Cavaliers' 'hacking' strategy pays off in Game 1 loss — until it didn't

Leading by double digits in Game 1, the Cleveland Cavaliers made the counterintuitive decision to start sending the New York Knicks to the foul line. Not just any Knick — 40.8 percent free-throw shooter Mitchell Robinson.

The Cavaliers fouled Robinson four times in less than two minutes late in the third quarter, and the Knicks center made only two of his eight free-throw attempts. The strategy frustrated the Knicks and eventually forced Robinson off the court for the rest of the game — which burned the Cavs when the small Knicks lineup made an epic comeback to win, 115-104 in overtime.

Cleveland Cavaliers revived "Hack-a-Shaq" strategy 

Don Nelson developed the "Hack-a-Shaq" strategy over 25 years ago to stop Los Angeles Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal. Nellie knew it was nearly impossible to stop O'Neal inside — and nearly impossible for O'Neal to regularly make foul shots.

Robinson isn't the same kind of offensive threat, but he's an even worse foul shooter, averaging 50.8 percent for his career. Once the Knicks were in the bonus, the Cavaliers started fouling Robinson off-ball, which is legal outside of the final two minutes. They also fouled Robinson as he was trying to put back an offensive rebound, and when he set a pick for a ball handlers — which meant he wasn't off-ball.

There were a few advantages for Cleveland. For one, it kept the Knicks from taking three-pointers to cut the lead. For another, it frustrated Robinson, who missed a putback, goaltended a shot and lost the ball attempting a difficult tip dunk, perhaps afraid of coming down with the ball and getting fouled again.

Cleveland Cavaliers got to rest but still ran out of gas

The Cavaliers played a tough seven-game series that ended two days before Tuesday's Game 2. Sending Robinson to the line immediately let the Cavs rest on the defensive end as the game ground to a halt. It also forced Robinson out of the remainder of the game.

Unfortunately, that backfired in the fourth quarter. Forced to play small, the Knicks got six points and a game-tying three-pointer from Landry Shamet, on a very fortunate bounce that capped a 22-point comeback, led by Jalen Brunson and his 38 points.