NEW YORK (Interstat) — Karl-Anthony Towns recorded 18 points and 13 rebounds and Josh Hart added 26 points and seven assists as the New York Knicks defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 109-93 on Thursday at Madison Square Garden to take a 2-0 lead in their playoff series. Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points for Cleveland, which lost its second straight in the best-of-seven matchup. Jalen Brunson had 19 points and 14 assists for the Knicks. Mikal Bridges scored 19 points, and OG Anunoby added 14. James Harden finished with 18 points and six rebounds for the Cavaliers. Jarrett Allen had 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Evan Mobley scored 14. New York outscored Cleveland 32-21 in the third quarter to seize control. The Knicks shot 50 percent from the field and made 13 three-pointers. The Cavaliers shot 44 percent from the floor. Attendance was 19,812. The series moves to Cleveland for Game 3 on Monday. New York improved to 64-32; Cleveland fell to 60-38.

NEW YORK (Interstat) — Josh Hart scored a playoff career-high 26 points, Jalen Brunson had 19 points and 14 assists, and the New York Knicks moved halfway to their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999 by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 109-93 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal series. Mikal Bridges also scored 19 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Knicks, who won their ninth straight postseason game, the longest active streak in the NBA. Cleveland, which forced overtime in Game 1 before falling 115-104, could not recover from a decisive New York run in the third quarter. The game at Madison Square Garden, played before a sellout crowd of 19,812, saw the Knicks explode with an 18-0 run in the third quarter that turned a tight contest into a blowout. The burst began after Cleveland had cut the deficit to 53-51 on a Jarrett Allen layup with 11 minutes, 43 seconds left in the period. New York responded with eight straight points, including a Brunson three-pointer and a Josh Hart dunk, to push the lead to 10. After Evan Mobley and Max Strus missed chances, Hart hit a three-pointer from the left wing to make it 67-53. Another Hart three, this one from the top of the arc, stretched the lead to 74-53 before Towns added a driving layup. By the time the run ended with a Mikal Bridges free throw, the Knicks led 74-53 and the Cavaliers never got closer than 10 points the rest of the way. Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with 26 points, four rebounds and one assist, but he struggled from the field, making only 9 of 25 shots. James Harden added 18 points, six rebounds and two assists, while Jarrett Allen contributed 13 points and 10 rebounds with two blocks. Evan Mobley chipped in 14 points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocks, but the Cavaliers shot just 40 percent from the floor and 29 percent from three-point range. New York shot 48 percent overall and 37 percent from beyond the arc. The Knicks dominated the boards, grabbing 47 rebounds to Cleveland’s 41, and dished out 30 assists on 42 made field goals. The game started with the Cavaliers jumping out to an early lead. Allen scored on a tip-in and Mobley hit a pair of three-pointers, giving Cleveland a 13-11 advantage with 7 minutes left in the first quarter. The Knicks answered with a 13-2 run, capped by a Bridges layup off a steal, to take a 24-15 lead. Mitchell’s step-back three at the buzzer cut New York’s lead to 24-20 after one quarter. The second quarter saw both teams trade baskets. Cleveland pulled within 36-34 on a Harden floater, but the Knicks responded with an 8-2 spurt, including a Hart three and an OG Anunoby three, to lead 50-40. Hart’s three with 30.9 seconds left in the half gave New York a 53-40 lead, but Allen’s layup just before the buzzer made it 53-42 at halftime. New York’s lead grew to 64-49 early in the third quarter on a Brunson turnaround jumper. After Mobley missed a three, Hart’s dunk made it 66-49. The Cavaliers tried to rally, cutting the deficit to 67-60 on a Harden three, but the Knicks responded with the 18-0 run that essentially decided the game. Cleveland made one last push in the fourth quarter. Mitchell scored seven points in the first three minutes, cutting New York’s lead to 88-83 with 8 minutes left. But the Knicks answered with a 7-0 run, including a Bridges three, to push the lead back to 95-83. Harden’s three made it 95-88, but Brunson scored on a pullup jumper and later added two free throws to seal the victory. Hart finished 10 of 19 from the floor, including 4 of 10 from three-point range, to go with four rebounds and seven assists. Brunson shot 7 of 18 overall but made all four of his free throws and dished out a game-high 14 assists. Towns shot 6 of 12 from the field and 3 of 6 from deep, grabbing 13 rebounds. Bridges shot 8 of 14 for his 19 points. For Cleveland, Harden shot 6 of 15 and 2 of 7 from three, adding six rebounds. Allen was 5 of 9 from the field and 3 of 4 from the line. Max Strus had five points, four rebounds and three assists but shot 1 of 8 from the floor. Key plays included a block by Allen on Hart in the third quarter and a steal by Hart that led to a Bridges layup starting the decisive run. Towns’ three-pointer with 1 minute, 47 seconds left in the third gave New York an 81-71 lead, and Mitchell’s driving layup with 1 minute, 40 seconds left was too little, too late. The series now shifts to Cleveland for Game 3 on Monday. The Cavaliers will need to win at home to avoid falling into a 3-0 hole. New York has won nine straight playoff games, the longest such streak since Boston won 10 in a row en route to the 2024 championship. Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of New York 118, Cleveland 105, and its ELO system gave the Knicks an 82.80 percent probability to win. New York was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-6, and the total score of 202 went over the over-under line of 214.5.

NEW YORK (Interstat) — The New York Knicks aim to take a commanding 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden. Game 2 tips off at 7 p.m. EDT. New York, the seed with a 62-32 regular-season record, won the opener Tuesday 20-13 in a defensive slugfest. The Cavaliers, the seed at 60-36, look to even the series before returning home for Game 3 on Monday. Players to watch Cleveland forward Evan Mobley enters the matchup on a strong run. Over his last 10 games, the 7-footer has averaged 17.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists. In the Cavaliers’ series-clinching win over Detroit on May 17, Mobley logged 21 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in 36 minutes. He has recorded double-doubles in three of his last four outings. For New York, center Karl-Anthony Towns has been a consistent two-way force. Over his last eight games, Towns is averaging 16.4 points, 10.5 rebounds and 6.6 assists. He posted a triple-double — 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists — in a first-round win over Atlanta on April 30. In the Knicks’ sweep-clinching victory against Philadelphia on May 10, Towns had 17 points, four rebounds and 10 assists in just 20 minutes. Series history The Knicks took Game 1 on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. New York also won the regular-season series, going 3-1 against Cleveland. The Knicks won 119-111 on Oct. 22 and 126-124 in overtime on Christmas Day, both at home. Cleveland’s lone win came Feb. 24, a 109-94 victory at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Recent results The Cavaliers enter Game 2 after winning their final first-round game against Detroit, 125-94, on May 17. Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with 26 points and eight assists, while Jarrett Allen added 23 points and seven rebounds. The Knicks are coming off an eight-day layoff, having swept Philadelphia. In their last game May 10, Miles McBride scored 25 points and Josh Hart added 17 points and nine rebounds. Projection Interstat’s game simulator projects a 118-105 Knicks victory. Schedule ahead The series continues with Game 3 on Monday, May 25, in Cleveland. Game 4 is Wednesday, May 27, also at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. If necessary, Game 5 returns to New York on Friday, May 29, and Game 6 is Sunday, May 31, in Cleveland.