In the middle of the second quarter of Tuesday’s Game 2 between the Knicks and Cavaliers, TV cameras panned to New York’s Quentin Grimes, who was having the bloody insides of his mouth cleaned up by a team trainer.
The snapshot was a manhandling microcosm for the bullying nature of Cleveland’s defense, which held the Knicks to just 17 points in the period and 39 in the first half. Before halftime alone, the Cavs forced 14 turnovers—more than New York coughed up per game during the regular season—lifting them to a dominant 107–90 victory to even the series at one win each.
Cleveland’s comfortable victory was a haymaker to match the one the Knicks landed in Game 1, when Julius Randle, Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson threw their weight around at Quicken Loans Arena. New York has more postseason experience, and often looked the aggressor in the series opener. As such, a few Cavs told reporters they’d need to be more physical in Game 2.
