Cougars

The Dallas Mavericks have acquired forward Caleb Martin from the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for guard Quentin Grimes and a 2025 second-round draft pick, according to ESPN&rsquo;s Shams Charania.
Trade Details:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Dallas Mavericks Receive:</li>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">Caleb Martin</li>
</ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Philadelphia 76ers Receive:</li>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">Quentin Grimes</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2">2025 second-round draft pick</li>
</ul>
</ul>
Caleb Martin, 29, has averaged 9.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.2 assists over 31 games this season for Philadelphia. Known for his defensive prowess and solid shooting, including a 37.9% three-point percentage, Martin brings versatility on the wings to the Mavericks' roster. He will provide another 3-and-D defender to a team that the Mavs are trying to build.
Quentin Grimes, 24, has contributed 10.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game across 47 appearances this season for Dallas. His offensive capabilities and youth present promising potential for the 76ers as they navigate a challenging season impacted by injuries. Grimes' shooting should benefit Sixers superstars Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey as he spaces the floor for them.
ANALYSIS: This trade reflects the Mavericks' ongoing strategy to enhance their defensive lineup, following their recent high-profile acquisition of Anthony Davis. Martin is another long wing that can shoot and can defend at a high level.
For the 76ers, the addition of Grimes and a future draft pick aligns with their efforts to rebuild and strengthen their roster for upcoming seasons. However, by trading Martin who they just recently signed in the offseason, was more of a move to possibly sign forward Guerschon Yabusele in the summer. Yabusele, who made his NBA comeback this season after a successful Olympic stint for France, was someone who can play the 4 for the Sixers. At 6-foot-7, Yabusele has offered the strength and the scoring punch inside and has played well in his NBA comeback. This development possibly made Martin expendable and the Sixers should do everything they can to re-sign the frenchman.
Moreover, the rise of young wings Ricky Council IV and Justin Edwards has had an effect on this development. The two play similar positions to Martin, but they are younger and have much cheaper contracts. Grimes is on an expiring deal and both Council IV and Edwards are in contract for at least 2-3 years.

The Dallas Mavericks have acquired forward Caleb Martin from the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for guard Quentin Grimes.

Sixers trade Caleb Martin to Mavericks for Quentin Grimes

The New York Knicks have acquired forward Bojan Bogdanovic and guard Alec Burks from the Detroit Pistons for guards Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier, Malachi Flynn, Ryan Arcidiacono and two second round picks, according to <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN&rsquo;s Adrian Wojnarowski</a>.
Acquiring veteran pieces in Bogdanovic and Burks strengthens the Knicks&rsquo; core as they hope to embark on a deep playoff run this season. New York is currently tied with the Milwaukee Bucks in third place in the Eastern Conference with a 33-18 record.
New York is the first contender in the East to make a splashy move as they feel like this core, led by All-Stars Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle, could contend the East.&nbsp;
Bogdanovic, 34, is averaging 20.2 points while shooting 41.5% from three-point range this season. Bogdanovic will likely start at power forward as Randle recovers from a shoulder injury and he'll provide scoring alongside Brunson, giving the Knicks additional firepower.
Burks, 32, returns to New York after spending two seasons with the team from 2020 to 2022. He&rsquo;s currently averaging 12.6 points and 2.6 rebounds while shooting 40% from three in 43 games this season. Burks gives the Knicks a secondary ball handler and bucket-getter off the bench.
Detroit receives two future second-rounders and four guards (Grimes, Fournier, Flynn and Arcidiacono). Grimes, the 25th overall pick in 2021, was moved to the bench this season in favor of Donte DiVincenzo. Fournier and Arcidiacono didn't get many minutes in Tom Thibodeau&rsquo;s rotation, while Flynn just recently arrived from Toronto as part of the OG Anunoby trade and never established himself in the lineup.

The New York Knicks have acquired forward Bojan Bogdanovic and guard Alec Burks from the Detroit Pistons.

