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NEW YORK — The Cavaliers are pinning their playoff hopes to one concept: that the “process” was right, even if the results haven’t followed.
The Cavs lost 109-93 in Game 2 and the Knicks took control of the Eastern Conference Finals with a 2-0 series lead.
As the series turns to Cleveland for Game 3, and the Cavaliers look to save their playoff lives at the friendly confines of Rocket Arena, they’re leaning on “the process,” and the belief that shooting variance will turn in their favor.
The Cavs committed only eight turnovers in Game 2, an acceptable amount for most games. They actually won the rebounding battle 42-40. They were happy with the shot selection. Many elements that often lead to winning were placed into the positive category. But a disastrous shooting display sank any chance of it manifesting in a positive result.
The Cavs shot just 38.8% from the field and 25.7% from 3-point range, allowing the Knicks to run away with Game 2 after their historic comeback in Game 1.
“I thought we had a lot of good looks, a lot of good looks from 3, good looks at the rim — I thought our process was right,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said. “[We] took care of the ball, offensive rebounded. I think it wasn’t a great shooting night. At the end of the day, you got to put the ball in the hole.”
Donovan Mitchell playoff stats
The process was there, the results weren’t. That was the message delivered in the locker room, and that was the element echoed by every player who spoke with the media after the game.
“Our process was right tonight. I’m not mad at what we did offensively,” said Donovan Mitchell, who scored a team-high 26 points.
After going on a wild 22-0 run in the fourth quarter of Game 1, the Knicks went on an 18-0 third-quarter run to take control of Game 2. The Cavs never recovered. And although the Game 1 run was largely because of Jalen Brunson going nuclear, the Game 2 stretch could largely be attributed to Cleveland’s offense simply not getting anything to fall.
It’s what Mitchell went back to when asked about giving up another debilitating run for the second time in the series.
“I hate to be redundant, but if we make a few more shots [we stop their streak],” Mitchell said. “We did a lot of positive things. I know the score and I know to the casual fan it won’t look that way. But I think the biggest thing is just, like, our process is right. We move with the right intention, make the right play and sometimes the ball doesn’t bounce away and then they make shots, too.
“I’m not saying it’s all of us missing shots. There’s certain things we’ll clean up, but no need to get discouraged. We got to go to Cleveland and handle business.”
Cavs playoff history
Strangely, considering the Cavs are four wins away from the NBA Finals, this is a situation with which this group has familiarity. The Cavs also fell behind 0-2 against the Detroit Pistons in the second round. In the first round, they won the first two games but then lost back-to-back games on the road before coming home.
For the third time in the 2026 playoffs, the Cavs will try to right the ship at Rocket Arena after two consecutive playoff losses away from Cleveland. And in franchise history, entering this year, the Cavs had only come back from an 0-2 deficit to win a series three times — 2007 versus the Pistons, 2016 versus the Warriors and 2018 versus the Celtics.
Now, they’ll have to do it in back-to-back series.
“This is just how our playoffs have been,” said center Jarrett Allen, who had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. “Our backs [are] against the wall. We like to keep things interesting. We like to keep everybody stressing about what the next game is going to be like.
“We’ve got to take care care of home court, now.”
Ryan Lewis covers the Cavaliers for the Akron Beacon Journal. He can be reached at rlewis1@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cavs relying on ‘process,’ recent playoff history to rebound vs Knicks
Reporting by Ryan Lewis, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
