Kenny Atkinson summed it up perfectly after Game 2: “You’ve got to pick your poison.” The trouble for the Cleveland Cavaliers was that Jalen Brunson made both options look like the wrong choice.
Throughout Wednesday night, Cleveland focused on limiting Brunson’s scoring. They blitzed him, doubled the ball, and forced him into a different role. In a narrow sense, the plan worked. Brunson didn’t dominate as a scorer.
Instead, he finished with 19 points and a playoff career-high 14 assists in the New York Knicks’ 109-93 win, and that stat line told the real story.
The Knicks didn’t need Brunson to fill up the scoresheet. They needed him to trust his teammates, move the ball early, and let the system break down Cleveland’s rotations. That’s exactly what he did.
Brunson gave Cleveland a different problem
Brunson’s usage rate in Game 2 was just 24.1, his fourth-lowest in 54 playoff games with the Knicks. That is not a number you would expect for a player who often carries so much of the offence.
But Cleveland still loaded up on him. Brunson’s answer was simple: get off the ball early, then find his way back into the play after the defence had already shifted.
“They were sending two to the ball, and I was able to find my teammates and we were knocking shots down,” Brunson said afterwards.
He didn’t force the issue. He let the defence dictate the terms, then used their aggression against them.
The Knicks got all five starters into the game
The result was a level of balance Cleveland didn’t want to see.
Josh Hart scored 26, Karl-Anthony Towns had 18 points and 13 rebounds, Mikal Bridges added 19, and OG Anunoby finished with 14. Brunson’s 19 rounded out a night where all five Knicks starters hit double figures.
The distribution mattered more than the totals. Brunson’s passing allowed everyone to find rhythm without any one player dominating the ball for long stretches.
It also created clean looks on the second side. Hart found space from deep, Towns got early touches before defenders could reset, and Bridges attacked gaps that only opened because the defence was already leaning towards Brunson.
Cleveland’s defensive choice backfired
Atkinson defended the strategy afterwards but admitted the risk: “You’ve got to pick your poison. That’s what the playoffs are about. We took away some of the scoring options, blitzed him, gave him different looks. He made the right reads, right plays.”
That was the difference. Cleveland didn’t lose because the scheme was wrong, but because Brunson adapted quickly enough to make the rotations behind it feel late every time.
Once the Cavs sent extra help, the Knicks played against a tilted floor. Brunson hit the release valve, the ball kept moving, and Cleveland spent too many possessions chasing from behind.
The Cavaliers have to decide what they can live with
Now the Cavaliers head into Game 3 facing a real dilemma.
They can keep sending extra attention Brunson’s way and hope the rest of the Knicks cool off, or they can pull back and challenge him to beat them as a scorer again. Neither option feels comfortable right now.
Game 2 showed the risk of committing too hard to one plan. If Brunson is happy to trade a big scoring night for high assist numbers, and the Knicks keep capitalising, Cleveland might be asking the wrong question altogether.
They tried to limit Brunson the scorer, and ended up unlocking a more complete Knicks offence in the process.
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