Cavaliers push back on Knicks’ Mitchell Robinson’s ‘shook’ comment

After Mitchell Robinson intimated that the Cavaliers were rattled on Friday in their blowout loss to the Knicks, Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff countered that his team hardly is all “shook” up entering Game 4 on Sunday at the Garden.

The Knicks, on Friday, became the first NBA team this season to hold an opponent under 80 points in a stifling 99-79 victory.

Asked afterward if the Cavaliers appeared rattled and hesitant to challenge the Knicks’ interior defense, Robinson made a shivering gesture with his arms and replied, “I’m not them, but probably.”

“I think we experienced new experiences. Young guys in their first road playoff game. Those are things you go through,” Bickerstaff said after the Cavaliers practiced on Saturday at Baruch College in Manhattan. “But our guys don’t fear anybody. We’re not shook by anyone. And we’ll be ready for Game 4.”

The Knicks defensively swarmed the Cavaliers throughout Game 3 to grab a 2-1 series lead, holding them to 38.8 percent shooting, including 7-for-33 from 3-point range.

They also recorded 14 steals and five blocked shots, including two of each by Robinson.

Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff disagreed with the statement by Mitchell Robinson after the Knicks’ Game 3 win that his team was “shook.”USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con Mitchell RobinsonCharles Wenzelberg / New York Post

“I mean, they can say whatever,” Cleveland forward Evan Mobley said. “I’m still gonna approach each game how I approach it. … I don’t think anyone likes to lose, so definitely disappointed, I guess, but we just have to learn from it.”

Guard Darius Garland missed 17 of 21 shots Friday night after netting a team-best 32 points in the Cavaliers’ Game 2 victory in Cleveland.

He also twisted his ankle in the fourth quarter, but Bickerstaff declined to say whether Garland had practiced and wouldn’t discuss his availability for Game 4.

“We scored 79 points. It was ugly,” Bickerstaff said. “It was just one of those nights, but it’s like quicksand. You start struggling even harder, and you start to sink more quickly. But confidence is there, belief is there. [Garland] just has to continue to take his shots.”

Mobley also believed that the Cavaliers “were maybe a little too hyped” to play a postseason game at the Garden for the first time, echoing what All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell had said Friday night.

“I think a lot is being made of it. I think you guys ask a lot of questions and talk a lot about it. It allows things to seep into your mind,” Bickerstaff said of the Garden crowd’s impact. “But it’s a gym, like any other gym. The baskets are 10 feet high. It’s 94 feet long, and the only thing that matters is what we do within those lines. All of that other stuff is just extra noise.

“So it’s over with, and we know what we have to do and what we can take from it and be better tomorrow.”