Cavaliers Go Cold From The Floor As Knicks Dominate Game 3, 99-79
Just like that, the Cleveland Cavaliers are down in their series with the New York Knicks once again after an impressive performance in Game 2. The Knicks struck back in Game 3 with a little help from Madison Square Garden's hostile crowd and were able to take a grab 99-79 victory.
The Cavs looked lost on the floor from the opening tip and couldn't buy a basket throughout the game.
The most frustrating part of this performance wasn't even that the Cavs couldn't get shots up. They had plenty of chances and open shots but just didn't convert on them. The team shot 38 percent from the field and was 7-for-33 from behind the arc.
Cleveland certainly looked like a team playing in front of a feisty crowd who wanted nothing more than to see them fail and that showed in the box score.
Donovan Mitchell led the way for the Cavs with 22 points, but even he didn't have a great game. Mitchell shot just 9-for-19 from the field and 25 percent from three. This definitely wasn't the homecoming that the New York native envisioned.
Darius Garland added 22 points of his own after a slow start, but that wasn't his biggest issue. Garland rolled his ankle after stepping on the foot of a cameraman. DG was able to check back into the game but was clearly laboring and not moving the same.
Another struggle that the Cavs had was taking care of the ball. They finished the game with 21 turnovers which turned into 28 Knick points. New York also committed 14 turnovers, but the Cavs weren't able to convert on them.
The Cavs also couldn't contain Jalen Brunson on top of their own shooting struggles. Brunson finished the game with 21 points and took over in the fourth quarter. Cleveland needs to figure out how they are going to stop him or this series could wrap up sooner than later.
It's an understatement to say the Cavs need to play better on Sunday afternoon. If they lost Game 4 they'll be faced with a 3-1 deficit which is a hole very few teams have been able to come back from.
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