Knicks advance to second round, down Cavs 106-95 in Game 5

CLEVELAND(AP) — Jalen Brunson scored 23 points, RJ Barrett added 21 and theNew York Knicks downed the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-95 in Game 5 onWednesday night to advance to the second round of the EasternConference playoffs for the first time since 2013.

The Knickseasily controlled a series that was more one-sided than expected,even after Julius Randle aggravated his left ankle injury andmissed the second half.

New York wonthe opener at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, overpowered the Cavstwice at noisy Madison Square Garden and then returned to Clevelandto finish the job. The fifth-seeded Knicks will meet theMiami-Milwaukee winner next.

Brunson wasthe consistent ingredient throughout the series for the Knicks, whosigned the stocky guard as a free agent last summer before theirattempt to acquire Donovan Mitchell in a trade from Utah fell apartand he landed in Cleveland.

Brunsonaveraged 24 points in the series and led New York in scoring allfour wins while outplaying Mitchell for the second straightpostseason. Last year, Brunson was with Dallas when he got the bestof Mitchell.

Mitchellscored 28 and Darius Garland 21 for the Cavs, who won 51 gamesduring the regular season but whose inexperience showed throughouttheir first playoff series in five years. The Cavs weren’tready.

A biggerissue, though, seemed to be Cleveland’s toughness. The Cavs gotpushed around and outrebounded in all four losses, including 48-30in the clincher.

New Yorkcenter Mitchell Robinson finished with`18 rebounds — 11 offensive —in Game 5 and the 7-footer didn’t shy away from calling out theCavs for being soft after Game 3, saying they appeared to beshaken.

Clevelandhoped to recapture some of its 2016 magic and overcome a 3-1deficit like LeBron James and the Cavs did in the NBA Finals toshock Golden State. But Brunson, Barrett and the rest of the Knickshad other plans.

They closedout the Cavs in the second half without Randle.

The All-Starforward left late in the second quarter after aggravating asprained left ankle and didn’t return. Obi Toppin started in hisplace and scored 12 points in the third quarter as the Knicksopened an 18-point lead.

New Yorknever let Cleveland get closer than six in the fourth, much to thedelight of several hundred Knicks fans who celebrated behind theirbench.

Randle wasmoving as well as he had in the series before going down.

After tryingto block Caris LeVert’s jumper, he landed awkwardly and stayed onthe floor for a few minutes while being checked. Randle was helpedto his feet but defiantly walked off the floor and to the lockerroom for treatment.

Turns out,the Knicks didn’t need him.

New York’sdepth was also a huge factor in the series. Every time coach TomThibodeau turned to a reserve, they responded.

That wasn’tthe case for the Cavs and coach J.B. Bickerstaff, whose bench was aproblem all season and was further exposed when the games were moremeaningful.

One sequencein the first half underscored Cleveland’s frustration.

Isolated onthe wing against Brunson, Isaac Okoro refused to bite on a move andkept New York’s guard in front of him and nearly came up with asteal before fumbling it out of bounds with two seconds left on the24-second shot clock.

New Yorkinbounded and Immanuel Quickley hit a 3-pointer to put the Knicksahead by 12.

TIP-INS

Knicks: GQuentin Grimes missed his second straight game with a bruised rightshoulder. He’s been out since absorbing a hit in the first half ofGame 3. ... New York improved to 13-2 in the postseason againstCleveland, winning all four series (1978, 1995, 1996 and 2023).

Cavaliers:With 23 points adn 10 assists in Game 4 , Garland became the secondCleveland player to 23 or younger to post those totals in a playoffgame. James did it eight times with the Cavs. ... Cleveland is46-15 at home in the playoffs since 2008, losing elimination gamesin the arena in 2015, 2018 and 2023.