Knicks acquire Bojan Bogdanovic, Alec Burks from Pistons

After a long four-month offseason, the 2023-24 NBA season officially kicks off on October 24. Preseason action is currently underway, with teams evaluating their roster and getting ready for the start of the regular season.
There were a few roster rule changes of note this offseason that were introduced as part of the new CBA. Now, each team can sign up to three two-way players (up from two) who are able to play up to 50 games with their NBA team and spend the rest of their season in the G League. Also, offseason rosters were originally limited to 20 players but have since increased to 21.&nbsp;
Each team needs to be at 15 standard contracts prior to the start of the season, which means a few players on guaranteed deals will have to be cut prior to the season. While some teams have a pretty set roster, others (like the Oklahoma City Thunder) will be forced to part ways with talented players to reach their roster limit.&nbsp;
Looking at the Atlantic Division, let's see how each team&rsquo;s lineup is shaping up and what questions they may need to answer before the start of the season.
(This is part one of a six-part series, with more divisional previews coming soon).
<h1>BOSTON CELTICS</h1>
Outside of the top-six players, who will be the most reliable depth option?
After acquiring Jrue Holiday, the Boston Celtics may have the best top-six of any team in the league. While we can add the Holiday trade to their list of aggressive offseason transactions, their depth has taken somewhat of a step back.&nbsp;
They will have to replace four rotation players from last year&rsquo;s Conference Finals team with a few players who don&rsquo;t have much experience in playoff situations. Three players who should definitely see more minutes are Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser and Luke Kornet. Pritchard has played well on both ends of the floor when given an opportunity, notably shooting 40% from three-point range over his first three seasons. The Celtics rewarded him with a team-friendly extension that should see him take up about 5% of the salary cap over the next four years. Hauser has also been a stellar three-point shooter, knocking down 42% since coming into the league.&nbsp;
The frontcourt is probably the most notable weakness on the team&rsquo;s depth chart. Joe Mazzulla has expressed confidence that <a href="https://www.celticsblog.com/2023/10/7/23907608/boston-celtics-depth-sam-hauser-luke-kornet-payton-pritchard-joe-mazzulla-blake-griffin-bus-one-boys" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kornet should be successful on both ends of the floor and will be their go-to backup center to start the season.</a> The preseason will be important in determining who else (i.e. Oshae Brissett, Jordan Walsh, Svi Mykhailiuk, etc.) may stand out for Mazzulla and get an opportunity for playing time behind Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis.&nbsp;
Roster Decisions
The Celtics have the least amount of players on guaranteed contracts in the league (10). However, their roster for opening night is likely set unless they want to open up flexibility to sign other veteran players or buyout candidates later this season. If they choose to cut someone, it would very likely be a player on a non-guaranteed deal. Mykhailiuk and Dalano Banton each have a partial $200,000 guarantee that increases to over $1,000,000 if they make the roster. Kornet, Wenyen Gabriel and Lamar Stevens all have non-guaranteed contracts.&nbsp;
Rotation
Current Roster Count: 19 players (10 guaranteed, 2 partially guaranteed, 3 non-guaranteed, 3 two-way, 1 Exhibit-10)
Projected Starters: G Jrue Holiday, G/F Jaylen Brown, F Jayson Tatum, F/C Al Horford, F/C Kristaps Porzingis
Projected Rotation Players: G Derrick White, G Payton Pritchard, C Luke Kornet (non-guaranteed), F Sam Hauser, F Oshae Brissett
Projected Reserves: F Jordan Walsh, G/F Svi Mykhailiuk ($200K guaranteed), F Wenyen Gabriel (non-guaranteed), G Dalano Banton ($200K guaranteed), F Lamar Stevens (non-guaranteed)
Projected Two-Way Players: C Neemias Queta, G JD Davison, G Jay Scrubb (Injured)
Projected Roster Cuts: G DJ Steward (Exhibit-10)
<h1>BROOKLYN NETS</h1>
What is Ben Simmons' role?
Ben Simmons has only played 42 games since being acquired by the Nets in February 2022, dealing with physical and psychological hurdles that have made him somewhat of an afterthought. Head coach Jacque Vaughn has expressed confidence that Simmons is now 100% healthy and ready to contribute again at a high level.&nbsp;
He seems to be penciled in as the team&rsquo;s starting point guard, starting in the Nets&rsquo; first preseason game. Though it was just a small 14-minute sample size, Simmons looked a lot like his former All-Star self. Having not played since February 15, he looked athletic, aggressive and confident before sitting out the second half.&nbsp;
&ldquo;He attacked the rim, I think he played with pace, looked pretty natural out there getting up and down the floor, communicating with guys into the flow of the game,&rdquo; Vaughn said, <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/10/10/ben-simmons-passes-eye-test-in-nets-preseason-opener/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">praising his $38-million man</a>. &ldquo;Really good to see.&rdquo;
Vaughn has some options when it comes to starting lineups where he could go smaller, with a backcourt of Simmons and Spencer Dinwiddie, or decide to start Dorian Finney-Smith and use Mikal Bridges as a big two-guard.&nbsp;
Roster Decisions
Darius Bazley, Harry Giles and Trendon Watford are all on non-guaranteed deals and are vying for the final two roster spots. The Nets also have an open two-way spot, which I believe they could potentially use on a player like <a href="https://www.si.com/college/tennessee/mens-basketball/kennedy-chandler-starring-in-nba-summer-league" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Summer League standout</a> and former Memphis Grizzlies second-rounder Kennedy Chandler.&nbsp;
Rotation
Current Roster Count: 18 players (13 guaranteed, 3 non-guaranteed, 2 two-way)
Projected Starters: G/F Ben Simmons, G Spencer Dinwiddie, F Mikal Bridges, F Cameron Johnson, C Nicolas Claxton
Projected Rotation Players: F Dorian Finney-Smith, F Royce O&rsquo;Neale, G Cameron Thomas, G Dennis Smith Jr., C Day&rsquo;Ron Sharpe
Projected Reserves: G/F Lonnie Walker IV, C Noah Clowney, F Dariq Whitehead, F Darius Bazley (Non-Guaranteed), C Harry Giles (Non-Guaranteed)
Projected Two-way Players: G Armoni Brooks, F Jalen Wilson, G Kennedy Chandler* (Projected Signing)
Projected Roster Cuts: F Trendon Watford (Non-Guaranteed)
<h1>NEW YORK KNICKS</h1>
Who will be the first option off the bench?
New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau has his fair share of options to headline his second unit. In his third year, Immanuel Quickley had his best season to date, finishing as the runner-up for the Sixth Man of the Year award behind Malcolm Brogdon. Quickley was the primary scorer for the second unit, but he shouldn&rsquo;t have to carry the entire load on offense with the addition of Donte DiVincenzo.&nbsp;
DiVincenzo impressed last season with the Golden State Warriors as a reliable bench shooter and should spot minutes for Quentin Grimes and R.J. Barrett when offensive pushes are needed. Josh Hart could also be the team&rsquo;s sixth man, just like he was during the Knicks&rsquo; playoff run. After being traded from Portland, Hart averaged 30 minutes per game despite coming off the bench most of the time. It is worth noting the Knicks-Villanova connection between Hart, DiVincenzo and Jalen Brunson, who should fit seamlessly together on the floor thanks to their pre-existing chemistry. While unlikely to be the first off the bench, Isaiah Hartenstein also deserves mention since he has been one of the league&rsquo;s better backup centers and could see more time if Mitchell Robinson gets in foul trouble. In terms of rotation issues, Thibodeau should see this as a good problem to have regardless of who he brings off the bench first.&nbsp;
Roster Decisions
The Knicks have three spots up for grabs between Ryan Arcidiacono, DaQuan Jeffries, Isaiah Roby and Duane Washington Jr. All are on non-guaranteed deals that won&rsquo;t be fully guaranteed until the league-wide guarantee date on January 10.&nbsp;
Rotation
Current Roster Count: 21 players (12 guaranteed, 4 non-guaranteed, 3 two-way, 2 Exhibit-10)
Projected Starters: G Jalen Brunson, G Quentin Grimes, G/F R.J. Barrett, F Julius Randle, C Mitchell Robinson
Projected Rotation Players: G Josh Hart, G Immanuel Quickley, G Donte DiVincenzo, C Isaiah Hartenstein, G Miles McBride
Projected Reserves: G Evan Fournier, C Jericho Sims, F Isaiah Roby (non-guaranteed), G Ryan Arcidiacono (non-guaranteed), G/F DaQuan Jeffries (non-guaranteed)
Projected Two-way Players: F/C Nathan Knight, G/F Dylan Windler, F Jaylen Martin
Projected Roster Cuts: G Duane Washington Jr. (non-guaranteed), G Charlie Brown Jr. (Exhibit-10), F Jacob Toppin (Exhibit-10)
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/embiid332.jpg" alt="" width="672" height="440" />
<h1>PHILADELPHIA 76ERS</h1>
Will Tyrese Maxey become more of a creator and how can that adjust the rotation?
The Sixers&rsquo; ceiling is contingent on how much Tyrese Maxey can improve this season. Maxey hasn&rsquo;t needed to be the team&rsquo;s primary distributor since James Harden joined the team, allowing him to blossom into a reliable 20-PPG scorer. Regardless of whether Harden&rsquo;s trade situation is resolved, Maxey will need to become a better creator and distributor if he wants to take his game to the next level. Prior to Harden&rsquo;s arrival, Maxey had an impressive 4:1 assist-to-turnover ratio despite his small frame and risk-averse tendencies.&nbsp;
Interestingly, team president Daryl Morey has held off on giving Maxey an extension this offseason, electing to wait until next summer to pay his budding young guard. Maxey will likely demand near max-level money that could harm Philly&rsquo;s flexibility to go after star players next offseason. If he can improve his ball-handling and distribution tendencies, the Sixers&rsquo; offense should benefit tremendously, helping the offensive output of players like P.J. Tucker and Paul Reed and easing the reliance on De&rsquo;Anthony Melton and Patrick Beverley.
Roster Decisions
Two players will likely be fighting for the Sixers&rsquo; final roster spot. The team re-signed veteran Danny Green, who played for the team from 2020 to 2022, to a non-guaranteed deal. They also brought over young big Filip Petrusev, who was drafted by Philadelphia in 2021. Petrusev signed a multi-year deal that was partially guaranteed for $559,782 this season and non-guaranteed next year. Although unlikely, the 76ers could also elect to waive Montrezl Harrell despite his deal being fully guaranteed, as he should miss this season with a torn ACL.
Rotation
Current Roster Count: 21 players (14 guaranteed, 1 partially Guaranteed, 1 non-guaranteed, 3 two-way, 2 Exhibit-10)
Projected Starters: G Tyrese Maxey, G James Harden, F P.J. Tucker, F Tobias Harris, C Joel Embiid
Projected Rotation Players: G De&rsquo;Anthony Melton, G Patrick Beverley, F/C Paul Reed, F/G Kelly Oubre Jr., F Danuel House
Projected Reserves: C Mo Bamba, F Furkan Korkmaz, G Jaden Springer, G/F Danny Green (non-guaranteed), C Montrezl Harrell (injured)
Projected Two-way Players: G Terquavion Smith, G Ricky Council IV, F Azuolas Tubelis
Projected Roster Cuts: F/C Filip Petrusev ($559,782 guaranteed), G David Duke Jr. (Exhibit-10), G Javonte Smart (Exhibit-10)
<h1>TORONTO RAPTORS</h1>
What style does Darko Rajakovic bring to Toronto and who will benefit the most?
New coach Darko Rajakovic inherits an interesting Raptors team with plenty of talent, but they may be facing a crossroads in terms of how successful they can be as a group. Rajakovic is in his first NBA head coaching gig after three seasons as an assistant with the Grizzlies and is known around the league as a pick-and-roll guru.&nbsp;
The idea of the Raptors being a primary pick-and-roll team became less appealing when they were unable to retain Fred VanVleet in free agency, replacing him with a less reliable shooter in Dennis Schr&ouml;der. Instead, Rajakovic will likely rely on Schr&ouml;der and his newly paid center Jakob Poeltl for more ball movement and playmaking. Rajakovic compared Poeltl to Domantas Sabonis before the Raptors&rsquo; preseason win over the Sacramento Kings on October 9 and could use him in a similar role. If Poeltl can be 70% of what Sabonis was last season, it can be a huge boost to an inconsistent offense.
Roster Decisions
The Raptors have 15 players on guaranteed deals going into the season, but also carry Jeff Dowtin Jr. on a non-guaranteed deal. Dowtin played on a two-way contract with Toronto last season, appearing in 25 games. With the roster full, Dowtin is unlikely to make the regular-season roster but he has still <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/raptors/news/toronto-raptors-praise-jeff-dowtin-jr-as-roster-decisions-await" target="_blank" rel="noopener">impressed the coaching staff this preseason</a>. If any player is in danger of losing their roster spot to Dowtin, it would likely be former first-round pick Malachi Flynn. Dowtin&rsquo;s deal becomes guaranteed for $900,000 on October 21, four days before the team&rsquo;s season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves. I would expect the Raptors to make a decision on Dowtin before then.&nbsp;
Rotation
Current Roster Count: 21 players (15 guaranteed, 1 non-guaranteed, 3 two-way, 2 Exhibit-10)
Projected Starters: G Dennis Schr&ouml;der, F/G Scottie Barnes, F OG Anunoby, F Pascal Siakam, C Jakob Poeltl
Projected Rotation Players: G Gary Trent Jr., F Precious Achiuwa, F/C Chris Boucher, F Jalen McDaniels, G/F Gradey Dick
Projected Reserves: F Thaddeus Young, G Malachi Flynn, F Otto Porter Jr., C Christian Koloko, G/F Garrett Temple
Projected Two-way Players: G/F Ron Harper Jr., G Markquis Nowell, G Javon Freeman-Liberty
Projected Roster Cuts: G Jeff Dowtin (non-guaranteed), F Mouhamadou Gueye (Exhibit-10), C Makur Maker (Exhibit-10)
Other news from around the web: <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/dress-to-impress-why-barbie-and-ken-are-the-hottest-couples-costume-this-halloween/ar-AA1iaTEh" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Barbie and Ken are the hottest couples costume this Halloween</a>

