4 key takeaways from Cavaliers embarrassing loss to Knicks in Game 3

No. 2: Cavaliers were ineffective from long-range in the first half

At intermission, New York was up 45-32. Over 45% of Cleveland’s shot attempts were 3-pointers (19), and the visitors made just two, courtesy of Spida and Okoro.

Over a handful of Cleveland’s misses were open-enough looks that usually zip through the nylon. On the other fruitless attempts, New York closed out to shooters on time or stayed in front of the ball handler to force a pull-up.

RJ Barrett got through Evan Mobley’s pin down to bother Cedi Osman’s wing jumper. Josh Hart raced from below the rim to the corner to hassle Danny Green’s vain trifecta. Darius Garland couldn’t get Obi Toppin to bite on his fake at the key and took a tough shot over a much-taller man.

In round one, the Knicks have primarily defended pick-and-roll in drop coverage. In one sequence in quarter one, Mitchell Robinson switched onto Spida and blocked a 25-foot jump shot coming off a pick.

Through 24 minutes, Cleveland’s starting backcourt made one out of 10 triples. In the second half, the Cavaliers converted 35.7% of deep looks. LeVert was the only teammate to record more than one 3-pointer (3).

No. 3: Cavaliers fall behind playing at a quicker pace in the first half

Neither of these clubs is recognized for consistently boat racing opponents down the floor, but New York pushed the pace in the first half to a 102-rating. The tempo resulted in the hosts taking three more shots in the period, despite Cleveland recovering three more offensive rebounds.

Operating at this speed, the Cavaliers made just 31% of attempts and 10% of 3-point tries.