Knicks ride third-period explosion to 2-0 lead over Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers are accustomed to climbing out of holes during the NBA playoffs.

They haven’t had to overcome an opponent as red hot as the New York Knicks, though.

Josh Hart bounced back from a quiet series opener by scoring nine of the New York Knicks’ 18 consecutive third-quarter points Thursday night, when the hosts took a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 109-93.

The Knicks swept the first two games of the best-of-seven series in New York, including a 115-104 overtime win on Tuesday, when they overcame a 22-point fourth-quarter deficit.

Game 3 is scheduled for Saturday night in Cleveland.

The third-seeded Knicks will take the court Saturday one month removed from their most recent loss and two victories away from their first trip to the NBA Finals since 1999.

New York has won nine straight, a franchise record for a single postseason, since a 109-108 loss to the Atlanta Hawks in Game 3 of a first-round series on April 23.

Eight of those victories were by double digits as the Knicks have compiled a plus-221 net point differential, the best through a team’s first 12 playoff games in NBA history.

“We’re hungry for the opportunity to go out there and play basketball at the highest level,” Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns said, “but we also understand that you can never be satisfied in these positions in the playoffs. The mindset’s going to continue to be 0-0 every single time we step on that court.”

Hart finished with 26 points, a career high for a playoff game. He shot 10-for-21 from the floor, including 5-for-11 from 3-point range, while dishing out seven assists. He had just 13 points on Tuesday.

“Just a whale of a game from Josh,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said.

Towns (18 points, 13 rebounds) and Jalen Brunson (19 points, career-playoff-high 14 assists) each had a double-double for the Knicks. Mikal Bridges scored 19 points while OG Anunoby added 14.

“We don’t really care who gets the shine, the shots, the minutes, those kind of things — we’re focused on winning,” Hart said. “I think everyone is willing to sacrifice their own personal agendas or performance for the betterment of the team. And when you have a group of guys that do that, sky’s the limit.”

Donovan Mitchell put up 26 points while Jarrett Allen totaled 13 points and 10 rebounds for the fourth-seeded Cavaliers, who fell into a 2-0 hole for the second straight series. Cleveland outlasted the Detroit Pistons in seven games in the conference semifinals.

The Cavaliers also needed seven games to eliminate the Toronto Raptors in the first round, when Cleveland raced out to a 2-0 lead.

“This isn’t our first time facing adversity,” Mitchell said. “We’ve been to two Game 7s, so being down 2-0, it’s not the biggest challenge. It’s right there. So let’s go ahead and take advantage of it.”

James Harden had 18 points while Evan Mobley scored 14 points for Cleveland, which shot just 38.8% (31-for-80) from the field — including 25.7% (9-for-35) from beyond the arc — and 68.8% (22-for-32) from the free-throw line.

“Wasn’t a great shooting night,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. “At the end of the day, you’ve got to put the ball in the hole. Tonight, we didn’t.”

Neither team led by more than six in the first half, when Hart and Anunoby combined on an 8-4 run to end the second quarter and give the Knicks a 53-49 lead at intermission.

Allen and Mitchell opened the third quarter with a basket apiece to tie the game for the final time before Brunson’s 28-footer sparked the 18-0 run.

The Cavaliers were 0-for-7 from the field and 0-for-2 from the line while committing two turnovers during New York’s surge, which ended with Hart draining a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 71-53 with 5:35 left.

The Knicks were up 85-70 at the end of the quarter before the Cavaliers mounted their final comeback attempt by scoring the first eight points of the fourth. However, Anunoby hit a 3-pointer with 8:39 remaining and Cleveland got within single digits just once more.

New York led by as many as 19 down the stretch.

–Field Level Media