Blake Stern previews the Atlantic Division, breaking down each team's projected lineup and a burning question entering the season.

NBA Atlantic Division Preview: Burning questions, rotation projections

MIAMI (AP) &mdash; Heat coach Erik Spoelstra walked into the postgame interview room, a cup of a celebratory beverage in his hand, took a seat and began explaining how difficult the journey has been for Heat.
The regular season was a struggle. They needed to survive the play-in. They were three minutes away from going home before the playoffs even started, needing a rally just to earn the right to play top-seeded Milwaukee.
All forgotten. They&rsquo;re in the NBA&rsquo;s final four &mdash; getting there as a No. 8 seed.
Jimmy Butler scored 24 points, Bam Adebayo added 23 and the Heat are headed back to the Eastern Conference finals after topping the New York Knicks 96-92 in Game 6 on Friday night.
&ldquo;It is really frickin&rsquo; hard to get to the Eastern Conference finals,&rdquo; Spoelstra said.
Maybe for some franchises. Not for Miami. The Heat are headed there for the 10th time overall, the seventh time in the last 13 years and the third time in the past four seasons. They&rsquo;ll play Game 1 at either Boston or Philadelphia on Wednesday; those teams will decide their East semifinal series Sunday.
Max Strus scored 14 points and Kyle Lowry had 11 points and nine assists for the Heat. They&rsquo;re the second No. 8 seed in NBA history to make the conference finals &mdash; joining the Knicks, who pulled it off in 1999.
Jalen Brunson was spectacular for New York, scoring 41 points on 14-for-22 shooting. But his teammates combined for only 51 points &mdash; Julius Randle had 15 and RJ Barrett 11 on 1-for-10 shooting. Josh Hart also had 11 points for the Knicks.
&ldquo;Congratulations to the Heat, to the organization, to the coaching staff, Spo and Pat Riley and all their players,&rdquo; Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. &ldquo;They played tough in this series and hats off to them. But I&rsquo;m proud of our guys. There&rsquo;s always disappointment in the end of the season and in the end, there&rsquo;ll be one team standing. ... Proud of the way this team worked all year.&rdquo;
It was dicey at the end, but Miami survived. Gabe Vincent was called for a flagrant-1 against Brunson with just under a minute left, starting a run where the Knicks scored four points in 4.6 seconds.
Brunson made the free throws, Hart added a layup and a 92-86 lead was down to 92-90.
The Knicks got a stop at the other end, but never got a shot off on the next possession. Lowry knocked the ball away for a steal, Butler made two free throws with 14.4 seconds left and the countdown back to the conference finals was on.
&ldquo;It was a battle,&rdquo; Lowry said. &ldquo;A Tom Thibodeau-coached team, they&rsquo;re always going to play hard. ... This was a grind and we found a way.&rdquo;
Miami was whistled for four fouls in the first 2:15 of the fourth quarter, setting the tone for New York to keep getting to the line throughout the final period.
The Knicks tied it early in the third, but missed 10 other field-goal attempts in the second half &mdash; along with two free throws &mdash; that would have pulled New York into a tie or given it the lead.
Brunson had 22 points in the first half, tying his third-most before intermission in any game this season &ndash; and his most ever by halftime of a playoff game. He had 15 in the first quarter when the Knicks came out flying to grab early control.
New York led 14 in the opening quarter, and Miami never led by more than two in the first 24 minutes. But it was Miami with the lead at the half, going up 51-50 by the break in large part because it finally kept New York off the line.
The Knicks made 11 free throws in the first quarter &mdash; the most by any Heat opponent this season and tying the fourth-most against Miami in an opening period over the last decade. But they didn&rsquo;t even get to the line in the final 15:16 of the half.
The score to that point: Knicks 29, Heat 17. The score over the rest of the half: Heat 34, Knicks 21. And the lead never changed hands again.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got guys that just want it,&rdquo; Lowry said.
TIP-INS
Knicks: Brunson and Quentin Grimes played all 48 minutes of Game 5, but that was quickly off the table in Game 6. Grimes sat for 6:41 of the opening half, Brunson for 2:44, though some of that was because he got his third foul with 37.6 seconds left. &hellip; Immanuel Quickley (sprained left ankle) missed his third consecutive game. &hellip; New York finished 53-40, its best record in a season since going 60-34 in 2012-13.
Heat: Victor Oladipo was at the game, on crutches and braced after surgery to repair his torn patellar tendon. &hellip; The Heat had three starters (Vincent, Strus and Butler) all shorter than the Miami Marlins&rsquo; starting pitcher a couple miles away &mdash; rookie Eury Perez, who made his big-league debut, is 6-foot-8. &hellip; Miami had 3-point tries as time expired in each of the first three quarters. They all missed.
CELEB WATCH
Among those at the game: Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel &mdash; even on a rookie minicamp weekend for his team &ndash; and Dallas (and former Knicks) guard Tim Hardaway Jr., whose father&rsquo;s jersey is among those retired by the Heat.

