Knicks on brink of a New York party

The New York Knicks have had so few chances to join the NBA postseason party that they might forget the real fun hasn't even started yet.

"There's nothing to celebrate," Jalen Brunson said. "There's nothing to be truly happy about."

One more win and that changes.

Brunson scored 29 points, RJ Barrett had 26 and the Knicks took a 3-1 lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers in their first-round series with a 102-93 victory on Sunday.

Josh Hart added 19 points and seven rebounds for the fifth-seeded Knicks, who can reach the second round for the first time since 2013 with a win in Cleveland on Wednesday. New York would host Game 6, if necessary, on Friday at what has been a deafening Madison Square Garden during the last two games.

"There's nothing like a big game at the Garden," said Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau.

There might be a few more to come, the way his team is defending.

New York forced Cleveland All-Star Donovan Mitchell into one of the worst games of his postseason career, finishing with just 11 points on 5-for-18 shooting. Darius Garland had 23 points and 10 assists for the Cavs, bouncing back nicely after going 4 for 21 in the Knicks' Game 3 romp. Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert each scored 14 points.

"This is not over with," Mitchell said. "The way we lost sucks. We can't hang our heads and ultimately give up. We're not that type of group. Like I said, we'll be ready for Game 5."

Agencies via Xinhua