New York Knicks vs Cleveland Cavaliers Game Player Stats and Box Scores for March 3, 2024
The undermanned New York Knicks looked to win the season series against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday. New York, which lost 95-89 in the last meeting between the two teams in November, would have to earn a victory without key players. Julius Randle, OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson remained out for the visiting team.
The Cavaliers also did not have Donovan Mitchell who has dealt with knee soreness since after the All-Star break. Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen led Cleveland’s attempt to defend their home court and win the head-to-head matchup.
Donte DiVincenzo came out firing to tow the Knicks to an early lead. He and Josh Hart combined for 4-for-7 from deep. New York hit 6-for-11 3-pointers to race to a 28-19 first-quarter advantage. The biggest story for them, however, was Jalen Brunson’s injury. The All-Star guard was taken to the locker room and to be checked.
Isaac Okoro paced the Cavaliers with eight points but it was the disparity in 3-point field goals that separated the teams. Cleveland struggled from behind the arc, hitting just 2-of-9 3-pointers.
Without Brunson, Knicks backup guard Miles McBride stepped up and contributed 10 points to support DiVincenzo and Hart in the second quarter. Bojan Bogdanovic also responded to the urgent need for scoring with another 10. New York, though, had trouble executing plays without its franchise leader.
Meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers started to take advantage of their opponents' injury-riddled roster. Backup shooter Sam Merrill heated up for 12 points while Okoro continued his surprising pace.
After trailing by as many as 12 points, Cleveland grabbed the lead 53-51 following Darius Garland's fallaway 3-pointer. Donte DiVincenzo resumed his exploits in the third quarter while Josh Hart continued providing two-way impact for the New York Knicks.
Precious Achiuwa and Alec Burks joined the fray as they helped their team regain the lead heading into the fourth quarter. Garland couldn't sustain his momentum as New York seized control of the game again. The dip in the Cavaliers' play allowed their opponents to grab an 87-78 advantage with still a quarter left to play.
Josh Hart, who completed a triple-double at the start of the fourth quarter, made several key plays at crunchtime for the New York Knicks. He scored a triple over the outstretched hands of 7-foot Evan Mobley to extend the Knicks' lead to 104-98 with roughly a minute remaining. The following possesion, he also broke up Cleveland's play with a steal.
A corner 3-pointer by Miles McBride off an assist from Donte DiVincenzo was the nail on the Cleveland Cavaliers' coffin. Without four of their starters, the Knicks eked out an impressive 107-98 victory on the road.
New York Knicks vs Cleveland Cavaliers game player stats and box scores
New York Knicks game player stats
Cleveland Cavaliers game player stats