Darius Garland wakes up to even the series (1-1)

Darius Garland had a disappointing start to the playoffs; However, last night he did not want the same situation to be repeated and set the tone from the beginning with 26 of his 32 points in the first half alone to even the series 1-1 by beating the New York Knicks 90-107.

The Cavs point guard exploded in the second period with 15 of his points, and that’s when they suffocated the New Yorkers on defense, forcing them to commit as many as 9 turnovers to go into halftime with a +20 lead on the scoreboard.

“This is the All-Star we know, and it’s been great to see him play like this,” Donovan Mitchell said. ESPN. “She came out with a purpose. She had a different look on her face,” she acknowledged.

Garland had been punishing himself in recent days for his performance in the first game of the series where he had 17 points and only one assist and without scoring any baskets in play in the entire fourth quarter.

«Everyone told me to be aggressive, to shoot to the basket. I was able to watch the film of the first meeting and I saw some opportunities where I could have been more aggressive and go my own way, and that’s what I tried to do tonight,” he noted.

Randle gives the scare

We still don’t quite understand why Tom Thibodeau didn’t retire his starters down the stretch with the game practically over. And if he had, he could have saved himself the scare of the night when Randle took a nasty fall going to the basket that cost center Jarrett Allen a Type 1 flagrant foul.

The Knicks power forward was very upset with Allen’s action that could have injured him, and he had his ups and downs with several Cavs players and with his coach JB Bickerstaff who considered the referees’ response as “disproportionate ».

“My players kept playing hard. They kept running down the passing lanes. Why would some continue to play hard and the others not? There was nothing dirty in the play. It was not a flagrant foul. I contested the release. It was that simple,” Bickerstaff explained.

Other highlights

Knicks: Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson were the top scorers for the New Yorkers with 22 and 20 points respectively. They finished the clash with an overall 36% shooting from the field and a very poor 24% in triples.

Also reaching double figures were RJ Barrett with 14 points and Immanuel Quickley with 12 from the second unit. Finally, Josh Hart played despite his physical problems with 5 points and 4 rebounds in just under half an hour of play.

“You know what awaits you. It’s the Garden,” Randle said about the return to Madison Square Garden on April 4.

Cavaliers: Caris LeVert chipped in 24 points from the second unit on four 3-pointers, and star Donovan Mitchell showed more restraint on offense with 17 points and 13 basket passes to his credit. His maximum income of the match was +29 points in the last quarter.

(Cover photo: Sarah Stier/Getty Images)