Recap: Knicks 123, Cavs 107 (Or, The time the Knicks made the playoffs)

Overview: The New York Knicks outscored the Cavs by 11 points in the final quarter of a 123-107 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. The New York Knicks will be heading to the playoffs. The Cavaliers will not be.

We’re getting very near the end now bullets:

So it turns out the Cavs can’t really play defense. Who knew? (Other than everybody.) Billups set the tone for the Knicks early, and the rest of the game was essentially a march to the free throw line for the Knicks, with some wide-open threes thrown in for good measure.

The Cavs were able to cut the lead to two points when the Knicks briefly went cold in the third quarter, but the Knicks pulled right back away after a layup and a few threes. The Cavs never really threatened again.

How do you get blown out while shooting better than 50% from the field? Sloppy play. 22 turnovers, 24 fouls, and 10 missed free throws. This is not a team that can afford to get sloppy.

Some individual bullets:

– Ryan Hollins fouled out in 20 minutes. What were the odds?

– Baron shot well from deep again (seriously, what is going on there?), and did a good job running the offense when he was in — believe it or not, the Cavs were actually +12 when Baron was on the floor.

– Ramon got eight assists, but he was torched on defense and shot poorly.

– Another solid game for Hickson. I’ll put it this way: I’m not completely sold on him by any stretch of the imagination, but I’m glad he’ll be back.

Another loss. Another poor defensive showing. Another game closer to a draft that looks thinner and thinner with the passing of each day. Hooray.