Cavaliers Overcome First Adversity Of Season In Win Over Knicks

Cleveland overcame a 13-point deficit in the second half to defeat New York on Monday night.

Oct 28, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) drives to the basket while being defended by New York Knicks guard Cameron Payne (1) and New York Knicks forward Mikal Bridges (25) during the second half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images / John Jones-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Cavaliers cruised through their first three games to begin the 2024-25 season.

Cleveland went 3-0 during this span, compiling a +61 point differential and facing a maximum deficit of just seven points.

However, the Wine and Gold faced their first adversity of the year on Monday night against the New York Knicks, trailing in the second half for the first time this season.

The Cavaliers faced their largest deficit of the game in the third quarter, falling behind 72-59 with 4:29 left in the period. But Cleveland proved to be resilient, outscoring the Knicks 51-32 the rest of the way to win 110-104 and move to 4-0 on the year.

"I felt we kept our composure," Cavaliers Head Coach Kenny Atkinson said after the game. "We made a few mistakes. I like that they were aggressive mistakes, we weren't on our heels. But we really kept our composure."

Oct 28, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) drives to the basket while being defended by New York Knicks guard Cameron Payne (1) and New York Knicks forward Mikal Bridges (25) during the second half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images / John Jones-Imagn Images

A strong fourth quarter helped propel the Wine and Gold to their fourth straight victory. Over the final 12 minutes, the Cavaliers shot 11-for-17 (64.7%) from the field and 5-for-7 (71.4%) from three-point range, holding New York to just 8-for-21 (38.1%) and 1-for-5 (20%), respectively.

Cleveland's star backcourt of Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell combined to score 24 of the team's 36 points in the final period, compared to the Knicks' 26 points as a team.

Defensively, the Wine and Gold recorded four of their five blocks in the fourth quarter, with Garland and Evan Mobley collecting two apiece.

After an off day on Tuesday, the Cavaliers will seek a 5-0 start to the season when they host the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday, October 30 at 7 p.m.