Cavs should be embarrassed by how they played in New York – Terry Pluto

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Where to start?

There are times when I am so sure that I’ll be right, and it turns out wrong. So it was when I wrote the Cavs would not be overwhelmed playing their first playoff game in Madison Square Garden.

Overwhelmed? That’s being kind.

They were embarrassed, losing 99-79 to Knicks Friday night. New York now leads the best-of-seven series, 2-1.

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Heading into Friday’s game, the Knicks had a 6-12 playoff record at Madison Square Garden since 2001. Even this season, New York was 23-18 at home compared to 24-17 on the road.

“It’s always an advantage to play at home if you’re giving them things to cheer about,” said New York coach Tom Thibodeau at his press conference before the game. “But if you’re relying on them to win the game – they can’t win the game for you. They can bring energy.”

The New York crowd roared, most of the Cavs wilted.

“We know we feel we have the best arena, best fans, best city,” said Thibodeau. “Go out there and play the best you can. Do it together and play smart. If we do that we know our fans will respond to that. They always have.”

Indeed they did. Too bad we couldn’t say the same for the Cavs.

DARIUS GARLAND, YIKES!

It’s a given that there are some wild swings in a seven-game series, A team looks great one night, then lost the next.

But what was this, as in Darius Garland?

The Cavs guard kept shooting … and shooting … and shooting.

And missing …

Air balls. Rim-benders. Desperation heaves that had no chance of going in.

The man who scored 32 points in Tuesday’s 107-90 victory was 1 of 12 at the half, 4 of 21 for the game, putting 10 very ugly points next to his name.

Like too many of the Cavs, Garland’s confidence seemed stuck back in Cleveland. Instead of playing with poise, he kept forcing the issue with bad shots.

I wished Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff had just told Garland, “Take it easy. Look for good shots, your shots.”

If the coach said that, Garland didn’t listen.

NOT JUST GARLAND

I focused on Garland because he was symbolic of how most of the Cavs played on this night. Caris LeVert had 24 points in Game 2. He missed all six of his first-half shots. LeVert came alive in the second half, finishing with 17 points.

But by the start of the third quarter, the Cavs were behind 45-32. Those 32 points were Cleveland’s lowest scoring half of the season.

After three quarters, it 72-55.

The Cavs kept turning the ball over. They rushed wide-open shots. They did exactly what their critics predicted – they didn’t meet the challenge.

Jarrett Allen (six points, five rebounds in 37 minutes) was invisible most of the night. The Cavs bench delivered only five points in the first three quarters, all belonging to Isaac Okoro. It was a disaster.

The Cavs looked clueless on offense most of the night, not sure what they wanted to do. The only constant was the reliable Donovan Mitchell, who finished with 22 points. Evan Mobley was solid with 10 points, 10 rebounds.

Bickerstaff had no answers in terms of in-game adjustments. The Knicks frustrated him and the Cavs.

The two teams are back on the court, Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. We’ll see if anything changes.

– You can find more Terry Pluto columns here.

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