The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Knicks 115-107 at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, with James Harden scoring 32 points to lead four Cleveland players in double figures. The win moved the Cavaliers to 6-6 on the season and evened the season series with New York at 1-1.
Harden shot 9 of 14 from the field and 9 of 11 from the free-throw line, pairing his scoring with four assists and two steals. Donovan Mitchell added 23 points, six rebounds and a game-high six assists, while Jarrett Allen controlled the paint with 11 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 27 points, but New York got little from its bench as Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists in the loss.
Key Moments That Decided The Game
Cleveland set the tone early, opening a 33-23 lead after the first quarter behind a balanced attack that saw five different players score during a first-period run that included back-to-back threes from Tyrese Proctor and Meleek Thomas. The Cavaliers’ largest lead of the night reached 12 points, while New York’s largest lead was just two, a sign of how rarely the Knicks controlled the game.
New York answered with a 30-23 second quarter to cut the deficit, and the teams traded buckets down the stretch of the first half, with Miles McBride hitting three 3-pointers in the period to keep the Knicks within striking distance. Cleveland weathered that push and controlled the fourth quarter 33-31 to close out the win, finishing 15 of 38 from three-point range as a team.
Turnovers proved costly for New York. The Knicks committed 12 total turnovers that Cleveland converted into 19 points, while the Cavaliers’ nine turnovers led to only nine Knicks points off those mistakes. That 10-point swing in points off turnovers helped offset New York’s edge in points in the paint, 44-42.
Takeaways From Cleveland’s Win Over New York
Harden carried the offense in isolation
Harden’s 32 points on just 14 field-goal attempts showed his efficiency, going 9 of 11 at the free-throw line to keep Cleveland’s offense moving in the fourth quarter when New York tried to close the gap.
Cleveland’s bigs dominated the glass
Allen and Evan Mobley combined for 21 points and 19 rebounds, with Allen’s 14 boards and plus-9 rating anchoring a Cavaliers team that out-rebounded New York 40-35 overall and 11-7 on the offensive glass.
Knicks bench offered little support
Outside of Towns and Brunson, no Knicks starter reached 15 points. Mikal Bridges scored just two points in 17 minutes and Mohamed Diawara added two off the bench, leaving Brunson to log a minus-20 rating despite his 27-point output.
Player Of The Game: James Harden
Harden finished with 32 points, two rebounds, four assists, two steals and a plus-8 rating in 33 minutes, shooting 9 of 14 from the field including 5 of 7 from three-point range. His scoring total matched the game high and paced a Cavaliers offense that shot 47% from the field as a team.
Cavaliers Vs. Knicks By The Numbers
Cleveland shot 47% from the field compared to New York’s 49%, though the Cavaliers made more free throws, 20 of 25, against the Knicks’ perfect 11-for-11 mark. New York out-assisted Cleveland 33-23, reflecting a more ball-movement-heavy approach that still could not overcome the turnover differential. The Cavaliers also out-rebounded the Knicks 40-35 and blocked nine shots compared to New York’s four. Cleveland’s bench factored in with 14 fast-break points to New York’s 10, another edge in the open floor that helped build the first-quarter cushion.
What’s Next
Cleveland (6-6) sits second in the Central Division, two games behind Detroit (7-3). New York (6-5) is third in the Atlantic Division, 3.5 games behind Boston (10-2).
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