The Knicks were able to win Game 5 of the series against the Cavs, 106-95, to advance to the second round of the NBA Playoffs.
With a chance to punch a ticket to the Eastern Conference Semifnals on the line in Game 5, the New York Knicks were in control of the Cavaliers from the start and never relinquished it.
While it wasn’t a blowout, New York build a seven-point lead in the first quarter and continued to build on that, never letting Cleveland feel like they had a true chance to win. Julius Randle did leave with an injury late in the first half, which leaves his status for the next series in question and does put a damper on the victory.
However, it’s still time to celebrate the 4-1 series win and the Knicks advancing to the second round for the first time since 2013. Having that in mind, these are the three reasons New York was able to get the convincing win in Game 5 on Wednesday night.
Knicks: 3 reasons New York won Game 5 and advanced in NBA Playoffs
3. Mitchell Robinson
Mitchell Robinson scored 13 points on 66 percent shooting from the floor. He also had 13 rebounds in this one. Randle missed parts of the second half and Robinson was able to fill the big man’s presence once again against the Cavs.
He was the best big man in this series, especially in light of Randle’s sporadic absences. In this game and the rest of the series, he controlled the boards on the offensive and defensive ends. Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley were out-muscled by Robinson in this series and the veteran has to be commended for that.
2. Jalen Brunson
Jalen Brunson had another solid game where he put up 23 points. He ended up shooting very poorly from the floor, hitting on only 36 percent of his attempts. Still, Brunson was the best player in this series and received the most defensive attention in Game 5.
At points, he had to adjust to the Cavs’ double-teams off of screens and such, but Brunson still had a great series. The point guard went off and outplayed Donovan Mitchell essentially in all five contests. Brunson has established himself as a leading option on a team heading to the second round of the playoffs.
1. R.J. Barrett
R.J. Barrett has been able to rebound from very poor Games 1 and 2 to end up having a great series. He ended up being the second leading scorer for the Knicks on Wednesday as he finished with 21 points on 53 percent shooting. Barrett had a better offensive game than Brunson but definitely received less attention from the Cavs.
Barrett had a bit of a disappointing year this season in terms of development but he certainly made up for it in the later parts of this First Round series. With Randle being at least questionable for the next series, they will need Barrett’s scoring to keep moving on.
As of this writing, the Knicks still have not found out who they are playing in the second round of the playoffs. If Miami is able to close out the series, the Knicks should have a good shot to win the series, even without Randle for parts of it. If the Bucks extend the series to Game 6, though, it leads to a likely possibility that Randle will be back for more of the second round series.