Cavs pull away from Knicks for 8th win in 9 games

CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 23 points, James Harden added 20 and the Cleveland Cavaliers pulled away in the second half for a 109-94 victory over the New York Knicks on Tuesday night.

Jarrett Allen had 19 points and 10 rebounds as the Cavaliers won for the eighth time in nine games.

Jalen Brunson had 20 points and Mikal Bridges scored 18 for the Knicks. Mitchell Robinson pulled down 15 rebounds, one off a season high.

New York shot 35 of 86 as Bridges and Brunson were a combined 12 of 36. The Knicks shot 27% from 3-point range (10 of 37). Cleveland came into the game with the fourth-worst defense in the league on 3-pointers.

The Cavaliers and Knicks are both 37-22 and tied for third place in the Eastern Conference. But New York would have the head-to-head tiebreaker edge if the teams are tied at the end of the season after taking two of three meetings.

Cleveland had a 60-54 halftime advantage before taking control in the third quarter. It outscored New York 23-11 in the period, and held the Knicks to 3 of 24 from the field.

Harden had eight points in the quarter and Allen scored six.

It was the worst shooting quarter by the Knicks since they went 3 of 20 in the fourth quarter of a 2018 game against Boston.

The last time the Cavaliers held a team to three or fewer field goals was last season against Minnesota (2 of 20).

Cleveland was up 71-63 before going on a 13-2 run during a five-minute span late in the third and early in the fourth.

The Cavaliers' largest lead was 98-78 midway through the fourth quarter.

Up next

Knicks: At Milwaukee on Friday.

Cavaliers: At Milwaukee on Wednesday to start a three-game road trip.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba