in the third and led 87-78 heading into the final quarter. Cleveland closed the first half on a 24-12 run to take a 53-51 lead at the break. "We played in spurts," Bickerstaff said. "We can't pick and choose when we play our best." High seed Bickerstaff said reaching the No. 2 seed in the East isn't necessarily a major goal. "We want to finish as high as we can," he said. "We understand playing Game 7 at our place (would be ideal in a playoff series)." However, Bickerstaff said he's more concerned with the 16 games remaining in March. "We're in the thick of it," he said. Board work The Cavs finished 20th in defensive rebounding percentage last year. In 2023-24, they've been in the top 10. Bickerstaff said it's been a point of emphasis since training camp. He said if the Cavs want to run with the ball, that starts with getting defensive rebounds. The Cavs start two players close to 7-foot but neither has much bulk. He said Allen and Mobley are asked to help out other players on defense. "Our aggressiveness bites us in the butt sometimes," Bickerstaff said. Old friend Isaiah Hartenstein has moved into the starting center spot for the Knicks with Mitchell Robinson sidelined with an ankle injury. He had eight points, eight rebounds and two blocks for New York on Sunday. The 7-1 Hartenstein played half a season in Cleveland in 2020-21. "He was really good for us," Bickerstaff said. "It's no surprise at all he's doing well for them. He's been successful wherever he's played." The Knicks are also missing power forward Julius Randle and forward OG Anunoby. Contact Bob Finnan at rfinnan30@gmail.com. Follow him @BobCavsinsider on X.