New York Knicks beat Cleveland Cavaliers 121-108 on the road on Saturday, May 23, never trailing at a quarter break.
How it unfolded
The Knicks led at every quarter break. The cushion peaked at 13 after the fourth quarter and the Cavaliers never got back in front at a break.
What decided it
The Knicks cashed in 31.2 free throws for every 100 shots, the Cavaliers only 14.3 and the Knicks shot 63% on an effective basis to 57.1% for the Cavaliers. Getting to the line gave them easy points when the shots were not falling.
The game played at about 98 possessions per team. The Knicks scored 124 points per 100 possessions and the Cavaliers scored 110.6, a difference of 13.4.
Who made the difference
Mikal Bridges (NYK) posted the best line of the night by Game Score (21.9): 22 pts, 6 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl on 11-15 shooting. The team was +19 in the minutes Mikal played.
Game Score is a single number that weighs points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, shooting efficiency, fouls and turnovers. It is not an official stat, just a quick way to rank lines.
What it means
The pre-game Win Meter had it close to a coin flip, at about 53% for the Knicks.
Across the last 9 meetings in our records, Cleveland Cavaliers lead 5-4.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.