Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns lead Knicks past Cavs, 109-97
· Yahoo Sports
The Cleveland Cavaliers had a five-point lead, a long injury list and no rest. Jalen Brunson took care of the lead.
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Brunson scored 18 points in a little more than four minutes of the second quarter, turning a competitive evening into a showcase for the Knicks’ captain as New York built an 88-70 lead through three quarters against Cleveland at Rocket Arena on Saturday. The Knicks went on to defeat the Cavs, 109-97, on Saturday. They are now above .500 for the first time as reigning NBA champions.
Brunson scored 22 points in the opening period of the Knicks’ 30-point rout of the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday. He followed that performance with a rout of the Cavaliers, pushing the Knicks (5-4) to their third win in a row and their fifth win in six games on Saturday.
The Cavaliers (5-5) were playing the second leg of a back-to-back after beating Philadelphia, 119-95, at home Friday. They were also without starting center Jarrett Allen, sidelined by a right knee contusion, and rotation players Sam Merrill and Jaylon Tyson, out with right elbow injury management and a right ankle sprain, respectively.
The Knicks had two days between games after routing Chicago on Wednesday, though they were without starting forward Josh Hart, who missed his second consecutive game due to a sore right ankle. Cleveland had less than a day between opponents.
That was an advantage to exploit, not a result the schedule could deliver for them.
For a quarter and a half, Cleveland made that distinction clear.
The Cavaliers led 27-26 after the first quarter. Reserve forward Riley Minix supplied eight points in roughly the first four and a half minutes of the second, the last three on a shot that pushed Cleveland’s lead to 39-34.
Brunson answered from deep. Thomas Bryant answered him, and the Cavaliers led 42-37 with 6:22 left before halftime.
Then the Knicks’ captain started taking the game apart.
Brunson made two free throws, hit a step-back jumper and connected on a turnaround fadeaway to put New York ahead 43-42. Meleek Thomas briefly restored Cleveland’s lead with a 3-pointer.
Brunson took it back with another 3.
Then he hit one while drawing a foul and converted the free throw, a four-point play that stretched the Knicks’ lead to 50-45 with 3:23 remaining. His pull-up jumper at the 2:37 mark made it 52-47.
Including his first 3-pointer at 6:46, Brunson scored 18 points in a span of four minutes and nine seconds.
And when Cleveland wasn’t watching him score, it was watching him find someone else.
Brunson assisted a Landry Shamet 3-pointer and a Miles McBride pull-up. OG Anunoby buried two 3s in the final 48 seconds of the half, the second off another Brunson pass.
The Knicks outscored Cleveland 26-11 after Bryant’s 3-pointer gave the Cavaliers their five-point lead. New York scored 37 points in the second quarter and carried a 63-53 advantage into halftime.
The third quarter extended the separation. The Knicks outscored Cleveland 25-17, taking an 18-point cushion into the fourth.
Brunson had 26 points, six rebounds and eight assists through three quarters, shooting 10 for 20 from the field. He finished with 31 points on 12-of-25 shooting from the field to go with nine assists and six rebounds.
Karl-Anthony Towns supplied the other half of the attack.
Before Brunson’s eruption, Towns scored 14 first-quarter points to keep the Knicks alongside Cleveland. He reached the end of the third with 24 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 9 for 17 from the field and making all five of his free throws.
Towns secured a double-double in each of the Knicks’ first nine games, extending a streak that began in the season opener.
Without Allen, Cleveland was missing a starting big man. Towns helped make that absence matter, and the Knicks’ rebounding advantage extended beyond their starting center.
New York collected 13 offensive rebounds to Cleveland’s six through three quarters. Towns had three of them, and Andre Drummond contributed eight total rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench.
The Knicks also avoided giving possessions away. They committed five turnovers to Cleveland’s nine and held a 15-8 advantage in points off turnovers. At the foul line, New York was 10 for 10 while Cleveland was 10 for 17.
Donovan Mitchell, coming off a 23-point performance against Philadelphia, had 16 points on 5-for-11 shooting with four turnovers. James Harden had five points on 1-for-7 shooting. Evan Mobley contributed 10 points, six rebounds and five assists.
The Knicks were missing a starter of their own. Josh Hart sat out his second consecutive game with right ankle soreness, and Shamet again started in his place.
Shamet made three 3-pointers for nine points through three quarters. Anunoby added 13 points, including three 3s. Mikal Bridges had seven points, six rebounds and three assists, though he shot 3 for 11.
Knicks coach Mike Brown used 11 players through the first three quarters. Tyler Kolek again handled backup point guard minutes and collected four assists and four rebounds in seven minutes.
New York entered Saturday at 4-4, with Cleveland at 5-4. The teams meet again on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden, after the Knicks host Milwaukee on Tuesday.