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The Knicks didn’t play many games at full strength over the final month of the regular season due to injuries, but their returning top players fronted them to an all-important victory in their playoff opener.
Julius Randle scored 16 of his 19 points in the first half in his first appearance in more than two weeks, and Jalen Brunson bounced back from early foul trouble to net 21 of his 27 after halftime for a taut 101-97 victory over the Cavaliers in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series Saturday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Trade-deadline acquisition Josh Hart also had a dynamic game off the bench with 17 points and 10 rebounds (five offensive) in his postseason debut.
And Obi Toppin scored all nine of his points in a pivotal third quarter run for the Knicks, who will look to grab a 2-0 series lead in Game 2 on Tuesday in Cleveland.
All-Star guard and Westchester County product Donovan Mitchell scored a game-high 38 points on 14-for-30 shooting, with Darius Garland adding 17 for the fourth-seeded Cavaliers.
The Knicks were up by eight points entering the final quarter, and they led 87-77 following Randle’s 3-point bucket with 6:34 remaining. Mitchell and Brunson — who had missed 10 of the final 14 games with foot and hand ailments — exchanged long-range makes to keep it an eight-point game.
Another Mitchell trey cut the Knicks’ lead to 92-87 with 3:48 to go, and consecutive layups by Mitchell and Cedi Osman off turnovers by RJ Barrett and Brunson trimmed the lead to one.
