Knicks 107, Cavaliers 98: “Best win of the season!“

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.

Those are the players belonging to the Knicks and the Cavs rosters who played at least 20 minutes in Sunday’s matchup between both franchises, one who finished with New York beating Cleveland 107-98.

Those are also some recognizable, and some not-so-world-renowned names, aren’t they? And hey, it can also be said that most of them appear on the first block (Knicks) and not the second one (Cavs), am I right?

What if I also tell you that the Knicks named four of the players listed above as starters, and another one (McBride) virtually too as he had to play 47 minutes in replacement of injured (seconds into the game) Jalen Brunson?

Uh, oh, what if New York is just Kryptonite to Cleveland? Poor dudes can’t catch a break...

Talking before tip-off, Cleveland’s head coach J.B. Bickerstaff spoke highly of Jalen Brunson. So much so, in fact, that one has to wonder if the Cavs created a gameplan to spot the Knicks on their tracks solely based on the point guard’s skill set... and found themselves staring into an abyss when he went down injured and replaced by Deuce (who was more than loose).

Bickerstaff before the game:

“Without Randle it’s a lot of Jalen Brunson, not that he wasn’t heavily involved, but the majority of their stuff goes through him and obviously he’s proven that he’s capable of carrying a team.”

Bickerstaff after the game:

“We played in spurts. We had a good second quarter. But to come out of halftime and give up 36 points to a team that was down as many guys as they were down... that’s disappointing defensively. We’ve got to be better than that.”

LOL

By beating the Cavaliers (39-21) on Sunday, the Knicks (36-25) stayed in fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings half a game above Philadelphia and 3.5 games behind Cleveland. Orlando is one game behind New York wrapping up the no-play-in portion of the standings sitting in the no. 6 seed.

How did New York pull it off, you ask?

For one, Deuce McBride stepped up (and then some) logging 47 minutes on Sunday and finishing the game with a ridiculous stat line featuring no turnovers along with 16 points, five dimes, and one rebound.

For two, Josh Hart went to sleep with this third triple-double of the season in the bag. He played 45 minutes, rested five laps of the clock, and had the second-high plus/minus (+16) scoring 13 points, dishing out 10 assists, committing two steals, swatting two shots... and pulling down 19 (!!!) rebounds.

“Some guys get going by knocking down a shot. Honestly, I really get going by getting a defensive rebound, getting rebounds,” Hart said.

For three, not even the biggest scare of the season made these Knickerbockers bat an eye barely a few seconds and dribbles into their final matchup with the Cavs—one that, for that matter, ended with New York clinching the regular-season series between both franchises and giving the Knicks the tiebreaker in case of a tie in the standings come April.

For four, when Hart works, DiVo does, and the other way around. That’s why Donte scored the most points on the 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 scoring exactly seven of the 10 free-throw shots they attempted. Only one starter attempted a freebie, and he finished 1-of-3 from the charity stripe. His name is Precious and he shot 6-of-8 with four rebounds, three blocks, and two steals. No assists. Not gaudy, hella solid.

For six, the bench mob was led by the pairing of Bogey and Jericho. They combined for 20 points, nine rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and one steal. Bog took on the scoring duties (all 20 pops belonged to the Croat) while Sims was the one winning the boards (six rebounds to Bojan’s three). Even Alec Burks had a bad-not-awful evening logging an 8-1-1 line in 11 minutes. Meh, can’t complain considering how things went.

The schedule isn’t getting any easier, but I don’t think anybody was counting on the Knicks getting a win here after the loss to Golden State, let alone after watching Brunson go down so quickly after tip-off.

The Sixers are coming to the Garden next Sunday to play the Knicks twice in three nights. Atlanta and Orlando will fight New York before that happens, mind you, starting on Tuesday and finishing on Friday. After all of those games are over, the Knicks will go on a road trip out West with stops at Portland, Sacramento, Golden State, and Denver.

For now, let’s enjoy this improbable win and not rush anything. One game at a time, don’t rest on your laurels, keep going, Go Knickerbockers!