Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson acknowledged his team's struggles. "I think their physicality and energy, we couldn't get to that level to combat it," he said.
"They're on a hell of a run. We haven't been able to stop the momentum."
New York seized control early, jumping to a 9-1 lead in the opening two minutes and closing the first quarter ahead 37-27 after hitting 12 of their first 17 shots.
"Our guys were locked in from the beginning of the game and it showed from the first few minutes of the game.
We got a lot of great contributions," said Knicks coach Mike Brown.
Cleveland briefly tied the game at 50-50 in the second quarter on a James Harden jumper, but the Knicks closed the half on a 10-1 run and never relinquished the lead.
"It's the next-man-up mentality and the guys found me a few times.
We knew we were going to get a real good punch from that team, and we weathered their best punches tonight," Shamet said.
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Game 4 is scheduled for Monday night in Cleveland, where the Knicks will attempt to complete a series sweep.
