The New York Knicks’ 107-90 loss to the Cavaliers on Tuesday night couldn’t have been much worse than it was. However, it nearly took an ugly turn with a little over two minutes left to play in the game.
Although the Knicks were down by 20+ points, Tom Thibodeau had both Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle still in the game. The team’s two most important players, so it’s not as if it were a big deal or anything. Please detect that sarcasm. It almost turned into a big deal when Randle went up for a fastbreak dunk and was met mid-air by Jarrett Allen, a Cavaliers starter that was still in the game.
Randle took a hard fall, landing on his back. He stayed down for less than a minute as every Knicks fan was holding their breath, and when he got up, he went straight to the locker room. Thibodeau took it as a sign to finally pull Brunson from the game. Allen was assessed a flagrant one foul.
After the game, Cleveland head coach J.B. Bickerstaff disagreed with Allen’s flagrant foul and said that it was nothing more than a “contest of a dunk.”
“It was a contest of a dunk. Why would one team play hard and one team not? It wasn’t a flagrant foul. Plain and simple.”#Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff on the flagrant foul called on Jarrett Allen late in the game.
— Evan Dammarell (@AmNotEvan) April 19, 2023
J.B. Bickerstaff disagrees with Jarrett Allen’s flagrant one foul on Knicks’ Julius Randle
Ahead of Game 2, there were many discussions about the Knicks’ physicality that helped to lead them to a Game 1 101-97 win. There were complaints about Randle’s physicality specifically. Isaac Okoro even went as far as to take a shot at Jalen Brunson for his “antics” that result in trips to the free throw line, even though Brunson shot 4-of-4 as did Okoro in Game 1.
J.B. Bickerstaff said after Saturday’s game that the Cavaliers needed to be more physical. Darius Garland said rather than taking the punches and lying down, Cleveland needed to fight back. That game plan worked to perfection for the Cavaliers on Tuesday. There’s nothing to say other than the Knicks got an embarrassing wake-up call. Nothing is going to come easy in the playoffs.
However, for Bickerstaff to say that it wasn’t a flagrant foul was a bit much. He made it seem as if it was acceptable for New York to play hard, but not Cleveland. That couldn’t have been more false. The officials were letting both teams go at it in Game 2, including a non-call on Allen after he should’ve been whistled for a moving screen on Brunson. Bickerstaff can’t act as if the Cavaliers weren’t being given an advantage as well.
Randle wasn’t happy with Allen’s actions. He sent what could come across as a threat to Allen. The center spent three-and-a-half seasons in Brooklyn with the Nets, so while he should be familiar with Knicks fans, he might not be ready for what’s coming for him in Game 3 at MSG.
Julius Randle on Jarrett Allen's foul:
— Stefan Bondy (@SBondyNYDN) April 19, 2023
"Thought it was a little unnecessary. ...Typically when you make those type of plays you go across their body, not through them. But it’s fine. It’s irrelevant. We’ll go back to the Garden, and see him there."
To be clear, it’s strictly Tom Thibodeau’s fault for leaving Julius Randle in the game, but let’s not try to pretend that Jarrett Allen’s foul wasn’t a flagrant. If the roles were reversed, J.B. Bickerstaff would likely have had an issue with it.
Knicks Twitter reacts to absolutely disastrous Game 2 loss to Cavaliers
After a great Game 1 win, the New York Knicks forgot how to play basketball in a horrid 107-90 loss to Darius Garland and the Cavaliers.