Jimmy Butler scored 24 points, Bam Adebayo added 23 and the Heat are headed back to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Heat top Knicks 96-92 in Game 6, advance to Conference Finals

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Jalen Brunson had 38 points, nine rebounds and seven assists while playing all 48 minutes in a season-extending performance, and the New York Knicks beat the Miami Heat 112-103 on Wednesday night in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The Knicks denied the Heat&rsquo;s first attempt to become just the second No. 8 seed to reach the conference finals and sent the series back to Miami for Game 6 on Friday night.
RJ Barrett added 26 points and Julius Randle had 24 for the fifth-seeded Knicks, who stayed alive in hopes of reaching the conference finals for the first time since 2000. They did that by getting by the Heat in seven games in the second round, a possibility that still exists.
The Knicks built a 19-point lead in the third quarter, then hung on when the Heat finally got their 3-pointers to start falling and cut it to two with 2 1/2 minutes remaining.
Jimmy Butler had 19 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for the Heat, getting held below 25 points for the first time in this postseason. Bam Adebayo added 18 points and Duncan Robinson had 17.
The 1999 Knicks, for now, remain the only No. 8 to get to a conference finals in the current playoff format that began in 1984. They got all the way to the NBA Finals after upsetting the top-seeded Heat in the first round.
The Heat used a pair of huge quarter-opening runs &mdash; 18-2 to begin the second and 23-7 in the third &mdash; to build a 73-54 lead midway through the third quarter. The Heat got it all the way down to 103-101 before Isaiah Hartenstein &mdash; in the game because the Heat were intentionally fouling starting center Mitchell Robinson &mdash; slammed home a follow dunk to start New York&rsquo;s finishing kick.
Quentin Grimes also went all 48 minutes for the Knicks, finishing with eight points.
The Heat dominated Game 3 and outworked the Knicks in the fourth quarter to hold on and take Game 4, positioning themselves to wrap up a series in five games for the second time in this postseason. They began it by knocking off Milwaukee, which had the best record in the league.
But they missed 21 of their first 25 3-pointers and were still down 13 with 9 1/2 minutes before Robinson and Lowry each made a pair in a 12-3 burst that trimmed it to 95-91 with more than half the final period remaining.
Butler had one of his typical do-everything stretches with a basket, a blocked shot and a free throw to cut it to 103-10, but the Heat couldn&rsquo;t come all the way back like they did in the deciding game against the Bucks, when they were down by 16 points.
They led 24-14 after one, but Butler began the second quarter on the bench and the Knicks capitalized. They pushed the pace to get rare easy shots and Barrett made two 3-pointers in an 18-2 spurt that gave them a 32-26 lead.
Randle&rsquo;s 3-pointer made it 50-47 at the half. Kevin Love got the first basket of the third, but Barrett and Brunson answered with consecutive 3-pointers to ignite the Knicks&rsquo; next spurt. The lead was eight before an 11-0 surge, featuring back-to-back 3-pointers by Brunson and Randle, pushed it to 73-54 midway through the period.
Robinson finished 4 of 8 at the line, ending with eight points and 11 rebounds.
TIP-INS
Heat: Max Strus scored 14 points. ... Butler was voted Wednesday to the All-NBA second team. It was his highest career finish after being voted to the third team four times.
Knicks: The Knicks were without sixth-man Immanuel Quickley for a second straight game because of a sprained right ankle and also without guard Evan Fournier, who has not been part of the rotation, because of illness. ... Randle was voted to the All-NBA third team, adding that to his second-team selection in 2021.

The New York Knicks beat the Miami Heat 112-103 on Wednesday night in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Brunson scores 38 points, Knicks beat Heat 112-103 in Game 5

MIAMI (AP) &mdash; Jimmy Butler had 27 points and 10 assists, Bam Adebayo finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds and the Miami Heat moved a win away from their third trip to the Eastern Conference finals in the last four years by topping the New York Knicks 109-101 on Monday night.
Max Strus scored 16 points, Kyle Lowry added 15 and Caleb Martin had 10 for the Heat. Miami, the No. 8 seed, leads the East semifinal series 3-1, with Game 5 &mdash; and the first potential clincher &mdash; awaiting in New York on Wednesday night.
Jalen Brunson finished with 32 points and 11 assists for fifth-seeded New York, while RJ Barrett had 24 points and Julius Randle scored 20 for the Knicks before fouling out with about three minutes left.
Miami missed 12 of its first 15 shots of the fourth quarter, but the Knicks didn&rsquo;t take full advantage &mdash; trimming only three points off the Heat lead in that span. It was nine entering the fourth, and a pair of free throws by Brunson with 4:40 left got New York within 99-93.
But a slam by Martin breathed some life into an antsy building, and the roars got a bit louder about a minute later. With the Knicks down seven, Randle went into the lane &mdash; but Strus beat him to the spot, drawing contact that became the New York star&rsquo;s sixth foul with 3:08 left, and the Heat held control the rest of the way.
The Knicks never led in Game 3, then held the lead twice in Game 4.
Barely.
They had a pair of one-point leads in the opening quarter, for a combined 33 seconds, and with Miami erasing the deficits with immediate baskets on its next possession.
<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/knicks-heat-2023-nba-playoffs-jimmy-butler-091c884cc52a48035311ad46b1c1c0b2">But unlike Game 3,</a>&nbsp;when Miami&rsquo;s lead was double digits for nearly the entirety of the final three quarters, this one remained in some doubt much of the way. Miami didn&rsquo;t get its first 10-point lead until a 3-pointer by Strus with 3:23 left in the half, and whenever the Heat seemed poised to pull away New York had an answer.
The Knicks cut what was an 11-point deficit down to 67-65 on a 3-pointer by Barrett with 7:07 left in the third, but never got all the way over the hump. An 8-1 spurt over a two-minute stretch late in the third restored the 11-point lead, and Miami&rsquo;s cushion was 90-81 going into the fourth.
TIP-INS
Knicks: Immanuel Quickley, who sprained his left ankle late in Game 3, was out. His status for Game 5 isn&rsquo;t clear, and he&rsquo;s listed as day-to-day. &hellip; New York changed its starting lineup, with Quentin Grimes &mdash; who was celebrating his 23rd birthday &mdash; in for Josh Hart. &hellip; The Knicks gave up six offensive rebounds in the first three quarters combined, then gave up six more in the fourth alone.
Heat: Adebayo had seven field goals in the first half. Five were dunks, marking the first time in his 473 NBA games that he had that many before halftime. &hellip; The 7-2 start to the postseason matches the fifth-best in Heat history. They were 8-1 in 2005, 2013, 2014 and 2020 &mdash; getting to the NBA Finals in the three most-recent instances. &hellip; Butler was questionable with his right ankle, even though he played in Game 3, and wasn&rsquo;t announced as playing until about an hour before tip-off Monday. ... Miami missed four 3s on one possession early in the fourth quarter.
SPO MARK
The win was the 103rd playoff victory for Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. He becomes the third coach with that many playoff wins with one team; Gregg Popovich has 170 with San Antonio, and Phil Jackson had 118 with the Los Angeles Lakers and 111 with Chicago.
Pat Riley &mdash; the Heat president, Spoelstra&rsquo;s boss and his predecessor as Heat coach &mdash; won 102 with the Lakers.
BIG WEDNESDAY
The Heat have a chance to reach the East finals on Wednesday &mdash; and so does South Florida&rsquo;s NHL team. The Florida Panthers lead their second-round series with the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-0, with Game 4 of that matchup in Sunrise, Florida on Wednesday night.

The Heat moved a win away from their third trip to the Conference Finals in the last four years by topping the Knicks 109-101.

