344 - Knicks Take Control as Hart leads the Knicks to a 109-93 Game 2 win!

A 16-point Eastern Conference Finals win is satisfying on its own. A 16-point win where Jalen Brunson doesn’t need to play Superman is the kind of signal Knicks fans have been waiting for. We’re coming off New York’s 109-93 Game 2 win that pushes the series to 2-0, stretches the Knicks’ playoff streak to nine straight, and puts them just two wins from the NBA Finals.

I walk through how the night actually unfolds: a slow start, cold three-point shooting early, and Cleveland’s defense keeping things tight, before one swing player flips the floor. Josh Hart goes from early misses to raining open threes, forcing the Cavs to stop loading up on Brunson and giving the Knicks the spacing they need to run cleaner offense. From there, the supporting cast keeps stacking winning plays, with Mikal Bridges staying scorching hot and hitting shots that feel back-breaking, not just pretty.

I also dig into the “quiet glue” parts of the win: OG Anunoby’s timely buckets and elite defense, Karl-Anthony Towns settling in after a tougher Game 1, and the rotation questions that still matter, including Deuce McBride needing more and Mitchell Robinson’s ongoing free-throw problem with Hack-a-Mitch always lurking. Finally, I hit the box score, the key stats, and what has to travel as the Knicks head to Cleveland for Game 3.

If you’re following the Knicks playoff run and want a fast, honest postgame breakdown, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review. What adjustment do you think Cleveland makes next?

Jersey Guy Sports is available on all podcasting platforms. 

• Listen on Spotify
• Listen on Apple Podcasts 
• Listen on YouTube
• Listen on PocketCasts
• Listen on iHeart Radio
• Listen on Amazon Music
• Listen on TuneIn and Alexa
• Listen on other podcasting platforms here

Socials

•  Facebook, JGS Twitter, Threads, Youtub...

Transcript

Welcome And The Big Picture

SPEAKER_00 0:10

Welcome to Jersey Guy Sports, your sports off goal for the Yangs, the Giants, the Knicks, the Rangers, and the Rugger Frog Knights. I'm your host, Don. I want to thank you for listening. Today I'm going to be discussing the New York Knicks pulled away in game two of the Easter Conference Finals and cruise to a 109.93 win to take a 2-0 series lead. So let's go ahead and get started.

Game 2 Recap And Nine Straight

SPEAKER_00 1:05

Yeah, baby. Two nothing series lead for the Knicks. Let's get into it. So one night after Jalen Brunson was forced to play Superman and dragged the Knicks off the canvas for an epic comeback after a 22.4th quarter deficit, the Knicks tonight pulled away from the Cavs, winning fairly easily 109.93. And with that win, the Knicks have now taken a comfortable 2-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference Finals and are a mere two wins away from a berth in the NBA Finals. Woo! And even more impressive than that, the Knicks have won nine straight playoff games at this point. Nine! God, you gotta love that, man. Nine straight playoff wins. How about that, Knicks? If you're a Knicks fan, you gotta be happy tonight. They did not need Brunson to be Superman, as I mentioned, because we got contributions from well, lots of players up and down the lineups. Although there's a few that did not contribute tonight, and we're gonna see, you know, how they do going forward. The Knicks did start a bit slow in this one, actually, and there's not a lot to talk about, I have to say. So I wanted to do a quick, you know, hot take post-game podcast here, but there wasn't a whole lot of meat in this game. The Knicks kind of just, you know, held their own and then pulled away in the end through a very good team effort. But

