Donovan Mitchell almost single-handedly put the Knicks on the ropes.
He caught fire for 21 points in the third quarter Wednesday night and gave the Cavaliers a one-point lead, negating the Knicks’ dominant first half. The noisy Madison Square Garden had fallen silent. Mike Brown’s opening night was in danger of being ruined.
The Knicks, however, are much more than a one-man show and have not wavered, perhaps as developments have progressed. They opened the fourth quarter with a 14-2 run – with four different scorers – and quickly regained control en route to a resounding 119-111 victory. Mitchell only scored two points in the fourth quarter.
For long stretches, what was supposed to be a matchup between the Eastern Conference’s two best teams felt like a mismatch. The Cavaliers seemed to have a superstar in Mitchell – the Knicks seemed to have a complete team around their superstar, Jalen Brunson.
Many of the changes Brown wants to implement were visible. The scoring was evenly distributed: Brunson, OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges all finished the first half with 12 points, and five Knicks scored in double figures, led by Brunson’s 23 and Anunoby’s 24. Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 19 and Bridges added 16. The emphasis was on ball movement, which resulted in 22 assists. There was early recourse to an 11-man rotation.
What was perhaps less predictable was the defensive intensity and loose ball ferocity the Knicks possessed. The bridges served as a catalyst.
Brown praised Bridges’ “next game speed” – his ability to immediately move from one phase of play to the next – late in the preseason. Brown described it as the plan he wanted the rest of his team to follow.
It only took a few minutes to become obvious. Bridges grabbed an offensive rebound and found Anunoby for a 3-pointer to cap an 11-0 run and give the Knicks a 17-10 lead with 6:21 left in the first quarter. A few minutes later, Bridges took the ball away from Jaylon Tyson and beat everyone to the floor for an uncontested layup. It was part of a solo 7-0 run for Bridges that gave the Knicks a 26-16 lead with 2:37 left in the first quarter. He made his first four shots from the field.
And Bridges’ energy was infectious. Despite playing without two of their top rebounders, Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson, the Knicks owned a 46-32 rebounding advantage, including 9-4 on the offensive glass.
A 16-2 run by the Cavaliers in the second quarter brought them within one point. But Landry Shamet and Miles McBride combined for 10 points in the middle of a 10-3 run for the Knicks, and they quickly put the Cavaliers back on track.
McBride and Shamet are part of a bench unit that has already shown it is deeper than last year’s. Tyler Kolek played most of the third quarter and early fourth quarter and looked capable of serving as Brunson’s primary backup at point guard. Guerschon Yabusele and Jordan Clarkson provided valuable minutes. Even Trey Jamison III saw significant action. Ariel Hukporti, who would normally be a backup but started at center for Robinson, held his own.
Overall, the Knicks bench outscored the Cavaliers bench 35-30.
Brown passed his first test with the Knicks with flying colors. Start as you intend to continue.
