Well the Knicks have certainly made themselves into underdogs heading into the 2025 NBA playoffs.
Again they could not beat one of the top 3 teams in the league — losing 108-102 to Cleveland on a Friday night at Madison Square Garden — a game in which they had a 22-pt lead in the 1st half, and one in which they led by 8 entering the 4th quarter.
The Knicks clinched 3rd place in the East because Indiana lost while the Knick game was early in the 4th quarter.
But there were no celebrations afterwards as NY coughed this one up, beaten in the 4th by 3 killer 3-pointers by Max Strus, and the offense of Darius Garland, who kept snaking past the Knick defense to the basket.
The Knicks rested Karl-Anthony Towns for this game; Cleveland rested Donovan Mitchell.
“We got up 23 but you have to play 48 minutes in this league,” said coach Tom Thibodeau afterwards. “No lead is safe. We’ve just got to be honest with ourselves; look at what we did wrong. We’ve got to get it fixed and we’ve got to get it fixed fast.”
NY falls to 50-31 — officially 3rd place in the East, with 1 meaningless game left, vs Brooklyn. Cleveland improves to 64-17.
NY is currently tied for the 5th best record in the NBA, but had a 1-13 record against these other 5 top-6 teams:
- Cleveland: 0-4
- Boston: 0-4
- Oklahoma City: 0-2
- Houston: 1-1
- LA Lakers: 0-2
1. Knicks Jump Out to 15-Pt Lead in 1st
The Knicks came out on fire and took control of the game from the start — racing out to a 15-pt lead in the 1st quarter.
NY was playing good defense, and moving the ball on offense, hitting rhythm 3’s.
With KAT out, Mitchell Robinson started at center and anchored the Defense.
Mikal Bridges hit a drive and a 3, Miles McBride hit a 3, Jalen Brunson hit back-to-back 3’s, Robinson slammed on a Bridges feed, and Bridges hit a J and NY was up by 12.
Mikal finds Mitch for the Gotham Lob! pic.twitter.com/fv7z9ay7P6
— Knicks Fan TV 🏀🎥📺🏁 (@KnicksFanTv) April 12, 2025
Miles McBride stole the ball from Isaac Okoro and slammed and NY was up by 14.
McBride hit a 3 in the final minute and NY was up 15.
2. Shamet 3’s Lead NY to 23-Pt Lead in 2nd Quarter
It was more of the same to start the 2nd quarter — Landry Shamet joined the action, hitting a 3, McBride hit another 3, and then Shamet hit another 3 and NY was up by 23 at 48-25.
Landry Shamet is a flamethrower 🔥 pic.twitter.com/N5X76rZ0xy
— Knicks Fan TV 🏀🎥📺🏁 (@KnicksFanTv) April 12, 2025
This looked like it was going to be a NY win.
Jarrett Allen and Javonte Green got some buckets for Cleveland, but Landy Shamet hit ANOTHER 3 and NY was up by 22 — 51-29 with 7:10 left in the half.
2. Cleveland Pulled to Within 12 at the Half
NY was up by 20 with 5 minutes left in the half, and then… the Knick shots started to roll in and out; the 3’s bounced out.
An Evan Mobley 3 and Darius Garland drive-and-1 closed the gap to 12 with 3:28 left. The two teams played even until halftime — NY with a 62-50 lead.
3. Cleveland Pulled to Within 8 After 3 Quarters
An Evan Mobley drive and then 2 free throws off another drive pulled Cleveland to within 8 to start the 3rd quarter, but Mikal Bridges answered with a drive and 1 to keep the Knick lead at double digits.
Cleveland kept biting into the lead, but Mikal Bridges answered with free throws off a drive, and then another drive off a Josh Hart assist to put NY up 12, at 72-60 with 7:33 left.
Jalen Brunson followed with a drive for 2 free throws and NY re-upped their lead to 14 pts with 7 minutes left in the 3rd — it looked like everything was going to be ok.
4. Shamet a Hero for Knicks
But Cleveland kept pushing back — pulling to within 4 pts when Landry Shamet hit ANOTHER big 3 for NY to give them an 83-76 lead with 1:40 left in the 3rd. It looked like it would be a momentum changer — as OG Anunoby hit a drive afterwards to give NY a 9-pt lead.
Cleveland scored, but Miles McBride was fouled with .1 seconds left in the quarter, and after review, was granted 2 free throws. He hit 1 of 2, and NY entered the 4th up by 8 pts.
But Cleveland scored the first 6 pts of the 4th — Evan Mobley 1-2 from the line off a drive, a Max Struss 3, and a Mobley dunk — when again Landry Shamet answered with a 3. NY 89 Cleveland 84 with 9:15 left.
Darius Garland hit a drive to pull Cleveland within 89-88, but Mitchell Robinson grabbed an offensive rebound and fed Brunson for a 3 and NY was up 92-88.
Monster Mitch cleaning up the glass! pic.twitter.com/eh2fSDOxZi
— Knicks Fan TV 🏀🎥📺🏁 (@KnicksFanTv) April 12, 2025
5. Garland & Strus Win It for Cleveland Down Stretch
But Garland was just heating up — and started to go nuts — driving past Knick defenders with quick snake-like moves to the basket. He made 2 more drives and a floater to put Cleveland up 95-93.
Josh Hart answered with a 3, but Garland answered that with a 3 to put Cleveland up 97-95 — Garland with 11 straight Cleveland points.
Jalen Brunson tied the game with a drive, but then Max Strus got into the action — hitting a 3, giving Cleveland a 101-98 lead with 3:14 left.
Brunson again answered with a drive to make it a 101-100 game, Cleveland, but Struss hit ANOTHER 3 and Cleveland was up 104-100 with 2:13 left.
Mikal Bridges hit a drive to pull NY within 104-102 with just over a minute left, but Darius Garland answered with a drive and it was 106-102 Cleveland with a minute left.
OG Anunoby intercepted a Struss pass with 33 seconds left, but missed the layup under pressure on the fast break and that was ballgame — NY was forced to foul.
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