The game between the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers will take place at Madison Square Garden on Friday, April 21 at 8:30 PM ET.
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The New York Knicks will welcome the Cleveland Cavaliers to Madison Square Garden for an NBA game on Friday. The New York Knicks lost 107-90 in their last game over the Cavaliers. With the Knicks down by 23, Julius Randle went in for a breakaway dunk and was hit by Cavs center Jarrett Allen and New York’s All-Star forward fell awkwardly out of bounds. Randle was upset by the contact and exchanged words with several Cavs players and coach J.B. Bickerstaff.
“I thought it was a little unnecessary,” Randle said. “I understand that in the playoffs, you don’t give up on plays. But typically, you run across the body. Not like that.” Allen was called for flagrant foul, which Bickerstaff felt was undeserved. “They kept playing hard. They kept running through passing lanes. Why would one team play hard and not the other,” he said. “There was nothing dirty about the play. It wasn’t a flagrant foul. He contested a shot at the rim. It’s that simple.”
Caris LeVert scored 24 points off the bench and Mitchell added 17 and a career playoff-high 13 assists for the Cavs, who were much more physical than in Game 1 and went toe to toe with the Knicks. Randle scored 22 points and Jalen Brunson added 20 for New York, which got the split it needed in rowdy Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse to head home for Game 3 at Madison Square Garden on Friday night. “You know what to expect,” Randle said. “It’s the Garden. It’s the Garden.”
The Cleveland Cavaliers on the other hand won 107-90 against the Knicks in their last game. Darius Garland couldn’t change what happened in a disappointing playoff debut. On Tuesday night, Garland made sure he didn’t repeat it. Setting the tone with his aggressiveness from the start, Garland scored 26 of his 32 points in the first half and the Cavaliers evened their Eastern Conference playoff series against New York at one game apiece with a 107-90 victory.
“That’s the All-Star we know, and it was good to see,” said Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell, one of many who urged Garland to be more assertive. “He came out with a purpose. There was just a different look in his eye.” Garland scored 15 points in the second quarter, when Cleveland tightened down defensively and dominated New York, forcing nine turnovers on the way to opening a 20-point halftime lead. The Cavs pushed their lead to 29 in the fourth. For two days, Garland had beaten himself up for his performance in Game 1, when he didn’t attempt a shot in the fourth quarter and finished with one assist in 43 minutes.
During film sessions, his teammates pointed out moments when he needed to shoot. Everywhere he went, he heard the same message. “Everybody in the building told me to go be aggressive, go shoot the ball,” he said. “I watched the film from the first game and seeing some opportunities where I can go get mine and go be aggressive and that’s what I just tried to do today.” Cleveland’s blowout ended with a hard foul and some questions about why New York’s starters were still on the floor.
New York Knicks: RJ Barrett, Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson, Jalen Brunson, Quentin Grimes
Cleveland Cavaliers: Evan Mobley, Isaac Okoro, Jarrett Allen, Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland
New York Knicks: None
Cleveland Cavaliers: Dylan Windler, Cedi Osman
The game between the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers will take place at Madison Square Garden on Friday, April 21 at 8:30 PM ET.
The match between the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers will be telecast live on Bally Sports Ohio, Fox Sports Ohio, ABC, ESPN3, MSG, ABC.
| Country | Channel | Date and Time |
| United States | Bally Sports Ohio, Fox Sports Ohio, ABC, ESPN3, MSG, ABC. | April 21 (8:30 PM ET) |
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