The Knicks were able to take a 3-1 series lead over the Cavaliers, winning Game 4 in the Garden behind a great performance from Jalen Brunson and others.
The New York Knicks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 102-93, on Sunday to take a commanding 3-1 lead of the series.
New York started out this game in command behind Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson. R.J. Barrett had a good game throughout. Mitchell Robinson and Josh Hart both played very solid within their roles.
The Knicks had a nine-point lead at the half. Randle would play poorly in the third quarter and, among other reasons, this allowed the Cavs to out-score the home team for the quarter. Randle was subbed out for Obi Toppin during the fourth and the New York offense was a lot better.
Despite losing a little on the defensive end, NY was able to create offense to get the win.
Three reasons the Knicks beat the Cavaliers in Game 4
3. Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson
Mitchell Robinson played very well in this game. During the fourth quarter, when Randle was out due to poor offensive play, Robinson made up for some of his defensive presence in the paint.
Overall, Robinson had 12 points on 71 percent shooting. He controlled the boards, having 11 rebounds.
Josh Hart as well had a very nice game. He ended up with 19 points on 43 percent shooting including clutch shots in the fourth quarter.
Both of these players have been very key in this series. Randle at times has struggled and Robinson has been the best big man for either team during this series so far. He has really controlled the physicality in this game. Hart has been a very solid role player for the Knicks during this series and contributed on offense allowing the Knicks to have the option to go after Randle or Brunson gets doubled in crunch time.
2. R.J. Barrett
R.J. Barrett has been able to rebound from a very poor Game 1 and 2 to make his presence known in this series. In Game 4, he scored 26 points on 50 percent shooting. He ended up struggling mightily from three, as he went 0-of-6. Despite his struggles from three, Barrett’s drives to the basket were key for the Knicks in this victory.
Barrett didn’t have a great season this year and underperformed expectations. During Game 1 and 2, his play seemed really seemed similar to that of the regular season. In the two games at home, he has played up to the expectations that Knicks fans had for him going into the season.
1. Jalen Brunson
Jalen Brunson had a hell of a game, scoring 29 points on 50 percent shooting from the floor. He had six assists as well.
During the closing minutes of the game, Brunson was doubled every time the Knicks ran a screen, and the star was forced to distribute the ball out. He ended up doing a pretty good job of that, allowing the Knicks’ offense to get enough points for the win.
Brunson has had an amazing series so far and he is proven that he is a superstar in this league. Combined with the ineffective second-half performance that Donovan Mitchell had in this game, Brunson has officially surpassed him for best player in the series so far.
The Knicks are one win away from advancing to the second round of the playoffs. Despite a really rough shooting appearance in Game 2, this series has been controlled by the Knicks. At times, Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell has been the best player but New York has been the better team throughout the entire series.
Pending an epic collapse, the Knicks should be heading to the second round. Depending on whether the Greek Freak is healthy, a first-round series win might be their ceiling. Still going into a season where they are expected to compete for the play-in and end up in the second round is amazing!
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