Heat take 3-1 lead, hold off Knicks 109-101 for Game 4 win

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Jimmy Butler had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and the No. 8-seeded Miami Heat kept rolling after barely reaching the postseason, beating the New York Knicks 108-101 on Sunday in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Gabe Vincent scored 20 points for the Heat, who became the sixth No. 8 seed to beat a No. 1 when they toppled Milwaukee in the first round and continue to look nothing like a team that needed to win a play-in game just to get the final postseason berth in the East.
They averaged 124 points in that series behind Butler&rsquo;s 37.6 per game, but they pulled this one out with old-fashioned defense and rebounding that has always worked so well before for them at this time of year.
RJ Barrett scored 26 points and Jalen Brunson had 25 for the fifth-seeded Knicks, who are in the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2013. They started strong and led most of the first half, but the Heat eventually got the Madison Square Garden crowd quieter and quieter as the game went on.
Game 2 is Tuesday night.
The Knicks were without All-Star forward Julius Randle because of a sprained left ankle and they surely missed him when the transition points dried up and it became a halfcourt game.
They could&rsquo;ve used his shooting on a day they went 7 for 34 behind the arc, missing a chance to break open the game early and then hindering any chances of coming back.
The Heat fell behind by 12 points in the second quarter, but that wasn&rsquo;t going to faze a team that eliminated deficits of 15 and then 16 points in the last two games against Milwaukee. They gradually narrowed the deficit before halftime, blew by the Knicks with a 21-5 run in the third quarter and pulled away to a double-digit lead in the fourth.
They did it without needing the type of huge performances Butler delivered in the first round, when he scored 56 and 42 points in the final two games. He did plenty of other things they needed, including remaining in the game after an ankle injury left him limping to the free throw line with 5:05 to play.
He gave the Heat a good start in a renewal of what was once a fierce rivalry, with the teams meeting four straight years from 1997-2000. The Heat won the last three of those but have work to do if they&rsquo;re going to take this one.
Getting Randle back would be a good start. He reinjured his ankle in Game 5 against Cleveland after missing the final five games of the regular season and hadn&rsquo;t done much since the Knicks returned to practice. He went through a workout before the game, but the Knicks ruled him out about 45 minutes before the start.
The Knicks tore off a 22-6 run to finish the first quarter and take a 32-21 lead. Six straight points pushed it to a 12-point advantage, and the Knicks kept the margin around double digits most of the second quarter, with the margin still 10 with under 2 minutes to play. But the Heat closed strong and cut it to 55-50 at the break.
New York led 61-53 early in the third before Kevin Love converted a three-point play to trigger a 21-5 spurt by Miami. He added a 3-pointer during it, but his biggest contribution was with his outlet passing. With new Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers sitting courtside, Love fired three long passes for scores, with Butler&rsquo;s basket on the last one capping the run and giving the Heat a 74-66 lead.
TIP-INS
Heat: Kyle Lowry scored 18 points. Bam Adebayo had 16.
Knicks: Randle was originally hurt against the Heat in a victory at MSG on March 29. Earlier that month, he capped a 43-point performance with a 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds remaining in a 122-120 win at Miami. ... Quentin Grimes had four points off the bench after missing the final two games against Cleveland with a bruised right shoulder. Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau opted to keep Josh Hart in the starting lineup.

The Miami Heat beat the New York Knicks 108-101 on Sunday in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Butler, Heat start 2nd round with 108-101 win over Knicks

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Back when the New York Knicks and Miami Heat were meeting every year in the postseason, nobody had the kind of series&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/jimmy-butler-heat-nba-playoffs-2023-277604ca21669f2f255b9efa86af92e1">Jimmy Butler just did</a>.
Get as hot as he was against Milwaukee and a player was going to get clobbered.
They were&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/heat-knicks-nba-playoffs-2023-6383364c2ebdf6f3fe7dbb4af99cdf04">foul-filled matchups</a>&nbsp;at the end of the 1990s, better fit for brawlers than ballers, and beautiful to watch only for someone who loves ferocious competition like Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau.
&ldquo;And it was on every play,&rdquo; Thibodeau said. &ldquo;And the style of play is a little bit different today than it was then.&rdquo;
The intensity might be about the same.
The teams renew that rivalry beginning Sunday when the Knicks welcome the Heat back to Madison Square Garden for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
&ldquo;We know how fierce it&rsquo;s going to be at 1 o&rsquo;clock in the Garden,&rdquo; Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
The Knicks arrived here by winning a playoff series&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/knicks-madison-square-garden-heat-nba-playoffs-2023-233faa2d835d5e1b46ce0648bd67d7ae">for the first time since 2013</a>. They got to start it at home when the Heat stunned the top-seeded Bucks thanks to Butler&rsquo;s spectacular series, where he averaged 37.6 points.
It&rsquo;s a No. 5 against No. 8 matchup, making this series a surprise. It used to seem like fate.
They met every year from 1997 to 2000, with the Heat coming from 3-1 down to take the first one after suspensions from a fight swung the series, and the Knicks taking the final three. Every one went the distance.
The typically gruff Thibodeau, then an assistant under Jeff Van Gundy, chuckled repeatedly recalling the history this week, particularly Allan Houston&rsquo;s shot to win the 1999 first-round series &mdash; another of the six No. 8 upsets of No. 1 in NBA history.
&ldquo;I probably wouldn&rsquo;t be here today if that thing didn&rsquo;t roll in,&rdquo; Thibodeau said. &ldquo;It hit every part of everything.&rdquo;
But it&rsquo;s a history that means little to the current Knicks, whose core of 20-somethings is too young to remember it.
&ldquo;So for us, those are the war stories of the past and they&rsquo;re cool to hear and they&rsquo;re cool to see highlights of it, but as a team we&rsquo;ve got our own path and our own vibe and way to navigate that,&rdquo; swingman Josh Hart said.
Hart will be one of the Knicks tasked with trying to slow Butler, who scored 56 points, tied for fourth-most in NBA playoff history, in Game 4 against Milwaukee. He followed with 42 in Game 5 to win the series.
He began his career in Chicago playing for Thibodeau, who said he didn&rsquo;t foresee Butler turning into such a dominant scorer. They reunited later in Minnesota, so Thibodeau might know what it will take to throw the swingman off his game &mdash; if that&rsquo;s even doable at this point.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not going to make this a Thibs vs. myself thing,&rdquo; Butler said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to take our entire roster to be able to do something special. It&rsquo;s the Miami Heat versus the New York Knicks.&rdquo;
Even those who don&rsquo;t understand what that used to mean are ready to be a part of it now.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to be honest: I didn&rsquo;t know the rivalry was like that,&rdquo; Heat center Bam Adebayo said. &ldquo;For me, this is a chance to build a rivalry in that aspect, but also it&rsquo;s a chance for us to try to advance. It&rsquo;s another series for us to be battle-tested.&rdquo;
KNICKED UP
All-Star forward Julius Randle is questionable to play after reinjuring his left ankle in the Game 5 victory at Cleveland. Starting guard Quentin Grimes, who missed the last two games with a bruised right shoulder, is practicing again and also listed as questionable.
FAMILIAR GROUND
Miami is in Round 2 of the playoffs for the 11th time in the last 20 seasons. The Heat have wound up advancing in eight of their 10 most recent conference semifinal appearances.
New York made the conference semifinals in nine consecutive seasons from 1992 through 2000. This is only the second trip since then for the Knicks, who last won this round in 2000 &mdash; against Miami, in a seven-game thriller.
SEASON SERIES
The Knicks took three of four, with their first two victories both by two points. All four games were decided by single digits.
SEEDINGS SPEAK
This is just the third NBA playoff series where both teams are seeded No. 5 or lower. A 1994 matchup between Utah and Denver was also a No. 5 vs. No. 8, and Houston and Seattle had a 6-7 matchup in 1987.
THE COACHES
Spoelstra is 100-66 in playoff games. Thibodeau enters 29-37 as a head coach in the playoffs. They&rsquo;ve squared off twice previously in the postseason; Miami beat Chicago 4-1 both times, in 2011 and 2013.

