The New York Knicks hotly pursued Donovan Mitchell in the offseason, envisioning the star guard as the player who could prompt a franchise revival.
Instead, the Utah Jazz traded Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and come Friday night, Mitchell will be cast in the role of villain when Cleveland and host New York battle in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.
The teams split the first two games of the series as Mitchell averaged 27.5 points and 10.5 assists. He scored 38 points in Cleveland’s 101-97 loss in Game 1 and recorded 17 points and 13 assists as the Cavaliers prevailed 107-90 in Game 2.
The series moves to New York for Games 3 and 4 and Mitchell, a native New Yorker, is well aware it will be an unwelcoming atmosphere inside famous Madison Square Garden.
Mitchell averaged 31.8 points in four games against the Knicks this season but struggled with his shooting in two visits to meet the Knicks at New York. He averaged 23.5 points while shooting just 37 percent (17 of 46) from the field in those games, both losses.
The fifth-seeded Knicks went 3-1 in the regular season against the fourth-seeded Cavaliers and then stole homecourt advantage with the Game 1 win. New York will try to further re-establish itself Friday.
So Mitchell knows the pressure is on his team in Game 3.
Darius Garland also starred in Cleveland’s Game 2 win by scoring 26 of his 32 points in the first half.
New York will be looking to bounce back from a dreadful Game 2 performance, trailing by 20 points at halftime and ultimately by 29 points.
Forward Julius Randle felt the hype got out of hand after New York posted the impressive road victory in Game 1.
Randle wasn’t feeling so upbeat about being the recipient of a hard foul from Cleveland’s Jarrett Allen late in the fourth quarter of Game 2. Randle was speeding in for a fast-break dunk and Allen’s foul caused Randle to fall awkwardly out of bounds. He made the ensuing free throw to cut the New York deficit to 103-83 with 2:22 remaining.
Randle’s late presence in the game came into question after he recently returned from an ankle injury.
New York is hoping outside shooters RJ Barrett (6 of 25 in the series) and Immanuel Quickley (4 of 13) will find some rhythm in Game 3.
