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Cavs’ Kenny Atkinson blames lack of ‘juice’ for Game 2 letdown vs. Knicks
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- Cavs’ Kenny Atkinson blames lack of ‘juice’ for Game 2 letdown vs. Knicks
Cavs' Kenny Atkinson blames lack of 'juice' for Game 2 letdown vs. Knicks appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The Cleveland Cavaliers find themselves in a familiar spot; for the second consecutive series, they are down 2-0 after losing the first two games on the road. However, the difference is that the Cavs are no longer facing a Detroit Pistons team that relies so much on Cade Cunningham to do everything. They are now up against a New York Knicks team that's currently in the middle of a nine-game winning streak dating back to the first round of the playoffs.
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The Cavs looked energized in the first half of Game 2, as they looked to redeem themselves after sputtering towards the end of what ended up being a horrific collapse in Game 1 from 22 points up. They were only down four points at the half, 53-49, and were well and truly in the game. But the Knicks took over in the third quarter, outscoring the Cavs by 11 and essentially running away with it en route to a 109-93 Game 2 victory.
After the game, Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson attributed this Game 2 defeat to his team's inability to match the Knicks' energy on both ends of the floor.
"We need to get our legs under us, quite honestly…definitely didn't have the juice we needed to," Atkinson said in his postgame presser, per Danny Cunningham of The Inside Shot.
Perhaps getting back on track at home is exactly what this Cavs team needs. But it's clear that the Knicks are simply outworking them, especially in terms of offensive execution. The ball was popping around for New York, and they ended up recording 32 assists as a team on 44 made field goals.
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Meanwhile, the Cavs just shot 38.8 percent from the field and 25.7 percent from deep, and their offensive woes snowballed the more the Knicks were able to get their defense set by making shots.
Cleveland's season is on the line yet again , but if this year has taught anyone anything, it's that this Cavs team is a resilient bunch.
Related: Donovan Mitchell bluntly shuts down fatigue concerns after Cavs' Game 2 loss
Related: Fans roast Cavs' Dennis Schroder for wasting no time with 0-2 Instagram post
