NBA PLAYOFFS : Cavaliers Play Like Cavaliers in Beating Knicks in Game 2

Chris Mills made all four of his three-point shots and scored 21 points. Bobby Phills also scored 21 points, but the key in Cleveland’s 90-84 victory at New York in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference playoffs on Saturday was dismissing Game 1.

Treat it like a hiccup. The Cavaliers had the NBA’s stingiest defense in 40 years, and Game 1--in which the Knicks shot 63%--was an aberration.

Forcing 26 New York turnovers and holding the Knicks scoreless for 2 minutes 37 seconds down the stretch Saturday was more like it.

The Cavalier starters scored only 29 points in Game 1. The 77 they had on Saturday were more like it.

“In 36 hours, you go from being one of the great teams with one of the great performances to total humility,� New York Coach Pat Riley said. “For some reason, we just didn’t have the same verve or intensity.�

“We got rattled and started bickering with each other,� Knick center Patrick Ewing said. “If we’re going to win, we have to put that behind us. We can’t let a little adversity take us off our game.�

Mills took the Knicks off their game in the second half, scoring 15 of his 21 points and making the game’s biggest shot, a three-point basket with 20 seconds to play for an 86-82 Cleveland lead.

“When that shot dropped, it was a big relief because it felt like it put the game in our hands,� Mills said.

Mills had played only 14 minutes and scored only six points in Game 1. His last three-pointer was the highlight of an 11-0 run that turned an 82-79 deficit into a 90-82 lead.

Cleveland can win the series with victories at home Monday and Thursday, but the Cavaliers lost to the Knicks twice at Gund Arena during the regular season.

The 64 free throws and 50 turnovers, and the deliberate pace by both teams, resulted in NBA playoff records for fewest shots taken in a game by a team--Cleveland’s 53--and two teams combined, 113.

Houston 140, Utah 126--Kenny Smith scored 32 points and sank seven of Houston’s NBA playoff-record 19 three-point shot as the Rockets won at Utah to tie the series, 1-1.

Smith made seven of eight three-point shots, and Clyde Drexler, Robert Horry, Mario Elie and Pete Chilcutt made three each for Houston, which also got 30 points from Drexler and 27 from Hakeem Olajuwon.

Houston’s barrage of three-point baskets shattered the previous playoff record of 12 by Phoenix in an overtime game against the Rockets a year ago.

Drexler scored eight points when the Rockets began the third quarter with a 13-0 run to make it 82-64. Utah, which trailed throughout the game, never recovered.

Indiana 105, Atlanta 97--Reggie Miller tied an NBA playoff record by making six three-pointers in a half and finished with 39 points for the Pacers, who won at Indianapolis to take a 2-0 series advantage.

Miller had 18 points in the opening quarter and added 11 more in the second in tying the mark set by Chicago’s Michael Jordan against Portland on June 3, 1992.

Rik Smits added 27 points and 11 rebounds.