NBA playoffs: Knicks hold stro...

NEW YORK — All season long, the Cleveland Cavaliers made their bones on the defensive end of the court, topping the charts in points allowed per possession and holding 29 opponents under 100 points — by far the most of any team in the NBA.

The Cavs made it an even 30 on Friday night, holding the Knicks to just 99 points in Game 3 of their opening-round series and limiting New York to a rate of offensive efficiency (106.5 points per 100 possessions) that would’ve ranked dead last in the NBA during the regular season.

And yet: The Cavs lost by 20, thanks to one of the most dismal offensive displays you’re going to see in a playoff game.

Friday’s 99-79 beatdown marked the Cavs’ first 20-point loss of the season, and their lowest-scoring game of the season; in fact, it’s the first time in all of the 2022-23 campaign that any team in the NBA scored fewer than 80 in a game. Cleveland’s previous low-water mark for the season? An 81-point outing against … the Knicks, back on Dec. 4, in the first game after Tom Thibodeau tightened his rotation.

That December blowout sparked a run that would transform the Knicks from an under-.500 also-ran into one of the league’s best squads over the next four months, sending them on their way to 48 wins, the East’s No. 5 seed and a date with Cleveland in Round 1. This latest one gives New York a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven series, the chance to seize control with another win in Game 4 on Sunday and newfound confidence that — so long as they don’t beat themselves — they can dictate the terms of engagement to the higher-seeded Cavaliers.

The Cavs seemed rattled and might have overthought some things

Cleveland, on the other hand, played perhaps its messiest and worst-executed game of the season, at a pretty awful time for it.

Before the game, coach J.B. Bickerstaff fielded questions about Madison Square Garden — about whether he felt this building was a little bit different come the playoffs and about whether he had any concern that young charges like Game 2 hero Darius Garland and Evan Mobley might quake a bit while playing their first road playoff game in The World’s Most Famous Arena.

“I think if you allow the outside noise to overflow into the floor, you can overthink it, right?” Bickerstaff said. “At the end of the day, our message to our guys is, no matter what, it’s five-on-five basketball, and if you focus on the work that's in front of you, none of the other stuff that's outside the lines matters. … If you allow those things to be a distraction, they can impact you. But if you just go out and do the job that's in front of you, you'll be fine.”

The young Knicks finally showed up

While Garland and Mobley stumbled coming off strong performances in Game 2, New York’s prized prospects found steady footing. R.J. Barrett bounced back with a solid outing, scoring 19 points with eight rebounds, three assists and a steal. He attacked from the opening tip, looking to drive on the smaller Garland when the two were matched up, to turn the corner on handoffs and staggered screens to search for paint touches and to seize opportunities to sprint the floor in transition off defensive rebounds or turnovers (of which Cleveland committed 20, leading to 28 Knicks points).

“The thing about R.J. is, he’s very steady,” Thibodeau said after the game. “He doesn’t get rattled. I thought he was real aggressive today. We’ve got to get him into the open floor. When we do that, he’s going to make shots, he gets downhill, and he's tough to guard.”

Jalen Brunson got free with a little help from his friends

Quickley also played a role in helping Brunson get back into a groove after a 5-of-17 performance in Game 2. Quickley set seven ball screens for Brunson on Friday, according to Second Spectrum, joining Josh Hart (11 screens), Barrett (six screens) and Quentin Grimes (two screens before leaving the game with a left shoulder contusion) in the project of trying to force Cleveland’s guards to switch onto Brunson in the pick-and-roll.

“I feel like they made that adjustment and it was really good for them,” LeVert said after the game. “That’s definitely something that we can communicate better. I’ve got to do a better job of listening up top to the coverage and making sure I’m sending him in the right direction.”