Andre Drummond, a Westchester County native who will be a free agent this summer, defeated the Knicks by 33 points and 23 rebounds Friday night, but it was former Knick Damyean Dotson who delivered the playoffs to the Cavaliers.
Dotson’s seven points in the final 2:40 sent the Knicks to their fifth straight loss in a 106-103 thriller at the Rocket Mortgage Arena in Cleveland.
Dotson’s late rise ruined a magnificent performance by Knicks rookie goalkeeper Immanuel Quickley, who scored 23 points from the bench.
RJ Barrett made two costly changes in the last 1:19 that ruined his solid start.
Barrett hit a 20-foot desperation before the throwing clock buzzed to take the Knicks 98-97 with 1:33 left. But then Barrett tried to dribble between his legs and made the ball bounce off the back of his foot, turning it around at the worst possible time, with 1:19 left.
This resulted in a clear foul on Dotson, who sank two free throws. The Cavaliers maintained possession and Dotson led to an innings on the field. With 2:40 left, Dotson hit a big 3 points over Quickley to give the Cavs a five-point lead.
At four, Barrett spun the ball again with 20 seconds left to leave it on ice for Cleveland.
Drummond scored 20 points and scored 14 rebounds in the first half. Seven of his rebounds were in the offensive cup. No Cavalier in the last 20 years had posted a 20 and 14 half.
The Mount Vernon native may be on the move after this season. The Cavaliers may be willing to let go of the former Connecticut star now that they’ve captured former Nets center Jarrett Allen in the James Harden four-team trade.
Cleveland gained a 12-point lead in a wild third quarter, but Quickley helped lead another charge. He hit a three-pointer, then a float. Julius Randle (28 points, six assists) scored the comeback that scored the score at 80 after three.
The Knicks started a 16-0 run to advance 84-80 early in the fourth quarter, but were unable to hold on.
Quickley came out spectacularly off the bench and exploded by 12 points in 11 minutes with two assists in the first half. Quickley shot 5-on-8 from the field, making two triples in the first half.
Quickley, who was selected with the 25th-round pick in the first round in November, found folds in the Cavaliers defense and got the Knicks to earn five points playing primarily with the “Quickley Quintet” that killed the Cavaliers in preseason. The only difference from the young five-man band was Reggie Bullock, instead of Barrett.
In a beautiful moment, rookie Obi Toppin, in his second game after a three-week absence due to a calf, stole a pass and fed Quickley with a triple.
In the next possession, Quickley wove inside and threw a lob alley-oop to get things from Mitchell Robinson and a 43-39 lead.
Robinson could not compete with Drummond’s muscle, so he was hurt. Robinson fell awkwardly after losing a sub. Coach Tom Thibodeau dropped him on the court for two possessions before pulling off the young center and went into the locker room. Robinson had his ankle recorded at halftime and came out in the third quarter, looking less than 100%.