Cleveland Cavaliers vs New York Knicks Match Player Stats On Nov 01, 2023

Donovan Mitchell scored Cleveland's first 13 points Wednesday night and then scored five key points in the fourth quarter to stave off a rally by the host New York Knicks as the Cavaliers held on for a 95-89 victory.

Mitchell finished with a game-high 30 points as the Cavaliers salvaged a split of the home-and-home set despite playing both games without Jarrett Allen (ankle) and Darius Garland (hamstring).

Caris LeVert, who missed Cleveland's 109-91 loss Tuesday due to a hamstring injury, had 19 points off the bench. Evan Mobley added 14 points, including nine in the third quarter, as Cleveland took the lead for good.

Jalen Brunson scored 24 points but missed both of his 3-point attempts for the Knicks, who shot 16.7 percent (5-for-30) from beyond the arc. Josh Hart, starting in place of RJ Barrett (knee), had 11 points and eight rebounds, while Immanuel Quickley (18 points) and Donte DiVincenzo (16 points) got into double figures off the New York bench.

The Cavaliers ended the first quarter with a 24-22 lead before DiVincenzo had seven points during an 11-4 run to open the second for the Knicks, who took their biggest lead at 33-28 on Hart's layup with 9:51 left in the half. New York scored seven straight points before LeVert hit a 25-footer just before the halftime buzzer to pull the Cavaliers within 50-49.

Mobley scored the first five Cleveland points of the third quarter, including a layup that gave the Cavaliers the lead for good at 54-52 with 9:28 left. Cleveland opened a pair of eight-point leads while outscoring the Knicks 22-13 and limiting New York to 25 percent shooting (6-for-24) in the quarter.

The Cavaliers twice extended their lead to nine points in the fourth before going cold as the Knicks pieced together a 7-0 run to pull within 79-77 with 2:48 left. Mitchell ended the drought with a 25-foot 3-pointer, and DiVincenzo missed a 3-pointer on New York's next trip, after which Mitchell put back his own miss to give Cleveland an 84-77 lead.

Brunson converted a putback with 1:41 left, but LeVert drained a 3-pointer with 1:07 to go, giving the Cavaliers an eight-point edge. DiVincenzo's 3-pointer with five seconds left provided the final margin.

--Field Level Media