Knicks: J.B. Bickerstaff fails to admit MSG crowd rattled Cavaliers

The Cavaliers got a taste of what it was like to be at MSG playing the New York Knicks during the postseason over the weekend. Cleveland didn’t stand a chance in Game 3, scoring only 79 points and losing by 20. Game 4 was closer after the Cavaliers battled back in the second half, but they still wound up losing by nine.

The Knicks not only outplayed the Cavaliers in both games in New York but took a 3-1 series lead, meaning that the Knicks need to win only one of the next three games to advance. The series isn’t over yet, but many didn’t expect New York to absolutely dominate Cleveland in three of the first four games, much less at all.

In his first two playoff games at MSG, Jalen Brunson averaged 25 points and shot 52.5% from the field and 38.5% from deep. He was by far the best guard on the floor in Games 3 and 4. At the end of both games, Brunson gave the fans that packed into the Garden a shoutout for what was an electric atmosphere.

Many attributed the Cavaliers’ poor shooting and inability to stop the Knicks in Game 3 to the MSG Crowd, but Cleveland head coach J.B. Bickerstaff wouldn’t admit that the rowdy atmosphere affected his team.

J.B. Bickerstaff says Knicks fans at MSG didn’t negatively affect Cavaliers

Donovan Mitchell said that Cleveland came out “a little too hype” in Game 3 and J.B. Bickerstaff echoed Mitchell’s words. The overexcitement took over.

The Cavaliers are a young group, but the Knicks’ Game 3 and 4 wins proved how much of an advantage MSG truly is. It was the first time in 10 years that New York played in front of a full crowd at the Garden in the playoffs. The noise was deafening.

Cleveland is back in the playoffs for the first time since 2018 when LeBron James was still in town. Every arena turns up a notch for the postseason, but the Knicks have the benefit of calling Madison Square Garden home rather than Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Bickerstaff clearly isn’t going to attribute some of the Cavaliers’ shakiness to MSG, but it’s hard to imagine not being affected by what was happening outside of the lines.

Hopefully, the Knicks won’t be back at the Garden this series. A Game 5 win in Cleveland on Wednesday would push New York to the second round to face the winner of the Milwaukee-Miami series.

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