Two Key Takeaways from Knicks' Disappointing Loss to Cavaliers

The New York Knicks faced a 109-94 defeat to the Cleveland Cavaliers, an unfortunate road loss that not only leveled the Eastern Conference standings but also revealed some areas where the Knicks still need to be more disciplined.

Cleveland's diversified attack and aggressive game in the third quarter gained them the momentum and New York was unable to completely come back to the game, even though there were some impressive plays from Jalen Brunson and the rest of the team.

This is not the outcome that Knicks fans were expecting, still, there is a lot of stuff that the Knicks can derive from this loss to become stronger in the upcoming ‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌games.

Third Quarter Run Buried New York

Feb 24, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden (1) drives to the basket against New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) during the second half at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌ Cavaliers managed to pull away after the break when they dominated the third quarter and turned what had been a closely fought game into a situation with a double-digit deficit on the scoreboard.

During that quarter, Cleveland was far more successful than the Knicks in scoring, and they capitalized on their height advantage and good ball movement to get easier shots and second-chance points.

New York’s perimeter shooting evaporated during that stretch, leaving them scrambling to stay close.

What a fantastic run the Cavs had in the middle of the game, which perfectly shows the value of consistency. The Knicks appeared to be very aggressive defensively at the beginning, but once the Cavs were in the groove, the Knicks found it hard to get back on track.

It will be vital for New York to keep their attention and level of play up throughout the game if it wants to attain higher spots in the Eastern Conference ‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌standings.

Offensive Struggles from Beyond the Arc

One‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌ glaring problem for the Knicks was their three-point shooting, or lack thereof. They had some great shooters in the line-up, yet the Knicks managed to hit only 27% of their shots from deep, a way below from Cleveland’s 37%.

Even great plays from Brunson and Robinson were not enough to cover for the cold spell. Brunson was the Knicks' top scorer with 20 points, but he was quite inconsistent from beyond the arc and the team’s floor spacing really suffered as a consequence.

When long shots aren’t falling, defensive teams can afford to collapse the paint, clog up the driving lanes and force the offensive players to take highly contested mid-range shots. Well, this was exactly the case with the Cavaliers and particularly in the crucial third ‍ quarter.

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