Knicks Get Jump on Cleveland With 17 Three-Point Baskets

Sure, Hubert Davis said, the New York Knicks shoot like this all the time. In practice. With nobody guarding them.

“I don’t think we can rely on this every night,” Davis said Thursday after the Knicks set a team record with 17 three-point baskets in beating the Cleveland Cavaliers, 106-83, in the opener of their first-round playoff series.

John Starks made six three-point shots and Davis had five for the Knicks, who were 17 for 22 from long distance. They made all eight of their three-point shots in the fourth quarter, four of them during a 20-0 run that turned a close game into a laugher.

The performance came against the best defensive team in the league. The Cavaliers yielded an average of 88.5 points per game this season, the best mark since the inception of the shot clock.

“They just kept shooting them, and they kept going in,” Cleveland’s Terrell Brandon said. “We obviously have to pay more attention to the three-point line. We just didn’t get out to their shooters quickly enough, and when that happens, they’ll kill you.”

The 17 three-point baskets were two away from the NBA playoff record of 19, set by Houston at Utah last April.

Patrick Ewing scored 23 points and Starks 21 for the Knicks. Dan Majerle had 23 and Terrell Brandon 18 for the Cavaliers.