Overview
- The Knicks beat the Cavaliers 109-93 to grab a 2-0 series lead following Thursday night’s Game 2 at Madison Square Garden.
- Josh Hart scored a playoff career-high 26 points with five 3-pointers and seven assists while Jalen Brunson recorded a postseason-high 14 assists to drive New York’s multi-option offense.
- New York broke the game open with an 18-0 third-quarter run that turned a tie into a double-digit lead and left Cleveland scoreless for more than five minutes.
- Cleveland shot 38.8% overall and 25.7% from three in Game 2, its bench managed just 17 points on poor shooting, and two earlier seven-game series this postseason have raised questions about fatigue.
- The series now moves to Cleveland for Game 3 where the Cavs must improve shooting and bench production to avoid falling into a near-insurmountable 0-3 deficit.