The New York Knicks will end the 2024-25 regular season having lost at least three of the four games they played against the Cleveland Cavaliers. It's a disheartening development, as the team is currently 0-3 against Cleveland with just one more game to be played.
Thankfully, the Knicks gained a colossal reason for optimism during their most recent encounter with the Cavaliers—even if it was discovered in a 124-105 loss.
Six players scored in double-figures for Cleveland, which improved to 61-15 on the season. Donovan Mitchell thrived yet again against New York, posting a game-high 27 points after tallying 25 and 27 respectively in the two prior meetings in 2024-25.
With that in mind, it's admittedly difficult to speak too positively about the Knicks after they struggled to shut down the Cavaliers' franchise player once again.
The silver lining to emerge from the 19-point loss, however, is that New York seemed to figure out how to stop another area of Cleveland's offense. Yes, the Cavaliers shot 53.2 percent from the field, but the Knicks finally found an answer to their three-point defensive woes.
After getting torched by Cleveland from distance in the previous game, New York forced the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference to shoot just 32.4 percent from distance in their third meeting.
Knicks finally found a way to shut down Cavaliers' three-point shooting
The Cavaliers buried an astounding 19 three-point field goals during a 142-105 decimation of the Knicks on Feb. 21. Eight different players buried triples for Cleveland, thus exposing what has been a consistent issue for New York in 2024-25: Perimeter defense.
As the playoffs near and the pressure to gain a full head of steam mounts, however, the Knicks forced the Cavaliers to shoot just 12-of-32 from beyond the arc this time around.
It's a significant development on multiple fronts. For one, Cleveland ranks No. 2 in the NBA in three-point field goals made per game, while New York places a devastating No. 27 in opponent three-point field goal percentage.
That seemingly implied that the Cavaliers would be a matchup nightmare for the Knicks come the playoffs, during which time the three-ball alone can break a game open.
The bigger development, however, is that the Knicks seem to be growing as a team despite the absence of superstar Jalen Brunson. That may be the most significant development of all, as New York could've easily entered into a holding pattern until he returned.
Instead, the team is experiencing significant growth in key areas, including their defense of the three-point shot against a team they may very well face in the playoffs.
New York's championship dreams rest squarely on Brunson returning to 100 percent, but the team around him will need to step up, as well. Thankfully, Karl-Anthony Towns looks more assertive, OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges have made unexpected leaps as scorers, and the defense is working on its primary areas of weakness.
Perhaps it's an overly optimistic viewpoint, but the Knicks figuring out how to defend Cleveland's outside shot is a significant development with postseason ramifications.