After going 0–4 against the East’s top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers last season, the New York Knicks snapped their regular-season skid versus the conference juggernauts with a 119–111 win on opening night.
Even without key pieces Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson, the Knicks controlled the game for long stretches. Cleveland punched back with multiple runs, but New York answered and closed it out at the buzzer.
OG steps up
On a night when All-NBA duo Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns shot a combined 10-for-30, OG Anunoby delivered a much-needed offensive lift. The defensive ace did his usual work — three steals and one block — but impressed on the other end with 24 points on an efficient 9-for-17 shooting, including 4-for-9 from three.
The most impressive part: his work on glass. Starting at power forward with Robinson out (and Towns sliding to center), Anunoby grabbed 14 rebounds, tying his career high against Cleveland’s towering frontcourt of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.
If he can reliably summon this kind of scoring when needed, the Knicks become even more of a threat.
Brown’s deep rotations
A rarity after Tom Thibodeau’s five-year regime: 11 Knicks saw the floor on opening night.
Albeit with rotation staples sidelined, new head coach Mike Brown dug into the bench, and players like Tyler Kolek and Trey Jemison provided quality minutes.
Kolek had an impressive outing as a primary ball handler, scoring 7 points and dishing 2 assists in 14 minutes, going 3-of-6 from the field and 1-of-2 from three.
The biggest contributor off the bench was Miles McBride, who was a game-high plus-17, scoring 15 points while knocking down four threes.
The corner 3 is key
The first shot of the game was a Brunson made three from the right corner, after plenty of ball movement and a good find from Towns. It was a sign that Brown’s new system is slowly changing the way Knicks basketball is played.
Ball movement and looking for that open three was a defining characteristic of the Knicks’ opening night offensive performance. It’s something that Brown emphasized during training camp, and it’s already translating in New York’s first game of the season.
New York attempted 12 shots from the corners, compared to Cleveland’s eight.
Overall, New York had a subpar night from behind the arc. They made 14 threes on a 35% clip. Seven of those 14 makes, though, were from the corners.
Big night on the boards
The Cavs, who were a top-5 2024-25 regular season team in rebounding, got dominated on the boards by the Knicks, who didn’t even have two of their best guys on the rebounding end.
Without the team’s top rebounders in Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson, a frontcourt matchup against the star duo of Mobley and Allen did not seem favorable on paper.
New York defied the odds and snagged 48 rebounds compared to Cleveland’s 32, allowing for multiple second-chance opportunities.
Despite dealing with a quad injury that left him doubtful before the game, Towns did his normal thing on the boards, grabbing 11, and his temporary frontcourt partner in Anunoby, had a game-high 14 rebounds.
Free throws for the win
Another separator: the line. New York attacked the paint at a higher rate, creating more free-throw opportunities.
They shot double the amount of free throw attempts as the Cavs, and capitalized on their chances, going an impressive 31-for-36. The Cavs only got to the line 18 times, making 12 of their free throws.
The line was the main source of points for the duo of Brunson and Towns. Towns shot an efficient 8-of-9 from the line, Brunson went 12-of-13, making as many free throws as the whole Cavaliers team.
In a game where they only won by 8 points, a difference of 12 to 31 made free throws is not sustainable. Long-term, New York’s stars will need more made field goals to keep the offense balanced.
Must defend the 3
The Cavaliers drained a league-high 19 threes last night on an efficient rate, shooting 41.3%.
Sam Merrill lit them up from behind the arc, shooting 5-of-10 from three, trimming leads after New York runs.
New York was able to pull out with a win this time around, but their perimeter defense must tighten up. It’s only game one, but you’re not usually going to win if you’re giving up that many threes at that high a clip.
The Knicks leave with plenty to like — depth minutes, physicality on the boards, and an encouraging shot profile — but plenty to clean up before Friday’s home matchup with the Celtics for game 2 of the 2025-26 season at Madison Square Garden.
