New York (USA), Apr 21 (EFE).- The New York Knicks took a 2-1 lead this Friday in the first round series of the NBA East playoffs against the Cleveland Cavaliers, by winning by 99-79 at Madison Square Garden and achieving the best defensive performance of the season.
The 79 points scored by the Cavaliers are the lowest number recorded in the regular season and in this start of the ‘playoffs’ and the Knicks became strong in their field with 21 points, four rebounds, six assists and two steals from Jalen Brunson.
RJ Barrett chipped in with 19 points and Josh Hart had 13 coming off the bench for the Knicks.
The Cavaliers had very negative percentages. They barely connected on 38% of their field goals (31 of 80) and they made even worse from the three-point line (21%, 7 of 33).
Donovan Mitchell had 22 points and Caris LeVert contributed 17 for some Cavaliers who paid for their low percentages with just fifteen points in the second period, in which the Knicks took a thirteen-point lead.
The Spaniard Ricky Rubio grabbed two rebounds and distributed an assist in five minutes on the track, scoring no points for JB Bickerstaff’s team.
The Knicks, who had won Game 1 of the series in Cleveland before losing Game 2, maintained their home field advantage thanks to this victory.
The fourth chapter of the series will be played this Sunday at Madison Square Garden.
The winner of this series will be a rival of one between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Miami Heat.
