Cavs’ Mills, Phills Give Knicks The Chills
Chris Mills and Bobby Phills gave Cleveland the little bit of offense it needed, and the Cavaliers showed again Saturday why they have the NBA’s stingiest defense in 40 years.
Mills hit all four of his 3-pointers and scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half, and Phills also scored 21 points as the Cavs beat the New York Knicks 90-84 to tie the best-of-five playoff series at one apiece.
Mills, who played just 14 minutes and scored six points in Game One as the Cavaliers were routed 103-79, hit the biggest shot of the second game, a 3-pointer with 20 seconds left that gave them an 86-82 lead. The shot highlighted an 11-0 run that turned an 82-79 deficit into a 90-82 lead with 9.7 seconds left.
“When that shot dropped, it was a big relief because it felt like it put the game in our hands,” Mills said. “I didn’t hesitate in the second half. I put the ball right up. It seemed like the Knicks didn’t rotate to guard me as quickly as before.”
“That was a huge shot,” Cavs coach Mike Fratello said. “He caught it with confidence, stroked it and it was just huge.”
But it was defense that won the game for Cleveland. After allowing 63-percent shooting accuracy in Game One, the Cavs forced 26 turnovers and held the Knicks scoreless for 2:37 down the stretch.
“After the game they had the other night, like the pros they are, they were mentally right,” Knicks coach Pat Riley said of the Cavaliers.
Cleveland can win the series with victories at home Monday and Thursday, but the Cavs lost to the Knicks twice at Gund Arena during the regular season.
No one in the Cavs’ starting lineup scored in double figures in Game One, but all five did Saturday. Besides Mills and Phills, Mark Price scored 15 and Tyrone Hill and John Williams 10 each.
“New York’s defense was on the run a little more today,” Price said. “They had to chase down more passes and fight through more screens. We made it easy for them Thursday night.”
Cavaliers 90, Knicks 84
CLEVELAND (90)
Hill 3-4 4-8 10, Mills 7-10 3-3 21, J.Williams 4-10 2-2 10, Phills 6-9 9-10 21, Price 3-10 9-10 15, Colter 0-2 0-0 0, Campbell 2-3 0-0 5, Cage 4-4 0-0 8, Ferry 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-53 27-33 90.
NEW YORK (84)
Oakley 4-7 2-2 10, Smith 3-8 1-2 7, Ewing 6-12 9-12 21, Harper 2-8 3-4 7, Starks 8-15 2-3 21, Mason 2-2 6-8 10, Anthony 0-3 0-0 0, Davis 3-5 0-0 8, H.Williams 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-60 23-31 84.
Cleveland 21 23 22 24 - 90
New York 18 24 19 23 - 84
3-Point goals-Cleveland 5-12 (Mills 4-6, Campbell 1-1, Phills 0-1, Ferry 0-1, Price 0-3), New York 5-20 (Starks 3-10, Davis 2-3, Oakley 0-1, Smith 0-1, Harper 0-2, Anthony 0-3). Fouled out- None. Rebounds-Cleveland 31 (Williams 6), New York 39 (Ewing 12). Assists-Cleveland 17 (Price 7), New York 18 (Oakley 5). Total fouls-Cleveland 20, New York 26. Technicals-Cleveland illegal defense 5, New York illegal defense 2. A-19,763 (19,763).
xxxx NBA PLAYOFFS ON TV Games today in the first round of the NBA playoffs: Boston at Orlando, 9:30 a.m. (NBC) Portland at Phoenix, 12 p.m. (NBC) Chicago at Charlotte, 2:30 p.m. (NBC) Denver at San Antonio, 6 p.m. (TBS)