The New York Knicks returned to Madison Square Garden for Game 3 of their playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers. They did not disappoint the home crowd, stifling the Cavaliers’ offense with an unreal defensive performance.
Cleveland scored 107 points in a Game 2 victory over New York. Friday’s game would be an entirely different story.
The Cavs struggled all game long to get into a rhythm offensively. They went into the half with just 32 points while shooting 2-19 on three-point attempts.
They would improve slightly on those numbers in the second half, but it wouldn’t be enough to make much of an impact on the end result.
New York ended up holding the Cavaliers to 79 points in a blowout victory. It is the first time that any team has been held under 80 points this season.
Cavs star Darius Garland had a particularly poor performance, finishing the game with just ten points while shooting 4-for-21 from the field. This comes just one game after he finished with a game-high 32 points.
While some may blame an off-shooting night for these struggles for Cleveland, they were also forced into 20 turnovers by the Knicks.
Many took to social media to credit the Knicks for their terrific defensive effort.
https://twitter.com/Michael44004861/status/1649611950291320833
Winning 2 playoff games for the first time in 10 years! What a feeling!
The team adjusted after loss. Made a better effort to pass out of the traps. RJ stepped up big time! The help defense was on point! Thibs with the tactical instead of rotational adjustments!#Knicks
— Vivek (@vdadhania) April 22, 2023
Knicks fans are as passionate as any fan base in sports. This year’s team appears to have a real chance of accomplishing something that the organization has not done in over ten years, which is to win a playoff series.
They will look to keep their momentum going at MSG and pick up another big victory in Game 4 on Sunday.