Dribbles: Cavs get physical, yeah physical, to race by Knicks and inch closer to East’s top spot

CLEVELAND — Random dribbles from the Cavaliers’ 124-105 home win over the New York Knicks on Wednesday. …

1. That is what you call a turnaround. That is also what you call 24 minutes of playoff-style basketball from your Cavaliers.

2. In the first half, the Knicks shot the lights out. They built a 15-point lead at one point. So Kenny Atkinson and his staff had another direct talk with the team at halftime. He swears there were zero water bottles thrown. But the message was delivered.

3. It said that the Cavs needed to do a better job of closing out on shooters. They needed to be more physical. In short, they needed to toughen up.

4. They responded. “They’re coachable,” Atkinson said. “You give them something and they’ll execute it.”

5. You could just see a new level of intensity. You don’t need to be an NBA expert. It was right there in front of you. Closeouts. Aggressiveness. Physical play under the hoop. The Cavs suddenly offered it all. New York had to be thinking, “Where did THIS come from?”

6. So make it six wins in seven games for the Cavs (61-15) — and another step closer to officially securing the top seed in the East. For the record, Boston offered a helping hand by losing to Miami on Wednesday. Cleveland’s magic number is now two, with just six games to go.

7. Offensively, the Cavs were mostly dynamite. That’s rarely an issue. Donovan Mitchell scored 27 on 10-of-18 shooting, with six rebounds, five assists, and three blocks. Three blocks from a guard is pretty remarkable.

8. Just ask Mitchell. “Maybe I will win Defensive Player of the Year,” he joked in the locker room, interrupting an Isaac Okoro session with reporters in the process.

9. Jarrett Allen was again remarkable, scoring 21 points on 10-of-11 from the field. He’s shooting 77 percent from the field over the last five games — and 91 percent in each of the last two.

10. Yet his most memorable play on this night may have been his swat of a Karl-Anthony Towns drive. You probably will see it on all the highlight shows. Allen gave the finger wave after the block. He also had a steal around midcourt and went in for a windmill dunk. 

11. Allen said he wanted the dunk to resemble something once thrown down by LeBron James. He added that he watched a LeBron video after the game, and his own dunk was nowhere close. But hey, “A” for effort. It was still impressive.

12. More importantly, it showed once again how defense can lead to some amazing offense. “We wanted them to pick up the energy in the second half,” Atkinson said. “Guys executed.”

13. Darius Garland added 17 points and six assists, rarely forcing a thing. He had a quieter game by his standards — yet still made a major impact on winning. De’Andre Hunter scored 16, Evan Mobley 13, and Okoro 11. 

14. Overall, this was one of the best games of the season for Okoro. As usual, he made a big difference defensively, forcing OG Anunoby and other Knicks to work extra hard for a decent look at the hoop. It’s just The Okoro Way.

15. Okoro on his main contributions: “Guarding the opposing team’s best player. Causing havoc on the defensive end.”

16. He wasn’t alone in that department on Wednesday. “I think it was our physicality overall,” Okoro said. “We started dictating where they could go and creating turnovers.”

17. It’s hard to remember the Knicks (48-28) ever led this game by 15. But with about 3 minutes to go, Atkinson was able to empty his bench. 

18. The Knicks were without All-Star guard Jalen Brunson and center Mitchell Robinson. They are clinging to a three-game lead over Indiana for third in the East. Towns led the way with 25 points and 13 rebounds. Anunoby scored 23.

19. By the way, the Cavaliers limited the Knicks to 1-of-15 shooting on 3-pointers in the second half. So, yeah. Physical.

20. The Cavs were without Dean Wade (illness) and Ty Jerome (knee). Jerome has now missed four straight. But no worries. “If it were a playoff game, he’d play,” Atkinson said.

20. Hey, Coach, it wasn’t a playoff game, but it sort of resembled one. And the Cavs should be feeling pretty good about the results.

• Box Score | Cavs 124, Knicks 105
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