Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Jalen Brunson scored 31 points to propel the NBA champion New York Knicks to a convincing 109-97 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday in a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference finals. Brunson scored 18 points in the second quarter as the Knicks broke open a close game in Cleveland, where the Cavs were coming off an impressive win over LeBron James and the Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia 76ers on Friday. The NBA Finals Most Valuable Player added six rebounds and nine assists.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 29 points with 13 rebounds and two steals for the Knicks, who notched their fifth win in six games after starting the season 0-3. Donovan Mitchell scored 37 points to lead the Cavs, but Cleveland felt the absence of center Jarrett Allen, and when Brunson took over in the second period, they couldn’t respond. The Knicks pushed the lead to as many as 19 points. They connected on just 42.7% of their shots from the field but came up with 26 second-chance points off 16 offensive rebounds.
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“Ugly game, but just a good win by our guys,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “We did enough to get it done in some way, shape or form. Anytime you can get a win, especially with us starting out 0-3, we’ll take it to see if we can build a little positive equity at this point in the season.”
In San Francisco, Stephen Curry scored 19 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter and overtime to help the Golden State Warriors escape with a 126-119 victory over the Orlando Magic. Golden State led by as many as 16, but with the help of 19 Warriors turnovers, the Magic clawed back, and a frantic fourth quarter saw Orlando’s Jamal Cain tie it with 1.5 seconds left in regulation. Curry converted a three-point play with 1:38 left in the extra session that put Golden State up by two and added a layup with less than a minute remaining to help the Warriors hang on for a seventh straight win. Curry, 38, posted his second 40-point game this season and passed LeBron James for most 40-point games after the age of 35 with his 16th.
– Mexico City Game – Saturday’s seven-game slate started with the NBA’s latest foray south of the border for its 16th regular-season contest in Mexico. Three-time MVP Nikola Jokic scored 19 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to help the Denver Nuggets hold off the Indiana Pacers’ second-half surge and emerge with a 114-102 triumph. Jokic added eight assists, coming up just shy of a triple-double. Cameron Johnson added 18 points, and Jamal Murray chipped in 16 for the Nuggets, who saw a 27-point lead sliced to seven midway through the fourth quarter but held on for the victory before a sellout crowd of more than 20,000 at Mexico City’s Arena CDMX.
“It was a good crowd,” Jokic said. “The energy was there the whole game. I didn’t know who they were cheering for, for us or for them, but the energy was there.” Indiana’s Pascal Siakam led all scorers with 23 points, but the Pacers trailed by as many as 27 in the first half. They hit back with a 37-point third quarter and pulled within 102-95 on a Jarace Walker running basket with 7:27 remaining. The Nuggets responded with a quick basket from Spencer Jones and a thunderous Aaron Gordon dunk as they kept the Pacers at bay.
In Oklahoma City, the Thunder rolled to a 114-75 victory over Washington, holding the Wizards to the lowest points total in the NBA this season. Two-time reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City with 30 points and nine assists. Jared McCain added 19 off the bench, and rookie Aday Mara chipped in 18 points, eight rebounds, and three assists as the Thunder continued to thrive despite the injury absences of Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, and Cason Wallace.
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