Lackluster Cleveland Cavaliers fall to New York Knicks on the road

Cleveland Cavaliers continue to struggle on the road

The Cleveland Cavaliers still couldn’t find a rhythm away from home, surrendering a dreary 92-81 loss against the New York Knicks at the Madison Square Garden. The Cavs are now a disappointing 5-8 on the road despite their tremendous success playing at home thus far.

Everything seemed to go awry offensively for the Cavs in Manhattan, whether it is committing 19 turnovers, or 8-for-35 shooting from beyond the arc, it felt dreary as they trailed throughout and finished with a season-low in points against a struggling team.

Donovan Mitchell led the Cavs with 23 points and five assists in an anticlimatic homecoming while rising star Even Mobley continued his double-double streak with 11 points and 10 rebounds to go with four blocked shots in the ugly loss. There was inadequate help from everyone else.

The Knicks’ Jalen Brunson also matched Mitchell’s points total and had four other teammates score in double-figures for their 11th win of the season.

The Cavs will look to bounce back at home

A bright spot was that the team was playing up to par with their patented defense but just didn’t have any answers on the other end of the floor against the Knicks. Of course, never mind how good your defense is, scoring just 81 points simply won’t cut anymore it in today’s NBA.

A far cry from the usually dominant squad, the Cavs appeared to be playing lost in New York in a particularly painful game to watch.

In contrast, the Cavs have won 10 of their 11 games in front of a consistently sold-out home crowd thus far in the season–breaking a franchise and league record for having the best home start for any team since the 2016-17 team that reached the NBA Finals.

Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff will have to find a way to cure their woes on the road, where they often look like an entirely different team. Despite remaining in solo third at 15-9, there is always a risk of it all going downhill in a blink of an eye in the very competitive Eastern Conference.

The Cleveland Cavaliers will surely look to turn things around by protecting their nearly pristine home record as they return to the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse to host the Los Angeles Lakers on December 6.