Cavs vs Knicks: James Harden's Season-High 32 Ends Cleveland's Five-Game Skid Against New York in a 115-107 Win at the Garden
Harden had topped 20 points once in 11 games. On Wednesday night he scored 32, hit the 3-pointer that put Cleveland ahead for good with 4:22 left, and walked out of Madison Square Garden with the Cavaliers' first win over the Knicks since New York swept them in the conference finals.
The rematch Cleveland had waited six months for came down to the last five minutes, and James Harden decided it. The 37-year-old scored a season-high 32 points - he had scored more than 20 just once in the season's first 11 games - and his 3-pointer with 4:22 remaining put the visiting Cavaliers ahead for good in a 115-107 win over the New York Knicks on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden, Reuters reported. The win ended Cleveland's five-game losing streak against the Knicks, a skid that dated to May, when New York swept the Eastern Conference finals on its way to the franchise's first NBA title in 53 years.
Cleveland controlled most of the night and nearly lost it anyway. The Cavaliers led 33-23 after one quarter, 59-53 at halftime and 82-76 through three, and Donovan Mitchell finished with 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists while Jarrett Allen posted 11 points and 14 rebounds. But New York, which trailed by 12 in the first quarter and led just twice all night, erased a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit: a 13-4 rally tied the game at 101-101 on OG Anunoby's free throws with 5:09 left. Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 27 points, Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists - his 11th double-double in as many games this season - and Miles McBride added 19 off the bench.
The closing stretch belonged to Cleveland's veterans and its bench. After Towns and Peyton Watson traded misses, Harden sank the go-ahead 3. Brunson answered, but the Cavaliers scored the next six points, outscored New York 14-6 over the final 5:09 and never led by fewer than five in the last 93 seconds. Watson, who finished with seven points and four blocks, sealed it at the defensive end - blocking a McBride layup to start a fast break that Allen finished with a three-point play for a 113-105 lead with 29.6 seconds left. Tyrese Proctor (15) and Meleek Thomas (14) gave Cleveland a bench lift, and Evan Mobley added 10.
The result moves both teams to the same crowded middle of the East: Cleveland is 6-6 after losing four of five following a 5-2 start, and New York fell to 6-5, its four-game winning streak snapped after an 0-3 start to the season. Harden, who signed a three-year, $97 million extension in August, picked the loudest building in the league for his breakout night. Cleveland plays at Miami on Friday before returning home to face Dallas on Saturday - and the next meeting with the Knicks now carries a different memory than the sweep.
