Jalen Brunson, Knicks overcome Donovan Mitchell's big game to steal Game 1 in Cleveland
CLEVELAND — Buckle up. The Cavaliers are on the NBA playoffs roller coaster.
Highs and lows are in the forecast, but Cleveland's first postseason appearance since 2018 and its first without LeBron James since 1998 began with disappointment.
The Cavs fell 101-97 to the New York Knicks on Saturday night in Game 1 of their best-of-seven first-round Eastern Conference playoff series at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell led the Cavs with a game-high 38 points. Point guard Darius Garland added 17 points for Cleveland.
It wasn't enough, especially with Knicks bench players outscoring their Cavs counterparts 37-14.
“First off, this isn’t the end of the world. We got to go get one right back,” Mitchell said. “There’s no room to sit here and feel sorry or feel upset and get down. It’s one game. We will respond.”
Tipoff for Game 2 is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET Tuesday in Cleveland, and the Cavs will look to bounce back in a hurry.
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"[My teammates who have experienced the playoffs before] said when you get the first win or you get a win, it feels like the best thing ever. Then when you lose, it's like the worst thing ever. So, I mean, it's going to be a roller coaster, but you just have to keep your [focus]," Garland said recently.
After going 51-31 in the regular season, the Cavs entered the playoffs with the Eastern Conference's fourth seed and home-court advantage against the fifth-seeded Knicks. However, New York's record of 47-35 in the regular season included a 3-1 advantage in its games against Cleveland.
The Knicks kept control Saturday.
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Julius Randle didn't play when the visiting Knicks defeated the Cavs 130-116 on March 31. Randle returned to action, though, after sitting out the final five games of the regular season with a sprained left ankle. The All-Star power forward had 19 points and a crucial offensive rebound with six seconds left to play. Guard Quentin Grimes then made two free throws with 4.3 seconds left to virtually seal the Knicks' win.
“You can’t say enough about the monster rebound Julius made at the end,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “That rebound was huge. Huge.”
Randle hadn’t played since March 29 because of a sprained left ankle, and said he was thankful he had enough energy for one last jump.
“You see me breathing out there today?” said Randle, who played 34 minutes. “I was tired as hell. But it was just about winning at that point.”
"Seeing No. 30 out there was just a great sight," Obi Toppin said.
Guard Jalen Brunson led New York with 27 points despite early foul trouble.
Cavs starting small forward Isaac Okoro played after missing the final six games of the regular season with a sore left knee. One of the team's better defenders, Okoro finished with six points.
Like the rest of the Cavs, Okoro struggled early with his long-range shooting. In the first half, Cleveland shot 4 of 18 on 3-pointers (22.2%), with Okoro going 0 for 4.
Still, the Cavs only trailed 50-45 at halftime. They rallied to tie the score 54-54 when Mitchell made a 3-pointer with 8:16 left in the third quarter, but they fell behind 78-70 entering the fourth quarter.
The Cavs led 93-92 when center Jarrett Allen made a putback with 2:12 remaining in the fourth quarter. However, swingman Josh Hart answered by making a 3-pointer with 1:49 left, and the Knicks never trailed again.
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.
Contributing: Associated Press