New York (1-0) at Cleveland (0-1)
When: Tuesday, April 18th 2023
Where: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse,
Cleveland, OH
Time: 7:30 ET | TV: TNT
Opening Odds: Cleveland -4/213
One of the more shocking results over the first weekend of the NBA Playoffs was the New York Knicks going to Cleveland and knocking off the Cavaliers 101-97 to steal homecourt advantage in their best-of-seven series. Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson had a huge fourth quarter to give the Knicks their first playoff series lead in 10 years. New York squandered a 10-point lead in the final quarter before Hart and Brunson came up big down the stretch.
They combined for 16 points in the fourth including the first seven points of a game-ending 9-4 run. The Cavaliers went on a 9-0 run to take a 93-92 lead on Jarrett Allen’s tip-in with 2:12 left. Hart then drained a 3-pointer and grabbed a rebound on Donovan Mitchell’s missed potential go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:32 left. Quentin Grimes iced the game late with two free throws with 4.3 seconds remaining.
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The Cavaliers are in the playoffs for the first time since 1998 when not having LeBron James on their roster. Cleveland relied heavily on Mitchell and Allen, who both played over 43 minutes. The Cavaliers bench was outscored 37-14 and will need a more balance contribution from the reserves going forward.
Despite the loss, Cleveland comes in as a 5-point favorite for Game 2 with a total of 214. After losing the first meeting way back in October, the Knicks have now won four in a row against Cleveland and have covered the spread in all four. The Under has cashed in three of the last four meetings. Game 3 won’t be until Friday night in New York.
Brunson got into early foul trouble but responded with 21 second-half points and ended the night with a team-high 27. Brunson has now averaged 26.9 points per game over his past 10, while averaging 6.3 assists over his past six games. Julius Randle, who made his first appearance since March 29, scored 19 points and collected 10 boards. However, he was only 7-for-20 from the field.
Hart recorded a double-double off the bench (17 points, 10 rebounds) to become the first Knicks reserve to do so since J.R. Smith in 2013. Over their last 10 games, the Knicks have averaged 119.2 points, 45.2 rebounds, 26.7 assists, 8.9 steals, and 5.2 blocks, while also limiting opponents to only 115.0 points in that same stretch.
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The Cavs failed to reach 100 points for the second consecutive game with the bench scoring just 14 points on 4-of-13 shooting. Evan Mobley continues to struggle and scored just eight points and has just 14 total points over his past two outings after averaging 18.1 points over his previous 14 games.
Mitchell led a scorers with 38 points in Game 1 and has now averaged 36.4 points over his past eight games. Allen recorded a double-double with 14 points and 14 boards. Over their last 10 games, the Cavaliers have averaged 111.5 points, 38.5 rebounds, 24.4 assists, 6.6 steals, and 6.0 blocks, while also limiting opponents to only 108.3 points in that same stretch.
Cleveland has really struggled of late and are getting nothing out of their bench. Mitchell, Garland and Allen have played a lot of minutes and could be wearing down. The Knicks are well balanced and are very solid on the road. I’ll take the points.
Check out who Bobby Babowski has on his Free NBA Picks page for today.
Pick: Knicks +5
