CLEVELAND (AP) — Josh Hart had a triple-double, Donte DiVincenzo scored 28 points and the New York Knicks regrouped after losing All-Star guard Jalen Brunson in the first minute with a left knee injury to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 107-98 on Sunday night.
Hart finished with 13 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists in helping the Knicks cope for one night without Brunson, their latest starter to get hurt.
Hart and Miles McBride each made 3-pointers in the final 1:36 as New York held off the Cavs, who were within three at 101-98 on Evan Mobley’s dunk. That’s when Hart drilled his 3 in Mobley’s face and made sure Cleveland’s bench heard about it.
After a steal by Hart, McBride then drained a dagger 3-pointer to close out a game that began with a major scare for the Knicks.
Brunson, who has been carrying the Knicks during a rash of key injuries, was hurt on New York’s first possession.
Coming off a screen on the left side, Brunson rose for a jump shot near the foul line when he appeared to feel pain on lift off. He shot an air ball and landed before stumbling and dropping to the floor near the 3-point line in obvious discomfort.
Brunson stayed in a seated possession while play continued before getting up and limping to the sideline, where he again went down. The 27-year-old guard was helped to his feet and escorted to the locker room.
The Knicks only said Brunson has a “sore” knee. They didn’t rule him out of the game until midway through the third quarter.
It wasn’t immediately clear when Brunson got hurt. While he was not touched by Cleveland’s Isaac Okoro on the jump shot, Brunson did appear to bump knees with Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein early in the possession.
Sam Merrill and Jarrett Allen scored 18 apiece for the Cavs, who played without leading scorer Donovan Mitchell (sore knee) and top sub Caris LeVert (elbow). Mobley had 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Even before Brunson went down, both teams looked very different than in their playoff matchup last season, which New York won in five games.
While the Cavs were without Mitchell and LeVert, the Knicks didn’t have three starters: All-Star forward Julius Randle (shoulder), center Mitchell Robinson (ankle) and guard O.G. Anunoby (elbow).
Brunson has been instrumental in New York staying in the playoff hurt while being short-handed and now the Knicks made need others to pick up the slack if he’s out for an extended period.
Randle has been doing on-court workouts and he pushed himself hard during a pregame training session.
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said Randle has made “very good progress” with one of the next being contact. Thibodeau indicated that surgery seems less likely.
The Cavaliers paid tribute to Nick Gilbert, the late son of owner Dan Gilbert, who died in May at the age of 26. The younger Gilbert was stricken with neurofibromatosis (NF1), a disorder that causes tumors to form all over the body.
Nick Gilbert gained a spot in Cleveland sports lore when he represented the Cavs at the NBA Draft Lottery in 2011, and the team wound up winning the No. 1 overall pick — a selection they used to get star guard Kyrie Irving.
The team raised a banner at halftime to honor the younger Gilbert.
UP NEXT
Knicks: Host Atlanta on Tuesday night.
Cavaliers: Host Boston on Tuesday night.
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