Slow Start Then Hart Heats Up

SPEAKER_00 2:35

in the beginning, the Knicks did start a bit slow. The Knicks trailed midway through the first quarter. They were not hitting threes at all. Yeah, you know, and and give Cleveland credit too, they played pretty well early, particularly on defense. And after getting benched in game one for really bad shooting, Josh Hart started game two by missing his first three three-pointers, but then Hart caught fire. He was left wide open for most of the game, and Hart buried three-pointer after three-pointer after three-pointer after his first three misses there in a game where really not many threes were going down, especially early for the Knicks. So we really needed Josh Hart or someone to step up in this game early, and Hart did, because in the beginning it looked like his troubles were going to be continuing. He missed one, he missed another one, he missed another one, and then he hit one, and then he hit another, and then he hit another, and they kept leaving him so open. I mean, he had 10 feet of open space in front of him multiple times tonight, and Hart, you know, is going to force Cleveland to play a little bit differently now, which is great. That's exactly what you want them to do. You don't want Cleveland to be able to double team Brunson or Cad or OG or anyone else, and you want them to make sure, you know, the other people have room as well. And Hart went a long way tonight to contributing to that. Hart had 26 points, bunch of rebounds, played an outstanding game. So Hart, more than almost anyone tonight, really helped the Knicks, you know, hang in there and then eventually pull away in this game for a 109-93 victory in the Eastern Conference Finals. It was an important turnaround for Hart. So I think his confidence was shaken. He was benched at the end of game one. You know, you don't want that happening. So we didn't really need Landy Shaman or some of the others today, and that's actually a good thing in the end. The Knicks got good contributions actually by a host of players, not named Chaylon Brunson tonight. Bridges

Mikal Bridges Stays Automatic

SPEAKER_00 4:43

in particular had another very strong game. And I can't get over how well Mikhail Bridges is playing in these last eight, nine playoff games. Just unbelievably good shooting and good play, particularly for a player that I really, really was down on for much of the season and for early in the playoffs. That Atlanta series, he started out terribly. So eight full games of play shooting over 70% from the field, and not just numbers. Like he hit some key shots in key spots in the last eight games, particularly in that 22-point comeback in game one. It wasn't just Brunson, but it was certainly a lot of Brunson at the end, but there were two big three-pointers that Bridges hit during that 22-point comeback that kept the Knicks alive. One of them as a shot clock was going off, a fadeaway three-pointer, another one from the corner. Bridges has played really, really well, not only, you know, when it didn't matter, but in clutch time too. And again, this game, again, he played very, very well and hit some shots in big spots. And you know, I gotta give him his prop because I have been killing Brunson most of the year. But honestly, right now, what can you say? Bridges is playing about as well as he has ever played for the Knicks at this point. I know we had a pretty good playoffs last year, but I don't think it was quite this good. I think Bridges right now is you know the his best self at this point. And I think, you know, if the Knicks are going to get through this series and, you know, win an NBA championship, they are going to need Bridges at full throttle and playing elite basketball like he is now, because he is a key cog and he raises this Knicks offense to another level when he does it. So you have to give Bridges props. And and if you are a Knicks fan, you're probably as happy as I am to just see how stellar, immaculate his play has been over the last eight, nine games. So kudos to Mikhail Bridges. And that was one player, not named Brunson, who played well tonight. Another was

OG And Towns Deliver Timely Stops

SPEAKER_00 7:27

OG. Right? Ananobi was solid as ever, you know, and hit some timely shots, particularly when the Cavs are coming back. The Cav made a run, you know, in the fourth quarter, they cut the lead to seven or eight. You know, the Cavs were charging at other parts of the game. You know, the lead was back and forth, you know, early on. And, you know, at times when the Knicks falter, you know, there's a steadying force named OG Ananobi that sometimes hits shots when no one else is hitting shots. You know, it's not just Brunson that does that. OG has this effect where you know there's this ragged play, weird, you know, ill-timed shots, and and then, you know, all of a sudden OG will hit a three, or you know, he'll fake someone out, drive hard to the basket, you know, and and either dunk or or score. And he did that again today. He didn't have a ton of points, but you know, he scored in key spots, got some big rebounds, continued with his elite defense, and had another good game. So Bridges played well, OG played well, and Kat, Carl Anthony Towns played better. He had a cat had a tough game one, and I think Towns had a better overall game today. All around. I mean he hit some threes, really nice job there. He played better inside, played with more authority. Really all over. He took less dumbass fouls, you know. Not that he didn't take any, but he took a few, you know, much less than game one. So Kat, I think, really, you know, had a solid, solid, solid game. You know, he continues to get a lot of rebounds, he continues to get good assists, and he certainly scored from a range of spots on the floor tonight, and I think that really helped. Also, Deuce hit a few shots. He needs to be better overall. I think I think again, if the Knicks are gonna go all the way, we need some players to be better than they are now. One of them is Deuce. He didn't really do anything in game one, and he scored a few points here, but again, I'll have to look up his stats. They're gonna look at them in a minute and find out you know the exact scoring. But Deuce didn't seem to do too much and contribute. But, you know, Kat played well, OG played well, Bridges again played very well, and we already talked about Hart, who might have been the best player on the court today, shockingly. And you know, Brunson didn't have a particularly great game, although you know he came on in the second half, like he always does when it matters. But, you know, Bridges, OG, Kat, Hart all played very well, and I think that contributed to a strong team effort in a game that the Knicks, you know, they didn't casually, you know, take this game, but they certainly pulled away at the end in a game that was not with, you know, did not have a lot of drama, which I think as a Knicks fan you could stand for a while here, right? They

