Brunson scores 31 as Knicks beat Cavaliers 109-97

Jalen Brunson scored 31 points and Karl-Anthony Towns added 29 and 13 rebounds as the New York Knicks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 109-97 on Saturday, November 7.

Brunson made 12 of 25 shots and had nine assists with one turnover. New York took control in the second quarter, outscoring Cleveland 37-26 after trailing 36-30 early in the period.

Towns made 11 of 21 shots and all five of his free throws without a turnover. OG Anunoby scored 15, and Jordan Clarkson made four of five shots off the bench for nine points.

The Knicks pulled away in the third quarter, winning it 25-17 to lead 88-69 with 1:37 left in the period, their largest lead. The game had 11 lead changes and five ties before then.

Cleveland trailed 100-87 with five minutes to play and outscored New York 10-9 the rest of the way. Peyton Watson's basket cut the lead to 104-96, Mikal Bridges answered with a jumper off a Brunson pass for 106-96, and Anunoby's two free throws with 43.7 seconds left made it 109-97.

Donovan Mitchell scored 37 points on 13-of-22 shooting for Cleveland and hit five of 13 3-pointers. He also made six of 11 free throws and turned the ball over five times. Watson and Evan Mobley scored 12 points apiece, and Mobley grabbed nine rebounds.

Both teams shot 42.7 percent from the field. New York turned the ball over seven times and grabbed 16 offensive rebounds, while Cleveland made 11 of 19 free throws.

Cleveland played without Jarrett Allen (right knee contusion) and Sam Merrill (right elbow injury management). New York's Josh Hart was out with right ankle soreness.

The Knicks improved to 5-4, one game above .500. The Cavaliers fell to 5-5.

Up next

Knicks: home against the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday, November 10.

Cavaliers: at the Charlotte Hornets on Monday, November 9.