New York Knicks’ Jalen Brunson celebrates after scoring against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the second half of Game 3 in an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Friday, April 21, 2023, in New York. The Knicks won 99-79. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
NEW YORK — Jalen Brunson scored 21 points, RJ Barrett broke out of a slump with 19 and the New York Knicks held the Cleveland Cavaliers to the lowest point total in the NBA this season, rolling to a 2-1 lead in the first-round playoff series with a 99-79 victory Friday night.
The Knicks emphatically bounced back from a loss in Game 2 and moved halfway to their first series victory since 2013. They led by 27 points in the fourth quarter, when a sold-out crowd of 19,812 at Madison Square Garden was so loud there was little chance of hearing much of what the public address announcer was saying – especially as seldom-used veteran Derrick Rose was checking into the game to a huge ovation.
Josh Hart added 13 points for the fifth-seeded Knicks, who host Game 4 on Sunday. They became the first team to allow fewer than 80 points during the regular season or postseason.
Donovan Mitchell scored 22 points for the Cavs, who never gave themselves a chance with their most inept offensive performance of the season. They hadn’t been held below 80 points all season, with their worst effort 81 points, also at the Knicks on Dec. 4.
Darius Garland, who scored 32 points in Game 2, managed just 10 on 4-for-21 shooting. Caris LeVert, moved into the starting lineup after scoring 24 in that 107-90 victory, missed all six shots in the first half before coming on late for 17 points.
Barrett was just 6 for 25 in the first two games but his shot was falling and he aggressively drove to the basket to get himself going. Plus, some of the Cavs’ 21 turnovers sent Barrett and the Knicks off to easy transition baskets.
It was just the second time the playoffs came to Madison Square Garden in the last 10 years and fans loved it, a game that looked more like something played by the beloved 1990s Knicks, who had the Garden rocking deep in many springs with their rugged brand of basketball.
Bodies crashed to the floor or into each other, and once in a while the ball went into the basket.
NOTES
RAPTORS: President Masai Ujiri didn’t see a lot to like this season as his team struggled to a .500 finish and a disappointing play-in defeat.
So Ujiri kicked off an offseason of change “on all fronts” on Friday by firing Toronto’s head coach, Nick Nurse, who led the Raptors to their first and only NBA title four years ago.
“To watch us play this year was not us,” Ujiri said at his end-of-season news conference. “I did not enjoy watching this team play. I think that spoke loud and clear to everything that went on this year. It bothered all of us.”It bothered Coach, too. But sometimes we have to make change and we have to move forward.”
Nurse went 227-163 in his five seasons in Toronto, where his .582 winning percentage ranks as the best in Raptors history. He also spent five years as an assistant to former Raptors coach Dwane Casey before taking over the top job.
BUCKS: Giannis Antetokounmpo’s status for Saturday’s Game 3 of the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series with the Miami Heat remains uncertain, Coach Mike Budenholzer said.
The two-time MVP did some individual work before the Bucks’ practice, but Budenholzer said the All-Star didn’t do “team stuff.” Antetokounmpo left Game 1’s loss Sunday because of a bruised lower back and didn’t play Wednesday in the Bucks’ 138-122 Game 2 victory.
76ERS: Joel Embiid will sit out because of a sprained right knee when the Philadelphia 76ers try to complete a sweep of the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday.
The 76ers added the All-Star center to the injury report Friday night, a night after he was limping multiple times during their 102-97 victory in Game 3.
The NBA’s leading scorer did block a shot to protect a two-point lead with 8.8 seconds left and said after the game he was OK.
CLIPPERS: Kawhi Leonard will miss Game 4 for the Clippers against the Phoenix Suns, leaving Los Angeles without its superstar for a second straight playoff game.
Leonard has a right knee sprain, the same injury that has sidelined teammate Paul George since March 21. The Suns lead the best-of-seven series 2-1, with Game 4 on Saturday in Los Angeles.
With Leonard watching from the bench, Norman Powell scored 42 points and Russell Westbrook added 30 points and 12 assists in a five-point loss on Thursday night.
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