Knicks 130, Cavs 116: Unbelievable to watch
Jalen Brunson continued to amaze in a duel against the guy the Knicks didn’t trade for over the summer.
He likely already had his script planned, however nebulously, before the game. By the first quarter, it had congealed.
BLASPHEMOUS, he was prepared to say. DISRESPECTFUL. He’d already begun to clear his throat from his couch in his northern New Jersey mansion. A 20-point first quarter for Donovan Mitchell against the Knicks — the team that didn’t want him enough. DISGUSTING, Leon Rose. UnBELIEVABLE. He chuckled, texting his social media manager. “2nite going as planned”, he wrote, before sipping a glass of wine. “Rant live postgame” he texted, before attempting to send a funny gif that went through as a broken URL.
You can imagine Stephen A. Smith’s surprise when he looked back up at the screen to see a 14-point Knick victory, led by a 48-point explosion from Jalen Brunson, the man he once told “Baby Stephen A” was “not the answer.”
There’s plenty that could be said about Brunson himself for this performance. Going shot-for-shot with Donovan Mitchell, and outdueling him, was good enough, but the way he did it — from everywhere on the court, every time, against every defender — was unbelievable to watch. It may have been the best offensive performance by any Knick player this season. With nine assists and only two turnovers, Brunson joined an exclusive list of Hall-of-Famers past and future with those totals in a game.
More on Brunson later, but the amazing part was, even with his performance, this didn’t really, at any point, feel like a game in which Brunson dragged the Knicks to victory. Nay, this was a Knicks victory. In fact, New York was only +3 in Brunson’s 38 minutes, and +11 in the 10 minutes he sat.
It was the Knick bench, led by Josh Hart and Isaiah Hartenstein, that swarmed the Cavaliers on both ends of the court in the second half, diving on loose balls and running in transition, including a 12-0 run in the fourth quarter. Contributions from non-Brunson starters were massive too, like Mitchell Robinson’s 14-rebound, 2-block, 2-steal double-double in just 22 minutes, and threes and defense from Quentin Grimes to help New York keep pace with the unbelievable offensive barrage early from Cleveland.
In a game where the Knicks allowed their most points in a single quarter (47) since before COVID-19 hit the New World shores in the first quarter, they simply overpowered their opponent by 14 points on the road. Many tweets have come out saying the Knicks did this against the best defense in the NBA — those tweets are sadly misleading given the lack of Jarrett Allen (and to a lesser extent, Isaac Okoro) — but without leading scorer Julius Randle, the story becomes closer to reality. The Knicks will be without Randle until at least the end of the regular season; games like this make the time go by quicker.
I promised I’d get back to Jalen Brunson.
Of Brunson’s 18 field goals made Friday night, here were the closest defenders:
Evan Mobley (6 times)
Donovan Mitchell (5)
Lamar Stevens (4)
Caris LeVert (3)
As Cleveland play-by-play announcer John Stevens noted on the broadcast, the Cavaliers were “looking for anyone to shut off Brunson’s water,” including plenty of Defensive Player of the Year hopeful Evan Mobley. But it was to no avail — Brunson’s combination of strength, footwork, and shooting touch make him essentially unguardable without a double, as in spite of his height, he knows he can get his shot off whatever he wants with impeccable timing and quick releases.
Not sure which of our admins posted this pantheoner:
The Knicks’ continual owning of the Dallas Mavericks since the day of the Kristaps Porzingis trade has been a book to read and re-read, but Brunson might be the sweetest chapter yet. While the Mavericks now choose between either missing the playoffs or sending the Knicks yet another first-rounder, rostering ticking-time-bomb hot-potato Kyrie Irving whom the Knicks unwittingly avoided after that same Porzingis trade, the homegrown player Dallas could have had for pennies continues a borderline All-NBA/MIP campaign in his age-26 season on the team Luka Doncic may or may not have rooted for while a child overseas. It’s only a matter of time until Max Kellerman demands an apology from Leon Rose on behalf of the people of Dallas, for taking advantage of a completely inept franchise.
Who knows what will happen in the playoffs — but things are fun right now, and for this franchise, that matters. After one of the most exciting games of the NBA season, the Knicks are now 3-0 in their last three vs. the Cavaliers, the formality opponent for New York in Round 1. There’s still time, of course, for Stephen A. and Max Kellerman to get the last laugh. But this weekend, it’s the Knick fans that should be sending goofy texts and sipping their wine. They just probably won’t be doing it from New Jersey.
