November 8, 2026 at 6:08 AM UTC

Postgame Report

Knicks Drop 37 in the Second Quarter, and Mitchell's 37 Isn't Enough for Cavaliers

By How we produce articles

Cleveland led by a point after one, then watched New York outscore it 37-26 in the second and win 109-97 in the Eastern Conference Finals rematch. Donovan Mitchell scored 37 in the loss.

This page is the postgame report. The box score is the main page for the game, and the matchup history collects every meeting between these teams.

CLEVELAND — Donovan Mitchell scored 37 points Saturday, and the Knicks scored 37 in the second quarter alone. New York trailed 27-26 after one, outscored the Cavaliers 37-26 in the second and went to halftime up 63-53. Cleveland never got the lead back at a quarter break. The Knicks won 109-97 in their first meeting with the Cavaliers since sweeping them in last spring's Eastern Conference Finals.

Mitchell shot 13 of 22, hit five of his 13 threes and added four rebounds and four assists in 37 minutes. Jalen Brunson led New York with 31 points on 12-of-25 shooting and handed out nine assists. Karl-Anthony Towns had the night's only double-double, 29 points and 13 rebounds on 11-of-21 shooting. OG Anunoby added 15.

The third quarter made it a bigger gap. New York won it 25-17 and led 88-70 going into the fourth. Cleveland scored 27 in the last period to New York's 21, which trimmed the final margin to 12. James Harden went 2 of 9 for seven points in 34 minutes. Mario Hezonja missed all six of his shots. Evan Mobley and Peyton Watson each had 12, and Jarrett Allen did not play.

Cleveland was playing the night after its 119-95 NBA Cup win over Philadelphia. The Knicks arrived at 4-4 and left 5-4, above .500 for the first time this season. Andre Drummond grabbed eight rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench without scoring.

Sources

All game reports