Cleveland Cavaliers dismantle New York Knicks 107-90 in Game 2 as Darius Garland scores 32 points

Darius Garland scored 32 points while setting an aggressive tone for Cleveland in the first half as the Cavaliers evened their Eastern Conference playoff series against the New York Knicks at one game apiece with a 107-90 victory on Tuesday night.

Garland scored 15 points in the second quarter, when Cleveland tightened down defensively and dominated New York, forcing nine turnovers on the way to opening a 20-point halftime lead. The Cavs pushed their lead to 29 in the fourth.

Cleveland’s blowout ended with a hard foul.

New York was still down 23 and playing its starters when Julius Randle was hit in the air by Cavs center Jarrett Allen on a dunk with 2:22 left. 

Randle fell hard to the floor, and after getting up, exchanged words with several Cavs players and coach J.B. Bickerstaff.

The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the New York Knicks 107-90 to win Game 2 of their series

Darius Garland led the way for the Cavaliers with 32 points on 8-17 shooting from the field

Cleveland was able to tie the series up at 1-1 as the sides head to New York for Game 3 on Friday

Caris LeVert scored 24 points off the bench and Donovan Mitchell added 17 and a career playoff-high 13 assists for the Cavs, who were much more physical than in Game 1 and went toe to toe with the Knicks.

Randle scored 22 points and Jalen Brunson added 20 for New York, which got the split it needed in rowdy Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse to head home for Game 3 at Madison Square Garden on Friday night.

There was also a moment in the game where Randle accidentally slapped Brunson in the eye, summing up the Knicks’ night. 

The Cavs matched the Knicks’ physicality from the outset, winning the 50/50 balls that went to New York in the opener.

And if handling Cleveland’s new-found toughness wasn’t enough of a challenge, the Knicks bashed each other.

During one sequence in the second quarter as the Cavs were beginning to pull away, Randle turned to run up the floor and accidentally smacked Brunson in the face, causing his teammate to recoil in pain.

Garland inflicted his own damage.

The 23-year-old was timid in his playoff debut, failing to take a shot in the fourth quarter and finishing with just one assist in 43 minutes on Saturday.

Following practice Monday, he had a deep conversation with Mitchell, who urged his young teammate to be more forceful.

Julius Randle suffered a hard fall towards the end of the game but was able to continue

Randle and Jalen Brunson led the way for the Knicks with 22 and 20 points respectively

Garland got the message.

He drained a pair of 3-pointers during a 13-4 run in the second quarter and then showed no fear when he drove to the basket and tried to dunk over 7-foot Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein, who got away with goaltending while fouling Cleveland’s guard.

The Cavs bench erupted at seeing Garland’s bravado, and Mitchell slapped his hands before urging the sellout crowd to recognize him. The moment seemed to rattle the Knicks as New York’s Josh Hart was called for a technical foul.

After the Cavs were pushed around and badly outrebounded in Game 1, Bickerstaff wanted his team to be the early aggressor.

‘I’d like to see our guys being the ones that are putting a body on somebody and creating some contact and making some collisions happen and then see what happens from there,’ he said.

Cleveland fell behind by eight early, but sparked by Garland’s two 3-pointers, the Cavs went on a 15-3 run and took a 25-22 lead after one.

Donovan Mitchell recorded a double-double with 17 points and 13 assists in the victory

Caris Levert made a tremendous impact off the bench with 24 points in 40 minutes of action