Cleveland Cavaliers dismantle New York Knicks 107-90 in Game 2 as Darius Garland scores 32 points
Cleveland Cavaliers dismantle New York Knicks 107-90 in Game 2 as Darius Garland scores 32 points to tie series for Madison Square Garden return
- Donovan Mitchell also contributed 13 assists in the game during a productive evening
- Julius Randle led the way for the Knicks with 22 points and Jalen Brunson had 20
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
Darius Garland scored 32 points, 26 while setting an aggressive tone for Cleveland in the first half, and the Cavaliers tied their Eastern Conference playoff series against New York at one game apiece with a 107-90 victory over the Knicks on Tuesday night .
Garland scored 15 points in the second quarter, as Cleveland tightened defensively and dominated New York, forcing nine turnovers en route to opening a 20-point halftime lead. The Cavs pushed their lead to 29 in the fourth.
Cleveland’s blowout ended with a hard foul.
New York was still 23 down and playing its starters when Julius Randle was hit in the air by Cavs center Jarrett Allen on a dunk with 2:22 left.
Randle fell hard to the ground and exchanged words with several Cavs players and coach JB Bickerstaff after getting up.
The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the New York Knicks 107-90 to win Game 2 of their series
Darius Garland led the way for the Cavaliers with 32 points on 8-17 shooting from the field
Cleveland was able to tie the series at 1-1 as the teams headed to New York for Game 3 on Friday
Caris LeVert scored 24 points off the bench and Donovan Mitchell added 17 and a career playoff-high 13 assists for the Cavs, who were much more physical than they had been in Game 1 going up against the Knicks.
Randle scored 22 points and Jalen Brunson added 20 for New York, which got the split it needed in rowdy Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse to go home Friday night for Game 3 at Madison Square Garden.
The Cavs matched the physicality of the Knicks from the start, winning the 50/50 balls that went to New York in the opener.
And as if dealing with Cleveland’s newfound toughness wasn’t challenging enough, the Knicks beat each other up.
During a series in the second quarter, as the Cavs began to pull away, Randle turned to run onto the floor and accidentally punched Brunson in the face, causing his teammate to flinch in pain.
Garland has done his own damage.
The 23-year-old was timid in his playoff debut, failing to shoot in the fourth quarter and finishing with just one assist in 43 minutes on Saturday.
After practice on Monday, he had a deep talk with Mitchell, who urged his young teammate to be more powerful.
Julius Randle crashed hard towards the end of the race, but was able to continue
Randle and Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 22 and 20 points, respectively
Garland got the message.
He drained a pair of three-pointers on a 13-4 run in the second quarter and then showed no fear as he drove to the basket and tried to dunk over 2-yard Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein, who got away with goaltending while hitting a foul. made on Cleveland’s guard.
The Cavs bench erupted at the sight of Garland’s bravado, and Mitchell clapped his hands before urging the sellout crowd to recognize him. The moment seemed to rock the Knicks as New York’s Josh Hart was called for a technical foul.
After the Cavs got pushed around and rebounded badly in Game 1, Bickerstaff wanted his team to be the early aggressor.
“I’d like our guys to be the ones who put a body on someone and make some contact and cause some collisions, and then see what happens from there,” he said.
Cleveland fell behind by eight early on, but fueled by Garland’s two 3-pointers, the Cavs went 15–3 to take a 25–22 lead after one.
Donovan Mitchell recorded a double-double with 17 points and 13 assists in the win
Caris Levert made a great impression from the bench with 24 points in 40 minutes of action