Cavaliers 115, Knicks 107: Harden's season-high 32 ends New York's four-game run
James Harden broke a 101-all tie with a 3-pointer in the final five minutes as Cleveland won on its first trip to Madison Square Garden since the conference finals.
James Harden picked a good night to look like himself. The Cleveland guard scored a season-high 32 points on Wednesday, including the 3-pointer that broke a late tie, and the Cavaliers beat the New York Knicks 115-107 at Madison Square Garden.
The win ended New York's four-game winning streak and levelled the season series at one game each. The Knicks had won 109-97 in Cleveland on Saturday.
Harden's night
Harden's start to the season had been slow by any measure. The Associated Press noted that he came into the game averaging 15.3 points and shooting 36.4 percent from the floor. He more than doubled that average on Wednesday. Thirteen of his points came in the second quarter, when he went 4-for-4 from the field with three 3-pointers.
Donovan Mitchell added 23 points. Jarrett Allen had 11 points and 14 rebounds, and the Akron Beacon Journal reported that Cleveland also got 15 points from Tyrese Proctor and 14 from Meleek Thomas off the bench.
A lead that would not stay put
Cleveland was in front for most of the night. It led 33-23 after one quarter, 59-53 at halftime and 82-76 through three. Each time the gap grew, New York closed it again.
The last of those pushes was the most serious. The Cavaliers led by 10 with 8:25 to play, the AP reported, before the Knicks rallied to tie the game at 101. The tying points came on a pair of OG Anunoby free throws, according to the Beacon Journal.
That was as close as New York got. Harden answered with a go-ahead 3-pointer with 4:21 remaining. Evan Mobley scored on the next Cleveland basket, and Allen followed with four straight points, the last of them a dunk that made it 110-103.
Towns ties Willis Reed
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 27 points. Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, and the double-double carried some weight: it was his 11th in a row to open the season, tying Willis Reed's franchise record, per the AP. Anunoby finished with 14 points.
Why it matters
There was some recent history in the building. This was Cleveland's first visit to the Garden since last season's Eastern Conference finals, a series the Knicks swept after erasing a 22-point fourth-quarter deficit to win Game 1 in overtime. A fourth-quarter Knicks comeback against this opponent in this arena was not an unfamiliar sight, and this time the Cavaliers had the answer.
It also stopped a slide. Cleveland had lost two straight and is now 6-6, including 2-4 on the road. If Harden's shooting night is the start of something rather than an exception, that changes what this team looks like alongside Mitchell.
New York fell to 6-5. Both teams play again Friday: the Cavaliers at Miami, the Knicks at Indiana.