NEW YORK — When the Knicks dropped Thursday’s matchup against the Detroit Pistons — an early preview of the No. 3 vs. No. 6 playoff battle — the defeat felt understandable. New York had rested three key cogs in OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson and Josh Hart, making the loss palatable.
So when the Cavaliers rolled into Madison Square Garden on Friday night and opted to rest four key players themselves — headlined by All-Star Donovan Mitchell, along with sixth man De’Andre Hunter and role players Ty Jerome and Sam Merrill — the same logic applied even more emphatically. After all, the Cavs, secure as the No. 1 seed, weren’t losing sleep over a late-season regular-season game.
“We just care about ourselves. It’s kind of been our mentality he whole year,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said ahead of tipoff. “We are not manipulating matchups. We never talked about getting the first seed. It’s never this big march to ‘We’ve gotta get to first seed.' It’s like how do we keep taking these steps.”
Yet, even with Karl-Anthony Towns sitting on the second leg of a back-to-back, the advantage still clearly tilted toward the Knicks against an even more short-handed Cleveland squad.
And initially, New York played like a team capitalizing on opportunity, blitzing the Cavaliers early and racing out to a commanding 23-point first-half lead. Then came the baffling collapse — an unraveling that raises eyebrows just days before playoff basketball returns to the Garden. The Knicks squandered their sizable advantage and ultimately stumbled to a 108-102 loss against the Cavs on Friday night.
There was a silver lining, albeit a modest one: The Knicks held firm in the No. 3 seed, thanks entirely to the No. 4 Indiana Pacers falling to the Orlando Magic the same evening.
Yet, the glaring issue remains. New York still has not managed a single victory against any team sitting above them in the standings this season. Cleveland, much like Boston and Oklahoma City before them, finalized their season sweep against the Knicks. New York now stands at a troubling 0-10 against the NBA’s top three seeds: 0-4 against both Boston and Cleveland, and 0-2 against the Thunder, the top team out West.
Cleveland’s Darius Garland carved through the Knicks’ defense effortlessly, dropping 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting and dishing out 13 assists. It marked the second consecutive game in which an elite opposing guard shredded New York’s perimeter defense — Detroit’s Cade Cunningham poured in 36 points the night before.
The Cavs dominated the glass 49-35, and their bench decisively outperformed New York’s second unit, scoring 36 points to the Knicks’ 27 — exclusively from Landry Shamet (15 points) and Miles McBride (12).
Jalen Brunson did his best to carry the offensive load, leading the Knicks with 27 points on an efficient 9-of-17 shooting performance. But without Towns’ offensive gravity, the Knicks found themselves scrambling and sputtering through much of the second half.
“That’s always the question that everyone has. It’s rest vs. rhythm,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said ahead of tipoff on Friday. “I think each team has to make the decision for what’s best for their team. And in our case, we’re relying on the medical — if a guy needs time right now, he gets it. But until you lock up your seed, you have to keep going. And I think it’s important to understand that. But keep fighting to run through the finish line.”
After jumping out to a 39-24 advantage in the opening quarter, the Knicks faltered badly in the closing frame, losing it 30-16. Such stark inconsistency won’t suffice in postseason play — particularly for a team that recently came painfully close in hard-fought losses to Boston and Cleveland.
Now, the Knicks have one final opportunity to course-correct before the playoffs begin. They travel ...