The Knicks and Heat are renewing their rivalry beginning Sunday at MSG for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Rivalry reborn: Heat, Knicks ready to face off in second round

CLEVELAND (AP) &mdash; Jalen Brunson scored 23 points, RJ Barrett added 21 and the New York Knicks downed the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-95 in Game 5 on Wednesday night to advance to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs for the first time since 2013.
The Knicks easily controlled a series that was more one-sided than expected, even after Julius Randle aggravated his left ankle injury and missed the second half.
New York won the opener at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, overpowered the Cavs twice at noisy Madison Square Garden and then returned to Cleveland to finish the job. The fifth-seeded Knicks will meet the Miami-Milwaukee winner next.
Brunson was the consistent ingredient throughout the series for the Knicks, who signed the stocky guard as a free agent last summer before their attempt to acquire Donovan Mitchell in a trade from Utah fell apart and he landed in Cleveland.
Brunson averaged 24 points in the series and led New York in scoring all four wins while outplaying Mitchell for the second straight postseason. Last year, Brunson was with Dallas when he got the best of Mitchell.
Mitchell scored 28 and Darius Garland 21 for the Cavs, who won 51 games during the regular season but whose inexperience showed throughout their first playoff series in five years. The Cavs weren&rsquo;t ready.
A bigger issue, though, seemed to be Cleveland&rsquo;s toughness. The Cavs got pushed around and outrebounded in all four losses, including 48-30 in the clincher.
New York center Mitchell Robinson finished with`18 rebounds &mdash; 11 offensive &mdash; in Game 5 and the 7-footer didn&rsquo;t shy away from calling out the Cavs for being soft after Game 3, saying they appeared to be shaken.
Cleveland hoped to recapture some of its 2016 magic and overcome a 3-1 deficit like LeBron James and the Cavs did in the NBA Finals to shock Golden State. But Brunson, Barrett and the rest of the Knicks had other plans.
They closed out the Cavs in the second half without Randle.
The All-Star forward left late in the second quarter after aggravating a sprained left ankle and didn&rsquo;t return. Obi Toppin started in his place and scored 12 points in the third quarter as the Knicks opened an 18-point lead.
New York never let Cleveland get closer than six in the fourth, much to the delight of several hundred Knicks fans who celebrated behind their bench.
Randle was moving as well as he had in the series before going down.
After trying to block Caris LeVert&rsquo;s jumper, he landed awkwardly and stayed on the floor for a few minutes while being checked. Randle was helped to his feet but defiantly walked off the floor and to the locker room for treatment.
Turns out, the Knicks didn&rsquo;t need him.
New York&rsquo;s depth was also a huge factor in the series. Every time coach Tom Thibodeau turned to a reserve, they responded.
That wasn&rsquo;t the case for the Cavs and coach J.B. Bickerstaff, whose bench was a problem all season and was further exposed when the games were more meaningful.
One sequence in the first half underscored Cleveland&rsquo;s frustration.
Isolated on the wing against Brunson, Isaac Okoro refused to bite on a move and kept New York&rsquo;s guard in front of him and nearly came up with a steal before fumbling it out of bounds with two seconds left on the 24-second shot clock.
New York inbounded and Immanuel Quickley hit a 3-pointer to put the Knicks ahead by 12.
TIP-INS
Knicks: G Quentin Grimes missed his second straight game with a bruised right shoulder. He&rsquo;s been out since absorbing a hit in the first half of Game 3. ... New York improved to 13-2 in the postseason against Cleveland, winning all four series (1978, 1995, 1996 and 2023).
Cavaliers: With 23 points adn 10 assists in Game 4 , Garland became the second Cleveland player to 23 or younger to post those totals in a playoff game. James did it eight times with the Cavs. ... Cleveland is 46-15 at home in the playoffs since 2008, losing elimination games in the arena in 2015, 2018 and 2023.

The Cavaliers beat the Knicks 106-95 in Game 5 on Wednesday night to advance to the second round for the first time since 2013.

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

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; The New York Knicks have had so few chances to join the NBA postseason party that they might forget the real fun hasn&rsquo;t even started yet.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s nothing to celebrate,&rdquo; Jalen Brunson said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s nothing to be truly happy about.&rdquo;
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 moved into the starting lineup and 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 victory 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.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s nothing like a big game at the Garden,&rdquo; Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said.
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&rsquo; Game 3 romp. Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert each scored 14 points.
&ldquo;This (is) not over with,&rdquo; Mitchell said. &ldquo;The way we lost sucks. We can&rsquo;t hang our heads and ultimately give up. We&rsquo;re not that type of group. Like I said, we&rsquo;ll be ready for Game 5.&rdquo;
Barrett was only 6 for 25 in the two games in Cleveland but has been outstanding back at home, where fans chanted his name in the second half. He had five straight points to break the Knicks free from a 75-all tie, then added another basket before Hart scored to push it to 90-81 midway during a stretch when Cleveland could only manage two baskets in more than four minutes.
After limiting the Cavs on Friday to 79 points, the lowest total in an NBA game this season, the Knicks led most of the way in this one to reach the verge of the Eastern Conference semifinals for the first time since beating Boston in 2013.
They&rsquo;ve only made it back to the playoffs once since then, falling in five games to Atlanta in 2021. But this team is more complete, thanks largely to signing Brunson last summer after he helped Dallas reach the Western Conference finals, then acquiring Hart from Portland during this season.
Starting together for the first time since they were college teammates at Villanova, that duo combined for 20 of the Knicks&rsquo; 30 points in the first quarter, which ended with them leading by seven.
New York pushed it into double digits in the second and Brunson&rsquo;s 3-pointer midway through the period made it 46-31. The Knicks were ahead 54-45.
&ldquo;During the regular season, we were able to flip some switches and come back in games,&rdquo; Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. &ldquo;This time it just doesn&rsquo;t present the opportunity to do so.&rdquo;
But Garland got the first two baskets of the third quarter, set up Cleveland&rsquo;s next three scores, then had the Cavs&rsquo; next two field goals to tie it at 59. His three-point play gave Cleveland a 66-63 lead and he had 11 points and five assists in the period, before Brunson made a 3-pointer with 6.2 seconds left that sent the Knicks to the fourth with a 73-71 edge.
&ldquo;Jalen hit a huge shot at the end of the third to put us up, so that was big, and fourth quarter, just staying tough,&rdquo; Barrett said. &ldquo;Every time they threw a punch, we threw something back.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Cavaliers: Evan Mobley had 12 points but fouled out in the fourth quarter. ... Cleveland fell to 7-2 in Game 4s since 2017.
Knicks: Hart started in place of guard Quentin Grimes, who has a bruised right shoulder. ... Mitchell Robinson had 12 points and 11 rebounds. ... All-Star Julius Randle finished with just seven points and two rebounds.

Jalen Brunson scored 29 points, RJ Barrett had 26 and the Knicks took a 3-1 lead over the Cavs in their first-round series.

