David Richard, USA TODAY SPORTS
Knicks at Cavaliers, Game 5: How & Who to Watch as NY Seeks Series Win
The New York Knicks are looking for liftoff at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Wednesday night.
New York's first of three chances to advance in the NBA Playoffs for the first time since 2013 lands in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Wednesday's game marks a return to The Forest City after the Knicks mustered a split of the opening pair en route to their current 3-1 series lead in the best-of-seven slate.
The Knicks and Cavs' postseason battle has shifted into the former's favor after they swept a weekend pair at Madison Square Garden, which included a 20-point blowout on Friday before staving off a Cleveland comeback on Sunday. Despite the relative lack of Julius Randle production, New York has been primarily sustained by the front court efforts of Jalen Brunson and RJ Barrett, the pair combining for 54 points in the 102-93 Game 4 victory on Sunday afternoon.
At the brink of elimination, Cleveland is likewise trying to end some jinxes of its own: the Cavs' first LeBron James-free playoff trip since 1998 is in danger of ending and the teams as a whole has likewise been bereft of any form of postseason advancement since the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals.
Each of the Knicks' last three playoff series victories were clinched on the road: a run to the 2000 conference finals went through Toronto and Miami while the aforementioned 2013 advancement was sealed in the quarterfinal round in Boston.
What: New York Knicks @ Cleveland Cavaliers, Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, Game 5 (NYK leads series 3-1)
Where: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland, OH
When/Watch: Wednesday, 7 p.m. ET, MSG/NBA TV
Who's Favored: CLE -5.5
Keep An Eye On: Obi Toppin
Not only can the Knicks earn some relative redemption as a franchise with a win on Wednesday night, but there are individual vindications lingering throughout the matchup. Barrett got back on track in the form of 45 total points on 56 percent shooting in the pair of Garden parties while Toppin has provided vital minutes off the bench.
Whereas Randle's efforts, highlighted by a return to the NBA All-Star Game, helped mask some high-profile shortcomings from big-capital talent like Barrett and Toppin, the latter has come up huge in the final stretches, earning big minutes while Randle has dealt with injuries (including one sustained in the final minutes of Game 2). Toppin played all but 41 seconds of the final quarter (in place of Randle) that provided a majority of the Knicks' final margin, pulling in five rebounds over the final dozen.
If his substitute services in Randle relief at the end of the regular season were a statement, considering these latter hours an exclamation point. Game 4's closing stanzas saw Toppin take the floor with regular starters Barrett and Brunson as well as fellow reserves Josh hart and Isaiah Hartenstein.
“I thought Obi was terrific,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said of the effort, per Zach Braziller of the New York Post. “He gave us energy, but he also gave us rebounding. Those guys built the lead. Obviously, whatever you think gives the team the best chance to win, that’s what you’re going to do.”
Cav to Watch: Donovan Mitchell
It seems like a cop-out to list Mitchell in positions and paragraphs such as these. But the fact remains: these are the type of games that the Cavaliers obtained him for, why they traded half of their future to Salt Lake City (and, even a bit of their present, considering newly-minted Most Improved Player Lauri Markkanen was part of the deal with the Utah Jazz).
Mitchell lived up to the hype in his Forest City debut, scoring 38 and carrying the Cavs' offense in a narrow loss. But Mitchell wilted in the bright lights of the Garden, almost kept off the scoresheet entirely in the second half of action (two points on 1-of-9 shooting). Cleveland's offensive heroes (Darius Garland, Caris LeVert) have likewise struggled, but, for better or worse, the team's fortunes are headlined and defined by what Mitchell does.
The All-Star is well-aware of the pressure and the idea of combating the perception that he's not built to lead a championship cause.
“If you need any more motivation than this, then I don't think you're playing the right sport or should be playing sports,” Mitchell said Tuesday. “If this elimination game doesn’t fire you up to protect home court on your own floor, then I don't know what else could get you going.”
Prediction
This season has been all about the Knicks defying expectations, hurdling so many obstacles that inklings of a "team of destiny" are starting to seep into the minds of a long-jaded fanbase. The idea of potentially playing the eighth-seeded Miami Heat if they win (currently holding an equal 3-1 lead on No. 1 Milwaukee) has only gotten fans even more excited.
But the Knicks can't let postseason magic get in their way: they still have a job to do and Cleveland won't go down without a fight. The Cavs temporarily delay their fate with a win at home but the Knicks get themselves a prime opportunity to clinch in the friendly confines of MSG, where they haven't won a fateful fourth game since their NBA Finals run in 1999.
Cavaliers 109, Knicks 104
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Knicks? Click Here.
Follow AllKnicks.com on Twitter.
