Cavaliers 110, Knicks 104: “This is the Garland the Cavs been waiting for”

Last night at MSG, the hare bested the tortoise. But there’s plenty of race left to run

The New York Knicks have gone through a lot of change in recent years. If they were a person, they’d be someone stuck in the same bad habits for years. Unhealthy ruts. Self-destructive cycles. But the Knicks have done a lot of self-care. They’re hanging out with different crowds in different neighborhoods. Trying all kinds of new things. Dating lots of people.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been four face cards in search of an ace for a few years now. The world told them to blow it up after getting TKO’d by the Knicks in 2023. They didn’t. Last year they won their first non-LeBron playoff series since James was eight years old, though it didn’t quite set the rest of the league on fire. This year they’re again defying the naysayers, running it back with two non-shooting bigs and two small guards while starting some NPC at small forward.

So in last night’s third game of New York’s season, it was a bit disappointing but not all that surprising to see the Knicks lead for long stretches but stumble late, outscored by 10 in the fourth thanks to Darius Garland’s 15 in the frame. Quoth Vision TV: “This [is] the Garland the Cavs been waiting for.”

At the same time, Jalen Brunson was scuffling, missing six of his last nine looks in a decidedly un-nice stretch run — unfortunate, but unconcerning. Also unconcerning but undoubtedly an early-season intrigue is waiting for hometown hero Karl-Anthony Towns to look at home in New York’s offense. So far he’s has taken fewer shots this year than all the other starters. Maybe that’s okay, if you think these Knicks will eventually evolve into something like the Golden Age Knickerbockers, where everyone on the floor could dribble, pass and shoot. So far Towns has taken two more shots this year than Miles McBride and Cam Payne. Josh Hart’s taken more than twice as many threes as Kat. That’s not okay. Towns only took three shots in the fourth — and yet those were nearly half his total for the night.

In Kenny Atkinson the Cavs have a different coach than when these teams met in the playoffs. Evan Mobley is still closer to 22 than 24. The Cavs have continuity and 80% of one helluva starting five. In October, that’s good enough to be better than a Knick starting five playing their third game together ever. New York may have more work to do to reach their ceiling, but theirs feels higher.

Last night still hurt. The Knicks were up as many as 13 on the back nine of the third quarter but ended up trailing the last 10:30 of the game. New York has had the edge in this matchup the past few years; you’d rather not give the Cavs any confidence. These teams play three more times this season, twice in Cleveland; the head-to-head tiebreaker could be important late in the campaign (not Cam Payne), with these two of the three teams likely to compete for the best record in the East.

(I didn’t forget about Philadelphia. I drive an 18-year-old car. There are trips it is reasonable to ask of it. There are trips I’d never ask it to make. Joel Embiid and Paul George were injury-prone when they were young. They’re not young anymore.)

Last night was a fun sparring match between two fighters who could very well have a heavyweight bout next spring. For now that’s a purely metaphorical comparison; in truth there’s no opponent so many Knicks clearly like on a personal level as these Cavs. I don’t hate that. In the ninth inning of last night’s Yankees/Dodgers World Series, Shohei Ohtani was on base sharing some laughs with Yankee first baseman Anthony Rizzo. I grew up with Pat Riley fining any Knick who helped an opponent off the floor. I cherish my memories of that time. Still, I’d rather see humanity between humans than harshness.

That warmth will cool as the weather warms. Anything short of a conference finals is a failure for New York, while Cleveland needs to do something more than survive a first-time, one-dimensional playoff opponent by the skin of their teeth. They both have high hopes. Last night the Cavs worked from a script; the Knicks are still brainstorming. Next game is Wednesday, when they visit their other 2023 playoff foe — Miami.