The Cleveland Cavaliers were hoping to come out and dominate in Game 3 against the New York Knicks on Friday and silence Madison Square Garden. Instead, it was the total opposite. The Cavs were blown out 99-79 and became the first team in 2022-23 to score fewer than 80 points. As you could imagine, fans were not the least bit pleased with how things went down.
Here are some of the best reactions from Cavs’ Twitter.
Cavs lost … correction, were destroyed on my son’s birthday. Worst birthday ever.
Not really but you know what I mean.
— Tony Young (@TonyEYoung) April 22, 2023
I actually am all here for Cavs slander but starting tmr it’s all business and we look toward game 4, as far as I’m concerned game 3 never happened once we take up tmr
— Karl Roy (@KarlRoyy) April 22, 2023
I know the Cavs are much better than they played tonight, but they need to prove it Sunday. Wow. That was BAD.
— Ryan (@Ryan_Rack18) April 22, 2023
I wanted the Cavs man they literally have no one outside Mitchell doing anything. But that's why they're getting smacked by the Knicks
— DJ_B0B- (@DJ_B0B) April 22, 2023
Being held down to under 80pts in 4 qtrs of basketball is crazy, have some shame @cavs
— Boogie (@itsianmaina) April 22, 2023
This is the WORST game played by this years Cavs team.
— michael harris (@michael42388118) April 22, 2023
In all honesty, that was truly a brutal showing from the Cavs. They literally shot the ball 39% from the field, 21% from downtown, and 59% from the free-throw line. Donovan Mitchell registered 22 points but even he wasn’t sharp. Everyone else in the rotation played atrocious, most notably Darius Garland. Cleveland needed him to step up but the guard had just 10 points on 4 for 21 shooting.
The Cavs have failed to show any consistency so far in the series and it won’t get any easier in Game 4 playing at MSG where the crowd will be absolutely fired up. Aside from the offensive struggles, JB Bickerstaff’s squad also coughed up the rock 20 times. Certainly not a recipe for success.
While neither team scored much in this contest, Cleveland was by far much worse. On a more positive note, the Cavs have been a resilient team all season long and Friday’s brutal loss should be a serious wake-up call. Falling into a 3-1 hole is certainly not where they want to be heading back home having to win three in a row. Time to buckle down and respond with authority in Game 4 Sunday afternoon.