Miles McBride, Josh Hart, Donte DiVincenzo, Bojan Bogdanovic, Isaiah Hartenstein, Precious Achiuwa and Jericho Sims.
Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen, Isaac Okoro, Max Strus, Sam Merrill, Evan Mobley and Dean Wade.
These are the players belonging to the Knicks and the Cavs teams that played at least 20 minutes in Sunday’s game between the two franchises, one of which ended with New York beating Cleveland 107-98.
They are also recognizable names, but not so well known around the world, right? And hey, we can also say that most of them appear on the first block (Knicks) and not on the second (Cavs), right?
What if I also told you that the Knicks named four of the players listed above as starters, and another (McBride) practically as well since he had to play 47 minutes replacing the injured Jalen Brunson (seconds of play)?
Uh, oh, what if New York is just Kryptonite to Cleveland? Poor guys can’t catch a break…
The Knicks had Jalen Brunson for 47 seconds. They didn’t have Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson or OG Anunoby. And they just won in Cleveland.
One of their most courageous victories of the season.
– Fred Katz (@FredKatz) March 4, 2024
Speaking ahead of the announcement, Cleveland head coach JB Bickerstaff spoke highly from Jalen Brunson. So much so, in fact, that one has to wonder if the Cavs created a game plan to spot the Knicks on their trail based solely on the point guard’s skills…and found themselves staring into an abyss when ‘he fell injured and replaced. by Deuce (who was beyond cowardly).
Bickerstaff before the match:
“Without Randle, there’s a lot of Jalen Brunson, not that he hasn’t been heavily involved, but the majority of their work goes through him and he’s obviously proven he’s capable of carrying a team.”
Bickerstaff after the match:
“We played in fits and starts. We had a good second quarter. But to come out of halftime and give up 36 points to a team that was missing as many guys as they were… it’s disappointing defensively. We have to be better than that.
LOL
By beating the Cavaliers (39-21) on Sunday, the Knicks (36-25) remained in fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings, a half-game above Philadelphia and 3.5 games behind Cleveland. Orlando is one game behind New York and ends the game without a play-in in the standings at number 1. 6 seeds.
How did New York manage to achieve this, you ask?
On the one hand, Deuce McBride stepped up (and then some) by logging 47 minutes on Sunday and finishing the game with a ridiculous stat line featuring no turnaround with 16 points, five dimes and a rebound.
For two, Josh Hart fell asleep with this third triple-double of the season in his bag. He played 45 minutes, rested five rounds and had the second highest plus/minus (+16) by scoring 13 points, dishing out 10 assists, committing two steals, turning aside two shots… and by pulling down. 19 (!!!) bounces.
“Some guys start by making a shot. Honestly, I really start by getting a defensive rebound, getting rebounds,” Hart said.
For three years, even the biggest scare of the season didn’t make these Knickerbockers blink for just a few seconds and dribble in their final game against the Cavs – a game that, incidentally, ended with New York winning the regular season series between the two. franchises and give the Knicks the tiebreaker in the event of a tie in the standings in April.
For four, when Hart works, DiVo does, and vice versa. That’s why Donte scored the most points that day for both teams, 28, shooting 11 of 22 and connecting six times from beyond the 3-point arc.
For five, the Knicks did all of the above and got the dub by hitting exactly seven of the 10 free throws they attempted. A single starter tent a gift, and he finished 1 of 3 in the charity category. His name is Precious and he shot 6 of 8 with four rebounds, three blocks and two steals. No help. Not garish, damn solid.
For six, the bench crowd was led by the duo of Bogey and Jericho. They combined for 20 points, nine rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal. Bog handled the scoring task (all 20 rebounds belonged to the Croatian) while Sims was the one grabbing the rebounds (six rebounds to Bojan’s three). Even Alec Burks had a bad, but not great night, going 8-1-1 in 11 minutes. Meh, I can’t complain given how things turned out.
The schedule doesn’t get any easier, but I don’t think anyone was counting on a Knicks win here after the loss to Golden State, much less after seeing Brunson go down so quickly after the tipoff.
THE Sixers come to the Garden next Sunday to play against the Knicks twice in three nights. Atlanta and Orlando will face New York before that happens, mind you, starting Tuesday and lasting through Friday. Once all of these games are over, the Knicks will head out on a road trip out West with stops in Portland, Sacramento, Golden State and Denver.
For now, let’s enjoy this improbable victory and not rush anything. One match at a time, don’t rest on your laurels, keep going, Go Knickerbockers!