Brunson, Barrett lead Knicks over Cavs 102-93 for 3-1 lead

CLEVELAND (AP) &mdash; Julius Randle joked about being out of shape and Josh Hart walked into the postgame news conference wearing&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/KnicksMSGN/status/1647411361801027584?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a T-shirt with a photo of teammate Jalen Brunson</a>&nbsp;on the front.
The Knicks could finally relax.
Finally at full strength, and following a worrisome few weeks, New York&rsquo;s season looks much brighter.
Brunson shook off foul trouble and scored 21 of his 27 points in the second half, Randle returned from an ankle injury to add 19 &mdash; and a critical final rebound &mdash; and the Knicks welcomed Cleveland back to the NBA playoffs by holding off the Cavaliers 101-97 on Saturday night in Game 1.
Brunson was limited to nine minutes in the first half, but hit several big shots down the stretch as the Knicks turned back Cleveland&rsquo;s late rally led by All-Star Donovan Mitchell, who finished with 38 points.
With the Knicks clinging to a 99-97 lead, Brunson missed a pullup with nine seconds left and Randle bailed out New York with his 10th rebound &mdash; and the team&rsquo;s 17th offensive board &mdash; that led to Quentin Grimes making two free throws to seal the win.
"You can&rsquo;t say enough about the monster rebound Julius made at the end,&rdquo; Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. &ldquo;That rebound was huge. Huge.&rdquo;
Randle hadn&rsquo;t played since March 29 because of a sprained left ankle, and said he was thankful he had enough energy for one last jump.
&ldquo;You see me breathing out there today?&rdquo; said Randle, who played 34 minutes. &ldquo;I was tired as hell. But it was just about winning at that point.&rdquo;
Randle was reminded that the Knicks had a similar play in Game 1 against Atlanta in 2021 but didn&rsquo;t come up with the ball.
&ldquo;Funny how things turn, right,&rdquo; he said.
Game 2 is Tuesday at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
Mitchell scored 14 points in the fourth, but it wasn&rsquo;t enough for the young Cavs, who disappointed a raucous, towel-waving Cleveland crowd that hadn&rsquo;t seen a playoff game since the 2018 NBA Finals.
It&rsquo;s been a long road back for Cleveland, which wasn&rsquo;t as hurt by its inexperience as lack of production from the bench.
&ldquo;First off, this isn&rsquo;t the end of the world. We got to go get one right back,&rdquo; Mitchell said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s no room to sit here and feel sorry or feel upset and get down. It&rsquo;s one game. We will respond.&rdquo;
Hart added 17 points &mdash; and hit a big 3-pointer down the stretch &mdash; and 10 rebounds in his playoff debut for New York, whose reserves outscored the Cavs 37-14.
Darius Garland scored 17 points and Jarrett Allen had 14 points and 14 rebounds for Cleveland. Evan Mobley had eight points of 4-of-13 shooting.
Randle missed New York&rsquo;s final five games after rolling his ankle on March 29, and the injury threatened to thwart New York&rsquo;s playoff hopes. However, he improved this week despite not taking much contact in practice and looked like himself from the outset.
His presence lifted the Knicks.
&ldquo;Seeing No. 30 out there was just a great sight,&rdquo; said Obi Toppin, who scored nine points in the third quarter.
Brunson picked up his second foul with 7:52 left in the first quarter, and Thibodeau had no choice but to replace the guard, who scored a career-high 48 points against the Cavs on March 31 &mdash; the first game Randle missed.
Brunson&rsquo;s foul trouble had Hart concerned he made a poor fashion choice.
&ldquo;I told him I was going to wear it at some point,&rdquo; Hart said. &ldquo;Then he gets into foul trouble the day I wear it, so I&rsquo;m going to go burn it and never wear it again.&rdquo;
The Cavs didn&rsquo;t take advantage with Brunson out as New York reeled off 10 straight points and led 30-24 after one.
Brunson was back on the bench with his third foul midway through the second. Again, Cleveland failed to capitalize and the Knicks led 50-45 at half.
SCARY MOMENT
Mitchell landed hard on his lower back after vaulting off a courtside table and landing several rows into the stands while saving a loose ball in the second quarter.
He winced in pain while behind helped up and returning to the floor. Mitchell then thanked fans who cushioned his fall during a subsequent timeout.
&ldquo;I jumped at them intentionally, but they moved,&rdquo; said Mitchell, who sustained a small cut on his arm. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t blame them. I probably would have done the same thing. It&rsquo;s all love.&rdquo;
NEW YORK STATE OF MIND
The Knicks have dominated the Cavs in the postseason, winning all three previous playoff series.
New York swept a three-game series in 1978 at the Coliseum in Richfield, won 3-1 in 1995 at Gund Arena and swept a best-of-5 series in 1996.
TIP-INS
Knicks: Impossible to miss while wearing New York&rsquo;s bright orange, super fan Spike Lee sat courtside. ... Recorded seven offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter.
Cavaliers: Mitchell is the fourth Cleveland to score at least 38 in a playoff game, joining LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Brad Daugherty. ... Cleveland hosted its 81st playoff game in the building, which was previously known as Gund Arena and Quicken Loans Arena. ... Four teams have winning postseason records in the arena &mdash; the Knicks (5-0), the Spurs (2-0), the Warriors (6-4) and Cavs (57-24). ... Browns star Myles Garrett and coach Kevin Stefanski sat near Cleveland&rsquo;s bench along with Cavs owner Dan Gilbert.

The Knicks welcomed Cleveland back to the NBA playoffs by holding off the Cavaliers 101-97 on Saturday night in Game 1.

Brunson, Randle push Knicks past Cavaliers 101-97 in Game 1

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) &mdash; Immanuel Quickley scored 39 points, one shy of his career high, and Quentin Grimes had a career-high 36 in the New York Knicks&rsquo; 138-129 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night.
Obi Toppin added 32 points and the Knicks shot 52%. Mitchell Robinson finished with 14 points and 16 rebounds.
It was Robinson&rsquo;s game that most impressed Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau.
&ldquo;Mitch had a monster game,&rdquo; Thibodeau said. &ldquo;The rebounding with Mitchell was unbelievable.&rdquo;
Thibodeau said this was likely Grimes&rsquo; best game of the season.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s shooting the ball with a lot of confidence,&rdquo; Thibodeau said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s flying around the the floor, guarding people.. His confidence is growing game by game. They are rhythm shots and that&rsquo;s what I like about the way we are playing right now. We are creating rhythm for each other. When you play like that good things will come from that.&rdquo;
Jalen Smith scored 19 points for Indiana, T.J. McConnell had 18 and Bennedict Mathurin 17. McConnell had 12 assists.
The Knicks had a 52-37 rebounding edge.
The game went back and forth for much of the fourth quarter. With it tied at 120, Toppin started a 7-0 run with two dunks and Grimes added a 3-pointer.
&ldquo;Obi ran the floor well and got us some easy buckets,&rdquo; Thibodeau said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s hard to match up with what he can do. He continued to play to his strengths and his teammates&rsquo; strengths.&rdquo;
With New York leading 97-91 in the third quarter, the Knicks used a 8-0 run, helped by a flagrant foul call, to take a 105-91 lead. The Pacers ended the third quarter with a 7-0 spurt.
The Knicks shot nearly 52% to take a 70-67 lead at halftime. Toppin scored 19 of his points in the first half. Indiana shot 50% in the first half.
After the Pacers took a 7-4 lead, the Knicks reeled off 17 unanswered point to grab control. The Pacers tied it twice late in the second quarter.
&ldquo;We were down 14 points after five minutes,&rdquo; Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. &ldquo;The second unit did a good job getting us back into the game. This is a great experience for the young guys that started. We got to learn from it as a group.&rdquo;
McConnnell&rsquo;s play coming off the bench helped the Pacers to get back in the game. &ldquo;I run out of adjectives to describe his competitive excellence,&rdquo; Carlisle said.
The Pacers and Knicks close the regular season in New York on Sunday. The Knicks have won the first three meetings between the two teams.
&ldquo;We have to look to New Orleans now,&rdquo; Thibodeau said of Friday night game. &ldquo;We want to play our best going into the postseason.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Knicks: With the No. 5 seed playoff spot clinched, Jalen Brunson sat out to rest his right hand. RJ Barrett missed his second consecutive game with an illness. &hellip; Julian Randle, who leads the Knicks with 25.1 points per game, continued to sit out with a left ankle sprain injury. Randle injured his angle March 29 and it&rsquo;s uncertain whether he will be ready to play when playoff series with No. 4 seed Cleveland begins.
Pacers: With the Pacers&rsquo; slim playoff hopes ending Sunday, Indiana leaned heavily on its younger players and reserves. Tyrese Haliburton missed his fifth consecutive game with an ankle injury. Myles Turner missed his sixth game in a row with left ankle and lower backs soreness. &hellip; Gabe York made his first appearance of the season for the Pacers. York, who signed a two-way contract last week was called up from the Fort Wayne Ants. York scored nine points.
UP NEXT
Knicks: At New Orleans on Friday night.
Pacers: Hosts Detroit on Friday night.

