The reigning champions went back to Cleveland and left with the kind of win they used to need a playoff series to get.

Jalen Brunson scored 31 points with nine assists and Karl-Anthony Towns added 29 points and 13 rebounds as the New York Knicks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 109-97 on Saturday at Rocket Arena.

It was New York's first trip to Cleveland since sweeping the Cavaliers in the 2026 Eastern Conference finals. The Knicks have now won three straight and improved to 5-4. Cleveland fell to 5-5.

A second-quarter surge

Cleveland led 27-26 after the first quarter. New York answered with a 37-26 second period and took a 63-53 lead into halftime.

The Knicks stretched the margin to 88-70 after three quarters and led by as many as 19 points. Cleveland scored 27 in the fourth but never got closer than the final 12-point gap.

Towns was efficient in 34 minutes with 11-of-21 shooting and a perfect 5-for-5 from the line. He grabbed five offensive rebounds and did not turn the ball over.

Mitchell could not do it alone

Donovan Mitchell led all scorers with 37 points on 13-of-22 shooting including five 3-pointers. Evan Mobley had 12 points, nine rebounds and five assists and Peyton Watson added 12 points.

James Harden finished with seven points on 2-of-9 shooting. The Cavaliers played without center Jarrett Allen (right knee bruise), Jaylon Tyson (right ankle sprain) and Sam Merrill (right elbow).

New York played without Josh Hart who sat a second straight game with a right ankle injury. OG Anunoby scored 15 points. The game drew 19,432 fans and featured 11 lead changes before the Knicks pulled away.