New York Knicks 109, Cleveland Cavaliers 97 — Recap

November 7, 2026 · Recap published November 7, 2026 · View Preview

📰Game Recap

The New York Knicks defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 109-97, overcoming a SportsFBI pregame lean that favored Cleveland at 52%. The opening frame set a tight tone as the Cavaliers edged the first quarter 27-26, led by Donovan Mitchell, who finished with 37 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 threes on 13-of-22 shooting. Cleveland's Evan Mobley contributed 12 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists on 5-of-11 shooting, including 1 three.

The game swung decisively in the second quarter when New York erupted for 37 points while holding Cleveland to 26, giving the Knicks a 63-53 halftime advantage. Jalen Brunson spearheaded the New York offense with 31 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists, and 3 threes on 12-of-25 shooting. Karl-Anthony Towns anchored the paint and perimeter for the Knicks, racking up 29 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 threes on 11-of-21 shooting.

New York extended its control further in the third quarter, outscoring Cleveland 25-17 to build a comfortable cushion entering the final frame. OG Anunoby added 15 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 threes on 4-of-13 shooting for the Knicks. Though the Cavaliers mounted a 27-point fourth quarter to edge that period, the deficit proved too large to overcome.

#NewYorkKnicks #ClevelandCavaliers #NBA #Basketball

How the Prediction Fared

⚡ Model Missed

SportsFBI's model, locked before tip-off, favored the Cleveland Cavaliers (52% confidence). It gave a 11% chance of a 20+ point margin; the game was decided by 12 points.

💵 Betting Result FanDuel closing line

Spread · NYK -4.5 NYK covered Won by 12

Total · 223.5 Under 206 combined

Moneyline NYK -196 · CLE +164 NYK favored

Line movementOpening line → close

Spread (CLE) +4.5+4.5 No move

Total 224.5223.5 -1

Moneyline (CLE) +144+164 +20

Standouts

Top Scorer · CLE

Donovan Mitchell

37 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST, 5 3PM · 13-22 FG

Scoring · NYK

Jalen Brunson

31 PTS, 6 REB, 9 AST, 3 3PM · 12-25 FG

Scoring · NYK

Karl-Anthony Towns

29 PTS, 13 REB, 3 AST, 2 3PM · 11-21 FG

Season highs

Donovan Mitchell · Season-high 37 pointsKarl-Anthony Towns · Season-high 29 pointsJalen Brunson · Season-high 9 assists

Every player's line is in the box score below; the play-by-play is available in the BlowOutAlert workspace.

📊 Game Flow

NYK 19 largest lead Q3 1:37 (NYK 88, CLE 69) · 9-0 run, Q3 5:28–Q3 3:23

CLE 6 largest lead Q2 9:31 (NYK 30, CLE 36) · 7-0 run, Q1 2:38–Q1 2:10

Swings 11 lead changes Tied 5 times

Ahead for good: Jalen Brunson makes 25-foot running jump shot (Mohamed Diawara assists) (Q2 4:03, NYK 46, CLE 45).

Linescore

	1	2	3	4		T
NYK	26	37	25	21		109
CLE	27	26	17	27		97

🧮 How They Scored

NYKCLE

Four factorsHighlighted side won the factor

50.0%Effective FG%52.4%

6.4%Turnover %10.9%

34.8%Offensive rebound %23.3%

0.146Free-throw rate0.232

Box Score

New York Knicks

Player	MIN	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	FG	3PT	FT	+/-
Jalen Brunson G	34	31	6	9	0	0	1	12-25	3-7	4-5	+13
Karl-Anthony Towns C	34	29	13	3	2	0	0	11-21	2-4	5-5	+2
OG Anunoby F	34	15	6	2	0	1	2	4-13	3-9	4-4	-4
Mikal Bridges F	31	9	6	4	0	1	0	4-13	1-7	0-0	+5
Landry Shamet G	29	9	1	1	2	0	1	3-8	3-8	0-0	+6
Miles McBride G	16	5	0	0	0	0	0	2-4	1-3	0-0	+14
Jordan Clarkson G	15	9	2	0	0	0	0	4-5	1-1	0-0	+4
Mohamed Diawara F	14	2	3	3	0	0	0	1-4	0-3	0-0	+16
Andre Drummond C	14	0	8	0	2	1	1	0-1	0-0	0-0	+10
Tyler Kolek G	14	0	4	5	1	0	2	0-2	0-2	0-0	-1
Dalton Knecht F	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	-5

Cleveland Cavaliers

Player	MIN	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	FG	3PT	FT	+/-
Donovan Mitchell G	37	37	4	4	2	1	5	13-22	5-13	6-11	-3
James Harden G	34	7	2	5	0	2	2	2-9	1-4	2-2	-15
Evan Mobley F-C	33	12	9	5	0	0	3	5-11	1-5	1-2	+7
Peyton Watson G	30	12	6	2	1	2	0	5-11	1-5	1-2	-11
Meleek Thomas G	24	9	4	0	0	0	1	3-10	3-8	0-0	-11
Tyrese Proctor G	23	7	3	2	0	0	0	2-5	2-4	1-2	-16
Mario Hezonja F	19	0	5	1	0	0	0	0-6	0-5	0-0	-1
Craig Porter G	15	0	1	1	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	+1
Thomas Bryant C	15	5	3	1	0	0	0	2-4	1-3	0-0	-19
Riley Minix F	10	8	3	0	0	0	0	3-4	2-3	0-0	+8