CLEVELAND — A minute into the game, the New York Knicks had their season in front of them.
Turns out it was probably just a scare.
Josh Hart had a triple-double, Donte DiVincenzo scored 28 points and the Knicks regrouped after losing All-Star guard Jalen Brunson in the first minute to a left knee injury to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 107-98 Sunday night.
Hart finished with 13 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists to help the Knicks overcome a night without Brunson, their last starter to go down with an injury.
After the game, coach Tom Thibodeau said X-rays on Brunson’s knee were negative.
“It’s a bruised knee,” a relaxed Thibodeau said. “He hit his knees. That’s what happened. He had X-rays and was examined by the doctor. Everything was negative. We’ll see where he is tomorrow.
Hart and Miles McBride, who replaced Brunson and never came out, each scored 3 points 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 the Cleveland bench knew about it. Hart didn’t repeat exactly what he said, but joked that he was just complimenting his good friend Donovan Mitchell’s expensive chain.
“I was just having fun,” Hart said.
Then, following a steal from Hart, McBride hit a 3-pointer to close out a game that began with Brunson helping in the locker room after less than a minute of action. The Knicks, however, showed their toughness.
“When a guy goes down, you have to find a way,” Hart said. “We had to go out there and play our game.”
Brunson, who carried the Knicks through a series of serious injuries, was injured on New York’s first possession.
Coming off a screen, Brunson stood up for a jump shot near the foul line when he appeared to feel pain on the takeoff. He shot a ball and landed before tripping and falling to the ground near the 3-point line.
Brunson remained seated in possession as the play continued before getting up and limping to the sideline, where he fell again in obvious pain. The 27-year-old goalkeeper was helped to his feet and escorted to the locker room.
It was not immediately clear when Brunson was injured. Although he wasn’t hit by Cleveland’s Isaac Okoro on the jumper, replays showed Brunson bumping knees with Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein early in the possession.
“You don’t want to see anyone go down like that. He’s one of the toughest guys in the league,” DiVincenzo said of Brunson. “I know he’ll be ready to go.”
Bojan Bogdanovic added 20 points and McBride 16 in 47 minutes with no turnovers.
Sam Merrill and Jarrett Allen scored 18 each for the Cavs, who played without leading scorer Donovan Mitchell (knee soreness) and top sub Caris LeVert (elbow soreness). Mobley had 13 points and 13 rebounds.
“We played in fits and starts,” Cleveland coach JB Bickerstaff said. “We had a good second quarter. But to come out of halftime and give up 36 points to a team that was missing as many guys as they were, it’s disappointing defensively.
“We have to be better than that.”
Even before Brunson’s loss, both teams looked very different from their playoff matchup last season, which New York won in five games.
While the Cavs were without Mitchell and LeVert, the Knicks were without three starters: All-Star forward Julius Randle (shoulder), center Mitchell Robinson (ankle) and guard OG Anunoby (elbow).
Brunson was instrumental in New York staying in the playoffs, injured while short-handed and now the Knicks need others to pick up the slack if he is out for an extended period of time.
“The thing about us is we’re brave,” DiVincenzo said. “We are collectively together. There’s not one guy that wants to go out and outwork anyone. That’s our goal: to win the game. It doesn’t matter how we do it.
Randle practiced on the field and he pushed himself hard during a pregame workout.
Thibodeau said Randle has made “very good progress,” with one of the next ones being contact. Thibodeau said surgery appears less likely.
FOLLOWING
Knicks: Host Atlanta on Tuesday night.
Cavaliers: Host Boston on Tuesday night.
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