Player Grades: Cavs vs Knicks Game 3 – Cold shooting haunts Cleveland

The Cleveland Cavaliers are down in the hole, facing elimination after dropping Game 3 to the New York Knicks.

All grades are based on our usual expectations for each player.

Donovan Mitchell

23 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists, 3 steals, 5 turnovers

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The Cavs need more from Mitchell. It’s felt that way for most of the postseason. But as the Cavs have gone further, we keep waiting for him to elevate and meet the moment. Aside from the first three quarters of Game 1, it just hasn’t happened.

An inefficient scoring night that isn’t being bolstered by quality decision-making or defensive prowess is hard to justify. Mitchell finished with 5 runovers and just 4 assists, ending the game as a team-worst minus-22.

Grade: D

James Harden

19 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 5 turnovers

Harden was keeping the Cavs in the fight throughout the first half with his isolation scoring. That’s also been a trend this postseason. He’s had moments where his scoring was enough to raise Cleveland’s floor. But no one else has come to save the day, and the wear and tear of playing every other day for a month is making it impossible for this to be sustainable.

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Harden’s impact dwindled in the second half as the Cavs struggled to get stops, and he no longer had enough energy to keep the offense alive. He shot 1-7 from downtown and turned it over five times.

Grade: C-

Evan Mobley

24 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 5 turnovers

Mobley’s three-point shot abandoned him (1-6 from downtown), and he had an uncharacteristically bad game taking care of the ball (6 turnovers). Those two aspects make it hard to grade Mobley much higher.

Still, Mobley’s defense isn’t an issue, and he’s been dominant in the paint. We’ve seen limitations, like his inability to post up or create offense for himself, but it’s hard to blame him too much for what’s happened in this series so far.

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Grade: B-

Jarrett Allen

17 points, 7 rebounds

Unlike 2023, the bigs are not the problem here.

Allen had a strong 17 points and 7 rebounds, four of which were offensive. He’s won the physical battle and taken care of the…

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Publish date : 2026-05-24 12:00:00

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