Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns dominate as Knicks roll past Cavaliers again

CLEVELAND — It felt like early November on the streets of Northeast Ohio. Inside Rocket Arena, it looked like late May.

Jalen Brunson was untouchable. Karl-Anthony Towns was unstoppable. Analytics were unnecessary. The eye test was enough for anyone to determine the best team on the floor.

The Knicks extended their dominance over the Cavaliers in their first meeting since their Eastern Conference finals sweep, earning their first three-game winning streak of the season with a 109-97 win Saturday night.

After becoming the first defending champion in 15 years to drop its first three games of the season, the Knicks (5-4) are now over .500 for the first time this season.

Jalen Brunson, who scored a game-high 31 points drives past James Harden en route to the basket during the Knicks’ 109-97 win over the Cavaliers on Nov. 7, 2026 in Cleveland. NBAE via Getty Images

“Going into the season … one of my concerns was, ‘Are we gonna attack this season the way we should?’ and obviously we didn’t,” head coach Mike Brown said. “That’s why we got knocked in the head, and I was OK with it because right now is the time to get knocked in the head. If you have championship pedigree — which that group does have — it’s going to wake you up, and it’s going to make you realize that nobody’s going to give anything to us, and it’s harder than what we think.

“When you win games, you’re human, it’s easy to start letting go of the rope because you just start to relax, especially over an 82-game season. And now the challenge for us is, can we hold on to the rope and keep climbing a little higher?”

Brunson initially struggled in his return to the floor where the Knicks clinched their first NBA Finals berth in 27 years, but eventually resembled the Finals MVP, finishing with 31 points (12-for-25 shooting, including 3-for-7 on 3-pointers), nine assists and six rebounds.

Towns had 29 points, 13 rebounds and two steals.

The Cavaliers (5-5), coming off an impressive win over the 76ers the previous night, ended their back-to-back home set looking as far from contention as the team that lost the final three games of the conference finals by a combined 66 points. Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with 37 points.

“We found a little bit of that magic and that pace of that team that was so magical in last year’s run,” Towns said. “Just fortunate that we were able to do something special tonight.”

Karl-Anthony Towns, who scored 29 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, drives on James Harden during the Knicks’ win over the Cavaliers. David Richard-Imagn Images

The foul-prone Towns was whistled on a call 22 seconds into the game, but he remained aggressive, overpowering the Cavs for 14 points and four rebounds in the first quarter.

Brown searched for other answers — throwing out 11 players as the Knicks fell behind by six and missed 16 of their first 19 3-pointers — but the coach just needed the man most responsible for ending the franchise’s 53-year title drought.

Brunson made his return visit to Cleveland look like an extension of the Eastern Conference finals, scoring 18 straight points in the second quarter to swing momentum, as the Knicks went to halftime with a 63-53 lead.

Donovan Mitchell, who scored a game-high 37 points, looks on during the Knicks’ road win over the Cavaliers. NBAE via Getty Images

“He’s getting rhythm, but it’s one of those things that you know you don’t worry about a guy like him,” Brown said of Brunson. “You don’t worry about a guy like KAT because they’re gonna find their way sooner than later. And he and KAT are both more than capable of doing what they did tonight.”

Landry Shamet hit back-to-back 3-pointers late in the third quarter to give the Knicks an 88-69 lead, quieting all but the countless blue-and-orange fans in the crowd.

With James Harden invisible again — scoring seven points on 2-for-9 shooting — Mitchell tried to will the Cavs back in it by scoring 22 of the team’s first 26 fourth-quarter points, bringing Cleveland within eight with under two minutes remaining.

But it was too late.

The champs had spoken.

“I think we’re in a good place,” Brunson said. “Obviously, bounced back from our start, but just going to try to do our best to not be complacent. Continue to get better every single day. Just because we’ve been winning a couple games doesn’t mean like we’re just we’re back to who we are. We are going to continue to work. That’s just our emphasis right now.”