Josh Hart posted his third triple-double of the season Sunday night for the visiting New York Knicks, who lost Jalen Brunson in the opening minute before outlasting the Cleveland Cavaliers 107-98 in a battle of undermanned Eastern Conference contenders.
Brunson didn’t return after suffering a left knee injury while hoisting his only shot barely 30 seconds after the opening tip. New York went 4-8 in February without OG Anunoby (right elbow surgery), Julius Randle (right shoulder) and Mitchell Robinson (ankle surgery), all of whom are out indefinitely.
Hart finished with 13 points and 10 assists while tying a career high with 19 rebounds. Donte DiVincenzo had 28 points, including the tiebreaking layup that gave the Knicks the lead for good with 5:39 left in the third, and Bojan Bogdanovic added 20 points off the bench.
Miles McBride, who never left the floor after replacing Brunson, had 16 points while Precious Achiuwa added 14 points in the win.
Evan Mobley (13 points, 13 rebounds) had a double-double for the Cavaliers, who were without Donovan Mitchell (left knee) and Caris LeVert (right elbow) for the second straight game. Sam Merrill scored a team-high 21 points off the bench while starters Darius Garland (19 points), Jarrett Allen (18) and Isaac Okoro (17) all got into double figures.
The Knicks led by as many as 12 in the second quarter before the Cavaliers finished the half on a 24-10 run and took a 53-51 lead into the locker room following Garland’s 3-pointer with nine seconds left.
The teams traded runs in the third quarter, when the Knicks’ 11-0 run was followed by a 9-0 surge by the Cavaliers before the Knicks scored 21 of the next 27 points and took their biggest lead at 85-70 on Hart’s layup with 51 seconds left.
Cleveland ended the quarter on an 8-2 run and the Knicks opened a pair of 11-point leads in the fourth before the Cavaliers got within three points, the last time at 101-98 on Mobley’s putback dunk with 1:59 left.
But Hart drained a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired and the Cavaliers went scoreless the rest of the way. McBride added insurance with a 3-pointer with 33 seconds left.
–Field Level Media