Well, nothing new to see here. Cavs were outrebounded 48-30 and by an incredible 17-4 on the offensive glass. The Knicks seemed to get every loose ball and most of the contested rebounds. The Cavs' bench was outscored by 13. Same thing we've been seeing all series.
The Knicks were just more physical and much deeper. Toppin and Quickley combined for 31 points. I wanted the Cavs to draft Toppin but they went with Okoro instead. In retrospect that looks like a mistake.
Mitchell Robinson was a man among boys. He had 13 points and 18 rebounds while Allen had 4 and 4. Mobley didn't do anything, either, with six points. It's tough when you have two players on the floor whose offensive games are limited to dunks and you're playing the defense that led the NBA in points in the paint.
Randle had a line of 13/4/6 in 16 minutes. He reinjured his ankle just before the half but with Toppin on the bench it didn't matter. Randle could have missed the whole series and the Knicks still win 4-1.
At least Okoro played well with 10 points in 20 minutes including 2-for-3 on 3's. Maybe he'll provide a little more offense next year.
The Cavs had a higher shooting percentage (46.7% to 43.5%) and a higher 3-point percentage (39.4% to 31%), but the Knicks had 10 more shots because of all the offensive rebounds. They also took 29 free throws to 15 for the Cavs. The Knicks kept attacking the rim and drawing fouls. When you have 13 more offensive boards and 14 more free throws not much else matters.
It was a physical team against a finesse team. At least the Cavs' brain trust has a pretty good idea of what it's going to take to get past the first round. Give the Knicks credit - they signed Brunson and traded three players and a first round pick for Hart and that was the difference.
Donovan Mitchell ended up with a respectable 28 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists, but I didn't think he had a big impact on the game. He went only 3-for-12 on 3's and I thought he jacked up too many. Mitchell and Garland were a combined 4-for-18 on 3's and we needed better. With no scoring from Allen or Mobley and with the Knicks packing the paint we needed 3-point shooting from Mitchell and Garland and unfortunately, they didn't have it tonight.
Well, it's been a good year; 51 wins plus one in the playoffs. No draft for the Cavs this year but maybe the front office can swing a trade or something. See you guys next fall.