Rotation Concerns And Hack-A-Mitch

SPEAKER_00 10:26

also didn't get a lot, by the way. Not a lot from Mitch Robinson, not a lot from Deuce. Shamit didn't really play that much. So some of the people that had contributed in previous playoff games, not a lot here today. They did employ the Hackamich again, and Robinson missed a few free throws again. That is a continuing ongoing saga for Mitch Robinson. He has got to figure out a way to make some free throws. It's just, I don't know that there's any way around it because you're really hamstringing the coach if you can't be out there and have free throws. So something's got to change. Something's got to change. I do want to look up the stats and just talk about you know some of the individual play before I get out of here. This

Stat Check And Who Must Improve

SPEAKER_00 11:09

is gonna be a quick one. Let's see. OG Ananubi ended up with 14 points, so another solid game. He shot five of eight from the field. Um, you know, good on him. Two of four from three-point range. So, and he hit both his free throws. So, OG again, another solid, solid game. Uh, Hart, as I mentioned, was really kind of the player of the game. He was five of eleven on three-pointers today, which is great. Almost 50%, not bad. I ended up with 26 points. Really good job by him again. And he's another one that sort of always fills up the stat book, right? You look at every column and oh, he's got this many rebounds and this many assists and this many steals and this many blocks and this many points. And you know, he's one of those players that you know you don't think a lot's going on, then you look at it and he's and he's got every column you know filled up. Here's how many defensive rebounds he has. Look at all these again, he added seven assists tonight. He had two steals. Anyway, Josh Hart really, really played well. Carl Anthony Towns ended up with 18 points, a very solid 7 of 12 shooting, including hitting three of five three-pointers. So, you know, again, you know, Towns very, very good, and 13 rebounds, of course, for him. Bridges uh continues his spectacular shooting. 19 points on nine of 12 shooting. Again, he's just shooting the lights out. I it's just it's almost an unreal rate that he's shooting the basketball at. Just incredible, incredible shooting by Mikhail Bridges, and he definitely you know contributed here. And Jalen Brunson only only had 19 points, which is obviously an off game for him on seven of 16 shooting, and only one of seven from three-point land. But he did have 14 assists, so there is that for Brunson. And other than that, there wasn't a lot of contributors. Mitch only had four points. Shamet didn't have any. McBride, let me see. I was wondering. Yeah, he only had five points, Deuce, on two of nine shootings. So again, we need more from him. And then that's really it. Alvarado didn't score, and you know, Clarkson actually actually Clarkson played pretty well. He he's always a little spark. He came in and he had four points and two for two shooting. So that's how everybody did. Bottom line is it was a you know, not an easy win, but I would say a comfortable win. By the end, you know, it was an easier last two or three minutes than it was, you know, the entire game or fourth quarter. Because early in the fourth, and when they were charging the Cavs, you didn't know how the game was going to go. But by the end, the Knicks are kind of walking off the court with a 16-point win and a 2-0 series lead in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals. So good job, Knicks, who now go on the road to Cleveland. The game, the next game, game three, is in Cleveland on Saturday evening, I believe it is. And go, go, New York, go, New York, go. And

Game 3 Preview And Sign Off

SPEAKER_00 14:05

that's gonna do it for the podcast. Thank you for listening to Jersey Guy Sports. Please subscribe to the podcast, tell your friends all about it, and I'll be back soon with some more sports talk. Thanks and have a good day.