To kick off their 80th season in the Association, the New York Knicks (1-0) hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers (0-1). The game was billed as a battle between the two teams predicted to finish first and second
in the Eastern Conference this season. It was also the first official game of Mike Brown’s career as head coach of the Knickerbockers. Would they disappoint? Not a chance. Final score, 119-111.
The team was without the services of starting center Mitchell Robinson (mystery) and Josh Hart (back spasms), and Karl-Anthony Towns is dealing with a right-quad strain that had him questionable before the game. For those of you who worried that the Knicks were too short-handed to beat the Cavs, your fears were for naught. Brown played 11 men in the game, and only two finished with negative plus/minuses.
Who among you picked OG Anunoby to lead the team in points and rebounds tonight? OG Anunoby’s season-high for rebounds last season was 10. Against the Cavs, he collected a 24-point, 14-rebound double-double, plus three steals, a block, shot 9-of-17 from the field and converted 4-of-9 from deep. It’s hard to believe that this might not be his best game of the season, and there are 79 to go on the slate. He also played 38 minutes . . . some habits are hard to break.
Overall, five Knicks scored in double-figures: Anunoby, Brunson with 23, Karl-Anthony Towns with 19 (and 11 boards), Bridges with 16 (and three free throws!), and Miles McBride with 15. Landry Shamet came close, adding nine off the bench. The team took 40 three-pointers and made 35%, and they outrebounded Cleveland 48-32.
For the villains, Donovan Mitchell carried the team with 31 points but still finished -14. Evan Mobley posted 22 points and eight boards, and Sam Merrill added 19 points. They fell behind by 17 but clawed their way back, even having a two-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter, but New York proved just too deep.
Cleveland will be a better team with Darius Garland, De’Andre Hunter, and Max Strus back in uniform. But if tonight showed us anything, it’s that New York has the greater roster depth. If that doesn’t get you excited about the season, you’re a grump.
First Half
Coach Brown wanted more three-pointers, and his team followed orders. Half of their first ten shot attempts came from the outfield. Here Jalen delivers from range to put the home team on the scoreboard.
Early on, Cleveland’s defense put sand in New York’s gears, causing an offensive foul, a steal, and multiple misfires on their way to an 8-0 run.
New York’s wingstop (Anunoby & Bridges) returned the favor with harassing perimeter defense, and Ariel Hukporti (starting for Mitchell Robinson) redeemed a blunder or two with tenacity in the lane and a thrilling block from behind of Jarrett Allen. After falling behind, the ‘Bockers answered with seven straight to go ahead 14-10 midway through the frame.
New man Guerschon Yabusele was first off the bench to relieve Karl-Anthony Towns (nursing a quad strain), and Trey Jemison III and Miles McBride joined him soon after.
Before he sat, KAT jammed this assist from the Incredible Huk.
With excellent distribution of the ball and points, the Knicks went up by as many as 12, shot 37% from deep, and finished the first 12 minutes up 33-22.
To start the second quarter, Tyler Kolek, Jordan Clarkson, and Yabu joined Anunoby and Towns. Kolek showed solid hands-up defense and swished his first shot of the season, a bomb from the top of the arc. With Allen and Mobley, the Cavs have a formidable frontcourt, yet New York doubled Cleveland’s rebound totals through most of the half. That’ll give a fan the giddy giggles.
Here’s Kolek with a delicious dish to OG for the jam.
The home team’s lead touched 15 but faded fast. General sloppiness and a couple of Larry Nance baskets contributed to a 16-2 run that brought Cleveland within one. A triple from Deuce McBride stemmed the tide and kicked off a 21-7 run. By intermission, our heroes sat pretty, on the right side of a 65-50 score.
The Knicks controlled the first half through efficiency and physicality, shooting 47% to Cleveland’s 42% and dominating the boards 27–16. Driving the lane aggressively paid off at the line, with New York going 17-for-19 versus the Cavs’ 3-for-5. New York also led in fast-break points (7-2) and points in the paint (20–16), dictating tempo and rhythm to Coach Brown’s liking, no doubt. For the home team, Brunson, Bridges, and Anunoby had 12 apiece; for the Ohio Players, only Evan Mobley had reached double-digits (16 points, three boards).
Second Half
The visitors burst from the locker room with energy, scoring 18 points in under five minutes and cutting their deficit to 11. Donovan Mitchell donned his Superman cape, scoring 21 points from all over the floor in the third quarter. He also assisted on two Sam Merrill bombs that were particularly deflating. Coach Kenny Atkinson gave Don a breather around the 5:30 mark, and New York’s Brown called a timeout soon after, with the differential reduced to seven.
Never fear. We have Huk!
With the Cavs behind by three, Mitchell checked in at 4:15. Nance dunked a Lonzo Ball lob and slivered the lead to one. Once again, Deuce stepped up to right the ship, hitting his third trey of the evening. The Knicks’ depth showed tonight, and their reserve shooters chipped in when it counted. They would have padded the lead with ease if not for Mitchell hitting again and again. With 1:30 on the clock, he put Cleveland up by one for the first time since the opening minutes.
Kolek answered with a fearless drive to the cup, looking vastly better than his summer league and preseason performances. Deuce kept a hand in Mitchell’s face, and New York had a chance to grow their lead, but misses by Anunoby and Clarkson, plus a loose-ball infraction by Towns, shot them in the foot. This one was knotted at 87 heading into the final frame.
With Brunson on the bench, Cleveland drew first blood in the fourth. New York answered with rim rattleras from KAT and Anunoby and a big-time bomb from McBride on their way to a 14-0 run. This summer, Deuce made some carefully worded comments about being excited to have a fresh start with a new coach (I’m paraphrasing). He looked reborn tonight!
Brunson, last season’s Clutch Player of the Year, subbed in around the seven-minute mark. Brown recognized that it was time for Captain Clutch to guide the troops to victory. Meanwhile, Mitchell left the court to get his hammy worked on by a Cleveland trainer—but returned a few minutes later, looking unaffected and helping his team climb within five.
An Anunoby triple gave the Knicks some relief, and his breakaway jam (thanks to a Brunson deflection) with 35 seconds left put our heroes up by ten. ‘Twas a beautiful bow on a beautiful night.
Up Next
Celtics come to town on Friday. See you then, Knicks fans.
