Cavaliers two-way players shined despite loss vs Knicks

CLEVELAND — A highly anticipated playoff rematch was hosted at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on Halloween night between the New York Knicks and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Although the Cavs lost the battle, falling to the Knicks 109-91, two-way players Emoni Bates and Craig Porter Jr. made their official debut in the NBA as Cavaliers and impressed everyone throughout the night with their first few buckets and some dunks.

Bates dropped nine points, six rebounds, and one assist. Porter had 10 points, four rebounds and two assists.

Their first buckets came at the beginning of the second quarter.

Head Coach, J.B Bickerstaff praised the young rookies for stepping up since the Cavs were missing a few bodies on the court– Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert, and Ty Jerome were all ruled out for Tuesday’s game.

“They both did a really good job being in a tough spot. They were both poised, both of them did a great job of competing til the end and getting a use of all their minutes,” said Bickerstaff.

Porter said from the beginning of the weeks leading up to the Knicks rematch, he was told to “be ready”.

“Playing to win is what I’m all about, one of the things I like doing is getting guys open, trying to get guys in the right spot– being available is the best thing you can be. Giving my team the best chance to win is what I will do. You can just put me anywhere and I will try to win,” said Porter.

Porter added that these first few buckets for him and Bates meant a lot to them.

“One of the things they’ve been telling us since we got to Cleveland is to be ready for your moment, you never know when it will be. It’s big for us, especially being this early in our career”----- “I’m excited for (Bates) especially just because he is so young, he’s going to learn and just be so good at this game, it will be scary,” said Porter.

The Cavaliers will now travel to New York to play the Knicks again on Wednesday, November 1. Tip-off will be at 7:30 p.m.