CLEVELAND — If this was a preview of a first-round playoff matchup, expect a mountain of points and a thrilling battle of guards.
Jalen Brunson won his matchup against Donovan Mitchell and the Knicks outlasted the Cavaliers on Friday night, 130-116, running away in the fourth quarter in their first game without injured Julius Randle.
Brunson dropped a career-high 48 points and Mitchell scored 42. The back and forth resembled a duel, with exciting finishes and little regard for perimeter defense. In a microcosm of the evening, Mitchell soared for a dunk with about five minutes left that cut Cleveland’s deficit to single digits. And Brunson immediately responded with a 3-pointer to bury the home team at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
New York’s point guard had the final laugh as Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau finally unlocked a defense to thwart Mitchell in the fourth quarter. Brunson finished with nine assists and shot 18 for 32, including 7 of 12 from beyond the arc.
Mitchell shot 16 for 23.
The victory moved the No. 5 Knicks (45-33) within three games of the No. 4 Cavs (48-30), but, more importantly, maintained their 2 1/2-game edge over the No. 6 Nets (42-35).
Randle, who is out for the remainder of the regular season (and perhaps some of the playoffs), was replaced in the lineup by Obi Toppin, who struggled enough defensively to only log 19 minutes (including zero in the fourth quarter).
The Knicks outscored the Cavs in the final period, 25-14.
The new lineup also brought some hostility. TV cameras caught a tense exchange between Toppin and RJ Barrett during a timeout in the third quarter. It appeared Barrett was angered by something Toppin said and stood up to go at his teammate.
Thibodeau stood in between and kept them separated, while assistant Johnnie Bryant physically removed Barrett from the beef. It was an uncharacteristic moment of anger from Barrett, who has just eight techs in his career. The players appeared to peace it up after the timeout.
Mitchell was excellent but only managed four points in the fourth quarter when he was bottled up by a combination of Josh Hart’s intense on-ball defense and quick traps.
Before the game, Thibodeau outlined why Mitchell is so difficult to guard and it sounded prophetic a couple hours later.
“He’s always been dynamic. He had that part down,” Thibodeau said. “But I think three years ago he made a major shift in shooting more 3s. And that opened up his drive game. He’s very difficult, he’s shifty. He can crossover out of pick-and-rolls. He can split pick-and-rolls. And I think adding at to his game really changed his game. He’s great off the dribble. He’s versatile in the sense that he can off the ball and on the ball. So you have to be ready for both. And he’s not afraid. He’s a great competitor.”
The new Knicks starters featuring Toppin were pummeled early while giving up 22 points in the opening 5 1/2 minutes, prompting Thibodeau to burn a timeout.
Mitchell hit his first eight shots — including three treys — and scored 23 points in the opening quarter. The only thing holding him back was foul trouble. Brunson countered with his own 21-point first quarter, the most he’s ever scored in a single period. His 33 in the opening half was also a career high.
On both sides, defense was optional and mostly ignored. Dribblers navigated screens to get to the paint with ease. The first-quarter score was historically offensive: Cavs 47, Knicks 42.
It was the most points the Cavaliers scored in any quarter.
Much of it was a product of Randle’s absence. The Knicks entered with a bottom-5 ranking in pace, which suits Randle’s halfcourt game. Eliminating Randle translated to speedball Friday.
“Whoever you have — and I think this is a big part of running efficient offense is, what are the strengths of the people that you have?” Thibodeau said. “Play to your strengths and cover up your weaknesses.”
The stakes were high and the Knicks rose to the occasion in the fourth quarter.
“We do know the importance of it, though,” said Cavs guard Darius Garland, who scored 20 points in 38 minutes. “We know the mentality they’re going to bring, because they’re a little bit behind us. We know what we’re going into.”
