NEW YORK – The New York Knicks traded for Karl-Anthony Towns to be Robin to Jalen Brunson’s Batman.
But on the night Brunson struggled to make shots, Towns also had a quiet night.
The Cleveland Cavaliers constantly threw double teams at Towns while collapsing on Brunson in the paint as they overcame a 13-point deficit to defeat the Knicks, 110-104, Monday (Tuesday Manila time) at Madison Square Garden.
Darius Garland scored 15 of his game-high 34 points in the fourth quarter to rally the Cavaliers.
Brunson led the Knicks with 21 points but was held to 8-of-24 shooting, while Towns scored only 13 on eight attempts.
“Some of it, I want the game to tell him what to do. Some of it is he's getting double-teamed in the post,” Thibodeau said of Towns’ quiet offense. “And then there's different ways. You've got to get in there as well. We got to search that out. And whether it's the transition, post-ups or off of what's going on in the game with cutting and movement, we got to find the good read.”
Brunson took the blame for the Knicks’ second loss in three starts, specifically for not involving Towns on offense as much as needed.
"As good as Karl is, no one can really take him out of a game,” Brunson told reporters. “It's on us. It's on me as a teammate to make sure we're all on the same page and everyone is eating. I gotta be better when it comes to that. I gotta adjust and I gotta see.”
Yet the Knicks led by 13 in the second half despite their top two stars’ quiet night offensively because of Josh Hart’s heart and hustle.
Hart had 16 points, 13 rebounds, three steals and two assists for his consecutive double-double performance.
The Knicks were in control until Brunson hobbled in the third quarter after hurting his ankle.
Cleveland took advantage with Brunson sitting out the final 3:58 of the third quarter, cutting a 72-61 deficit to 78-74 heading into the fourth quarter.
Brunson checked back in the fourth quarter but never got into a rhythm. He was 3-of-9 from the floor.
And when the Cavaliers took the lead and the momentum, the Knicks lost Hart, who got hurt with 4:45 left in the game.
Hart exited after he was tripped during a loose ball scramble. He never returned, and the Knicks never got back in the game, too.
Garland hit back-to-back 3-pointers after Hart’s final two free throws before limping to the locker room as the Cavaliers built a 99-93 cushion with 3:51 remaining.
The Cavaliers took away the Knicks’ offensive rebounding. After crashing for 11 offensive rebounds in the first half, the Knicks only had two in the second half.
Despite the hype surrounding the Knicks trying to mirror Boston’s spread-out offense following the pair of blockbuster trades for Mikal Bridges and Towns, they struggled anew from the 3-point line.
The Knicks only hit 9-of-28 from long distance.
“We have to generate more,” Thibodeau said.
Through the first three games, the Knicks ranked last in 3-point attempts in the NBA with only 28.3 per game.
In stark contrast, the Celtics lead the league by a mile — attempting 50.3 per game and making 21.5, which is equivalent to 64.5 points.
“I’ve got to watch tape,” Towns told reporters. “It’s as simple as that. We’ve got to watch the tape to see how we can get more threes. Obviously, Boston has something in place that they showed. Maybe there’s something to learn from.”
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Alder Almo is a former senior sportswriter for Philstar.com and NBA.com Philippines. He is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey, and writes for US-based publications Heavy.com and Athlonsports.com.