The Knicks saw their four-game win streak snapped on Wednesday, falling in frustrating fashion to the Cavs. They had won five straight games vs. Cleveland, dating back to last year’s postseason run.

There were flashes of excitement during the game, as the Knicks had a few extended runs where they clawed back into the game. For the most part, the Cavs just picked apart the Knicks’ defense and the Knicks’ offense felt stale most of the time.

Here are six takeaways from the Knicks’ first defeat in November.

Big takeaway 1: The defense left a lot to be desired

The Knicks’ defense got thrashed by the Cavs for most of the night, posting a season-worst 126.4 defensive rating in the loss. They had a 107.8 DRTG in their win over Cleveland at home last Saturday.

The Cavs shot well from three, connecting on 15-of-38 (39.5%) attempts on the night and it felt like they were getting good looks from beyond the arc all night. The Knicks, in general, allow their opponents to chuck up three-pointers, allowing the seventh-most attempts per game (40.7).

Also, after the Knicks had gotten back in the game in the fourth quarter, Mike Brown decided to deploy a blitzing defensive strategy. Knicks’ defenders would double the Cleveland ball-handler at the top of the key and every time it felt like the Cavs beat it.

After the first few times, it was strange Brown kept going back to it, because there’s no reason to keep trying to blitz them 40+ feet from the basket when it doesn’t deter them and guys are in exchange being left open.

Brown on blitzing Mitchell: “I kept us in the blitz a little too long. That’s on me.”

— James L. Edwards III (@JLEdwardsIII) November 12, 2026

Big takeaway 2: It was a bad Brunson game, despite the efficiency

Jalen Brunson shot the ball well, scoring 27 points on 12-of-23 shooting (52.2%). It felt like he was getting to his spots all night and he was doing what he wanted.

However, it felt like a lot of the time, it was just him with the basketball. The Knicks had a 100.0 offensive rating and -30.8 net rating in his 34:48 on the floor. So, there wasn’t a lot of ball movement, and the defense was subpar with him out there.

It wasn’t like he was getting beaten on-ball. The Cavs shot 3-of-10 from the field with Brunson as the primary defender. He was getting cooked in pick-and-roll and screens, as help defenders would have to try to fill in, and it led to many open shots.

Also, the Knicks had two steals in the 34:48 that Brunson was on the floor and three steals in the 13:12 that he was on the bench.

Of the Cavs’ 15 made threes on the night, 11 of them came with Brunson on the floor, shooting 44.0% from three. Cleveland was just 4-of-13 (30.8%) from three with Brunson off the floor on Wednesday.

Small takeaway 1: The Knicks didn’t look like themselves on the boards

On Wednesday, the Knicks rebounded just 19.4% of their misses—their lowest OREB% in a single game this season as a team. Meanwhile, the Cavs rebounded 28.2% of their misses, as that was the second-highest OREB% by a team vs. the Knicks through 11 games.

It was a stark contrast from last Saturday’s game at MSG where the Knicks had a 34.8% OREB% and the Cavs had only a 23.3% OREB%. It also helps that Jarrett Allen was active for tonight’s game and not out—he had 14 rebounds—four of which were offensive boards.

The Knicks had entered the game as one of the league’s best rebounding teams. According to NBA.com, they were first in OREB% (38.8%) and second in DREB% (73.0%).

Big takeaway 3: Tyler Kolek keeps on proving himself

Tyler Kolek didn’t score like he did on Tuesday vs. the Bucks when he had a season-high 12 points, but he still had four points on 2-of-3 shooting. He also had his usual playmaking, assisting on four baskets, while also recording a steal.

Kolek was a team-high +12 in an eight-point defeat with the Knicks winning his minutes, 42-30. In the 13:08 he was on the floor for the night, the Knicks had a 168.0 OREG, 80.5% TS%, and +48.0 NETRTG.

Again, this is just what Kolek-led bench units look like. He’s played 115 minutes this season and the Knicks have a 129.5 OREG and +26.0 NETRTG in those 227 possessions.

We even saw Mike Brown ride with Kolek a little longer in the fourth quarter when his unit brought the Knicks back into the game, opting to keep Brunson—his start player and the team’s captain—on the bench. Even though it didn’t work, it was nice seeing Brown show his belief in the third-year point guard.

Small takeaway 2: Mikal Bridges, where are you?

Once again, we saw Mikal Bridges get his minutes cut. He only played 17:11 in the team’s loss and a grand total of zero seconds in the fourth quarter. He has played just once in the fourth quarter over the team’s last five games, granted that some of those games have been blowouts.

However, the main point stands: He’s played fewer than 20 minutes in four of 11 games this season.

In his first two seasons with the Knicks, he played fewer than 20 minutes in just four out of 201 games—including the postseason. Two of them were the final game of the regular season when he checked out early to keep his games played streak going, one was a blowout win vs. Utah last season, and one was a Game 4 win in the first round of last season’s playoffs vs. the Hawks.

Also, Bridges hasn’t attempted a single three-pointer over his last two games. It’s the second time in his career he’s not attempted a three in consecutive games with the first time coming in his second NBA season with Phoenix back in November 2019. He’s never gone three games without attempting a three.

Small takeaway 3: No Jordan Clarkson minutes?

Usually when Mike Brown has looked for solutions when the team hasn’t been looking right entering the fourth quarter, he’s turned to Jordan Clarkson on the bench. However, he didn’t play at all in the Wednesday loss.

For a guy who hasn’t lost his minutes in months, it’s interesting that Clarkson is still looked at as a last resort as a bench option.