Cleveland Browns quarterback Myles Garrett was one of thousands of attendees at the Rocket Arena for the matchup between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the New York Knicks. The 30-year-old even did the honorary sword pull in front of thousands of supporters to hype up fans as the Cavs came all guns blazing in a commanding 109-94 victory.
Garrett was seen hailing the crowd as he proceeded to pull the sword with a grin on his face a the crowd around him erupted, per a post on X by Cleveland 19 News’ Leah Doherty. And well, the crowd had every reason to erupt.
The Cleveland Cavaliers tied the New York Knicks for the third seed, with both teams now sitting at 37-22. While the Knicks still technically hold the crucial head-to-head tiebreaker by taking two of the three season matchups, Cleveland is in scary form.
The Cavs have now won eight of their last nine, boasting a league-best 13-2 record since January 21st, and have gone 6-1 since James Harden arrived into this lineup. The Knicks were dared to shoot from deep and completely froze, managing a staggering 11 points on 3-of-24 shooting from the floor in the third frame, including an abysmal 1-of-12 from beyond the arc.
By walling off the paint and holding New York to just 1-of-3 shooting at the rim in that same 12-minute stretch, the Cavaliers engineered a 23-11 quarter. It marked New York’s worst shooting quarter since a 2018 matchup against Boston, shifting a tight six-point halftime margin into an insurmountable 20-point blowout by the fourth.
Offensively, all five starters reached double figures. Jarrett Allen put up 19 points on a near-perfect 7-of-8 shooting clip to go with 10 rebounds, marking his eighth double-double in nine games.
Cleveland continues to be nearly unbeatable (19-2) when Allen scores 15 or more. Donovan Mitchell paced the team with 23 points while Harden chipped in 20 points despite attempting zero free throws. Dean Wade also deserved a nod for a massive bounce-back performance, finishing with 11 points, eight boards, and a team-best +22 plus/minus.
For the Knicks, the offensive engine simply sputtered out against a dialed-in Cleveland defense that held its opponent under 100 points for the seventh time this season. The starting backcourt of Jalen Brunson (20 points) and Mikal Bridges (18 points) struggled with efficiency, combining to shoot just 12-of-36 from the field. Karl-Anthony Towns added 14 points but had five turnovers.