Josh Hart leads Knicks for Cavaliers after Jalen Brunson injury | Top Vip News

NBA

By Stefan Bondy

CLEVELAND – A terrifying moment turned into a brave victory for the Knicks.

With Jalen Brunson suffering a game-ending knee injury in the first minute, one that was later diagnosed as a left knee contusion following negative X-rays, the Knicks posted a triple-double and a masterful effort from Josh Hart , escaping from Rocket Mortgage. FieldHouse with a 107-98 victory on Sunday.

Brunson collapsed on the court and was initially called “questionable to return” due to knee soreness, an update that changed to “not returning” in the third quarter.

Already down three starters due to injuries, the Knicks took a big lead into that quarter and never relinquished it, snapping a two-game skid to hold on to fourth place in the East.

“It’s huge. If you look at it, we’re losing four starters, they’re losing one starter,” Donte DiVincenzo said. “If you look at the matchups and what’s happening with us, we’re brave.”

As DiVincenzo alluded to, the surging Cavaliers were playing without Donovan Mitchell, who missed his second straight game with knee soreness.

They were also without injured sixth man Caris LeVert for the nationally televised contest.

So star power was absent on both sides, and Hart rose to the moment.

Not only did he stuff the scoreboard with 19 rebounds, 10 assists and 13 points in 45 minutes, but Hart was responsible for the two game-winning plays: a contested three-pointer over long Evan Mobley with 1:36 left to give the Knicks a lead. six-point lead, then a steal on the Cavaliers’ next possession.

It was Hart’s third triple-double of the season, all dating back to January 30.

“Some guys get going by making a shot. Honestly, I really get going by getting defensive rebounds, getting rebounds,” Hart said. “Now I feel like I’m getting into the game. So that’s part of it. And I feel pretty confident right now. I’ve been working hard the last two, three, four weeks, getting back to the basics, getting back into the rotation. Today I felt like I threw the ball well. I had a couple, I had the shot clock ones that I had to throw up, but for me, I get going more with tough plays.”

After his big three-pointer on Mobley, Hart headed to the Cavaliers’ bench and had some comments. One was admiration for Mitchell’s gold chain.

“I saw Donovan and obviously that’s my guy and then I saw the chain and I was like, ‘Ooh! That’s good,’” Hart said.

Cavaliers coach JB Bickerstaff said before kickoff that his priority was limiting Hart.

It didn’t work.

“He’s the heart and spirit of that team, so our focus is trying to keep him out of the game and not allow him to make the rush plays and outwork us and get the Knicks going,” Bickerstaff said. “You have to keep him off the boards because he does a great job crashing and his team feeds off of that.”

Miles McBride replaced Brunson and played the final 47 minutes, finishing with 16 points, including the 3-pointer with 33 seconds left.

DiVincenzo led all scorers with 28 points in 39 minutes.

It was the first game against the Cavaliers since November 1 and circumstances have changed. Cleveland came in second in the East on Sunday, building on a good stretch with a top-notch defense.

The injury-plagued Knicks have struggled lately, but they still rose for Cleveland, the same place where they dominated last year’s playoffs. The Cavaliers were defeated in that first-round series and carried a grudge heading into the season, specifically against the Knicks.

But on Sunday they did nothing about it. The Cavs cut the deficit to three with 4:40 left, but the Knicks gave up just two points the rest of the way.

“When you’re short-handed, your margin for error is small. That’s why you have to play with a lot of intensity, a lot of concentration in each play. That’s what I’m proud of,” Thibodeau said. “These guys, we haven’t had our starting first line in a long time, so add Jalen. But the guys who were there did the job.”