1 stud and 1 dud from Cavs’ sloppy win over the Knicks

Sometimes throughout the stretch of a long NBA season, there are some games that are just tough to watch. Whether because shots aren’t falling or from a lack of effort, that was the case last night at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. The Cavs were lucky to pull out a 95-93 win over the New York Knicks, giving the Cavs a 2-0 series advantage this season.

Overall it was a sloppy game with a lid on the rim at both ends. The Cavaliers only shot 42% from the field last night. On the other hand, the Knicks were even worse, converting on only 41% of their field goal attempts.

Sometimes you win ugly, and the Cavs pulled out a sloppy win over the Knicks on Monday night. Who stood out for good and ill in the victory?

This game had a total of 32 turnovers, which is crazy high for two above-average teams. R.J. Barrett was the leading scorer for New York, totaling 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field. Julius Randle also kicked in 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the visitors.

The Cavs on the other hand were very impressive in their win. Both teams were cold from deep, converting on only 31% from three. Kevin Love led all scorers for the Cavs by pitching in  20 points off the bench to go with 11 rebounds. Rookie Evan Mobley was efficient once again, converting on 50% of his field-goal attempts, finishing with 15 points. The young man is improving offensively every night so far this season.

After a big yet ugly win like last night, let’s check out who I thought was the stud and the dud of the victory over the Knicks.