Cleveland Cavaliers coach defends star and regrets 'collective' defensive errors in loss

[p]"[b]We've been through it in the playoffs,[/b]" Atkinson told reporters at the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/cleveland-cavaliers/xGk13Tb6/"]Cavaliers[/a]' Wednesday morning training session in New York.[/p][p]Atkinson's Cavs came through two gut-wrenching seven-game series to book a showdown with the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/new-york-knicks/WCNO4nbt/"]Knicks[/a] for a place in the NBA Finals.[/p][p]The coach said "devastating" moments like the Cavs' failure to close out the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/detroit-pistons/UcjMRj6J/"]Detroit Pistons[/a] in game six of the second round were part and parcel of post-season basketball.[/p][p]"[b]Four or five miserable games we've had in the playoffs,[/b]" he said. "[b]So it's like, OK, come on, get back on the horse[/b]."[/p][p]The Cavaliers led the Knicks by 22 points with less than eight minutes left in regulation on Tuesday, only for New York to roar back and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/basketball/cleveland-cavaliers-xGk13Tb6/new-york-knicks-WCNO4nbt/?mid=vZEx3Osh"]win in overtime[/a] in the second-biggest fourth-quarter comeback in NBA playoff history.[/p][embed guid="ef14bc23-0479-4cc4-927a-b949275ce85a" url="https://x.com/NBA/status/2056939407525978511?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]The Knicks exploited the suspect defense of veteran [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/harden-james/zm5V3CZo/"]James Harden[/a], a three-time scoring champion and the 2018 NBA Most Valuable Player.[/p][p]But Atkinson said it was a collective defensive failure down the stretch.[/p][p]"[b]On thing about James, I'll just defend him, he's a good isolation defender,[/b]" Atkinson said of the 36-year-old. "[b]He always has been. He's super smart. He's got great hands. I was kind of a little more upset with our backline defense.[/b][/p][p]"[b]OK, he had two or three really tough shots on him (but) this is team defense. At this level, it's team defense.[/b][/p][p]"[b]I know everybody's putting it on James, but I'd say a lot of it's on the team, our team defense.[/b]"[/p][p]Atkinson himself came in for plenty of criticism - for failing to use his last two timeouts of regulation in a bid to break up the Knicks' rhythm and for failing to find the right defensive adjustments.[/p][p]Atkinson said the adjustments Cleveland tried just didn't work.[/p][p]"[b]You know the coach, especially when you lose, you're wrong,[/b]" he said.[/p]