Immanuel Quickley scored 39 points, one shy of his career high, and Quentin Grimes had a career-high 36, while Obi Toppin added 32.

Quickley, Grimes lead Knicks past Pacers, 138-129

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Jalen Brunson and Quentin Grimes each scored 27 points, and the New York Knicks clinched a playoff berth with a 118-109 victory over the Washington Wizards on Sunday night.
Immanuel Quickley added 22 points and Obi Toppin had 21 for the Knicks, who won their fourth in a row and will be in the postseason for the second time in three years. They had missed the playoffs the previous seven seasons.
Mitchell Robinson contributed eight points and 11 rebounds as the Knicks, who have won both games since losing All-Star forward Julius Randle to a sprained left ankle.
Corey Kispert led Washington with a career-high 29 points. Johnny Davis had 16 and Taj Gibson added 14.
The Knicks trailed by as many as 10 points in the second quarter and 61-53 at halftime. The Wizards extended their lead to 64-55 before the Knicks went on a 14-4 run to reclaim a lead they never gave back. New York extended its advantage to 86-79 at the end of the third quarter.
Toppin opened the final quarter with a 3-pointer, giving the Knicks their first double-digit lead. The Wizards never got closer than eight the rest of the way. New York took its biggest lead at 114-94 on Brunson&rsquo;s floater with 2:38 left in the game.
The Knicks were ahead 36-31 early in the second when the Wizards went on a 17-2 run and took a 48-38 lead on Deni Avdija&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 7:41 left in the second quarter. Jordan Goodwin and Kendrick Nunn each had 11 points for the Wizards.
TIP-INS
Wizards: Washington was without its top three scorers: Bradley Beal (23.2), Kristaps Porzingis (23.2) and Kyle Kuzma (21.2). Porzingis missed his second straight game with a non-Covid illness, while Beal (sore left knee) and Kuzma (sprained right ankle) have been out for six and seven games, respectively. ... In eight games against his former team, Porzingis has averaged 21.1 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks. &hellip; No one on the Wizards&rsquo; roster has played in all of the team&rsquo;s games this season. Avdija has only missed one.
Knicks: RJ Barrett missed the game with a non-Covid illness. &hellip; Randle had started the first 77 games before his injury. Only Isaiah Hartenstein has played in every game for the Knicks. &hellip; Exactly 53 years ago, April 2, 1970, the late Willis Reed collected a Knicks playoff-record 36 rebounds in a win over the then-Washington Bullets in Game 5 of the Eastern Division semifinals.
UP NEXT
Wizards: Host Milwaukee on Tuesday.
Knicks: At Indiana on Wednesday.

Jalen Brunson and Quentin Grimes each scored 27 points, and the Knicks clinched a playoff berth with a 118-109 win over the Wizards.

Knicks clinch playoff berth with 118-109 win over Wizards

The Kevin Love addition has mostly been fine for the Heat.&nbsp;
Love has been a complement to the starting group. He's kicking off transition possessions with UCLA-esque outlet passes, prying guys open on and off the ball with screens, and helping on the offensive glass -- the Heat's offensive rebound rate has increased by 6.9% with Love on the floor, per Cleaning The Glass.
The shot hasn't fallen &mdash; Love is now 6-of-24 (25%) from three &mdash; which is a big part of why he fell out of favor in Cleveland to begin with. If it's unrealistic to expect a bounceback to the 39.2% three-point shooter he was a year ago, or the 41.5% shooter he was during his last All-Star year in 2017-18, the Heat would surely take him knocking down 35% of his looks like he was during his Cleveland stint this year.&nbsp;
Quietly, there may be room for slight optimism. Love's converting 35.3% of his catch-and-shoot 3s, still below the level we're accustomed to, but slightly higher <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/player/201567/shots-dash?PerMode=Totals&amp;DateTo=02%2F15%2F2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">than his Cleveland stint</a> (34.6%) this year. Frankly, Love hasn't found the rhythm on his pump fake-dribble-fire sequences. He's yet to make any of his six attempts after taking one dribble for the Heat, after converting those shots at a 37.2% clip during his Cleveland career, per Second Spectrum.
Like, this ain't Love.
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The defense has been more interesting to track with Love. While the Heat have been among the switchiest teams in the league since Bam Adebayo took over as full-time starter, they've employed a more aggressive coverage for Love. Instead of switching with him or having him in a drop, they've asked him to hedge and recover against ball screens.
When executed well, Love's size presents a wall for ball-handlers to navigate. At best, the opposing offense is forced to burn more time within their possession, making it more likely that the shot they eventually get will be contested.
At worst, the two-on-the-ball nature on the coverage will lend itself to forced reads; with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo on the back end, that often means forcing turnovers &mdash; something the Heat have excelled at this season.&nbsp;
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The Heat had fared well with Love in that coverage. Heading into Friday's matchup with the New York Knicks, Love had defended 38 ball screens with aggression (hedging, blitzing), with the Heat allowing 0.63 points per possession (PPP) &mdash; a better-than-elite number, per Second Spectrum.&nbsp;
The Bucks (12 picks) and Hornets (12) went after Love often without much success. He defended 14 across both of the Philly matchups.&nbsp;
Enter the Knicks on Friday, who tested Love more than he had ever been.
On 15 different occasions, Love was called into the action. The Knicks generated an eye-popping 1.73 PPP on those trips &mdash; a number you'd have difficulty achieving if you were shooting alone in your backyard.&nbsp;
The Knicks oscillated between showing patience &mdash; simply waiting out the hedge from Love before getting into what they were planning to &mdash; and using that early aggression against him. To further complicate matters for Love and the Heat, they were intentional about emptying the corner before flowing into their ball screens.
Of those 15 screens Love defended, 10 of them came with an empty corner. It was the highest number of empty corner ball screens Love had faced since ... an early December matchup between Love's Cavaliers and the New York Knicks.
Surely that's just a coincidence.
I'd point to this first quarter possession to highlight the small margin for error within this Love-specific coverage.&nbsp;
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With Love playing that high against ball screens, it requires the Heat's help to be locked in.
More specifically, the weakside corner defender&mdash; Max Strus in this case, though the early guard screen from Quentin Grimes complicates things &mdash; is tasked with peeling over early to account for the screener's roll to the paint. From there, the defender on the wing (Victor Oladipo) is tasked with "splitting the difference" &mdash; zoning up between two players (Grimes and Josh Hart) &mdash; to take away a potential skip pass.
Brunson, as he did for most of the night, did a great job of diagnosing and handling the pressure from Love. As Love retreats, he attacks to his right. Hart earns a gold star by setting a pin-in screen on Oladipo, freeing Grimes for a triple.
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/screen-shot-2023-03-04-at-12-40-53-pm_690w.png" alt="" width="572" height="325" />
Because Strus is in the paint accounting for Isaiah Hartenstein, he can't provide relief. And because Adebayo is accounting for Julius Randle, he can't (nor should he be expected to) sprint out to Grimes for any sort of relief. With Love and Butler on Brunson, the Knicks simply won the numbers game.
It was a simple, yet effective counter from the Knicks to take advantage of how Love was defending ball screens.

Miami has been using Kevin Love aggressively in defensive coverages, but the Knicks took advantage on Friday.

Explain One Play: How the Heat, Kevin Love came up empty

New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado&rsquo;s drifting 3-pointer clinched a 25-20 win for Team Pau (Gasol) over Team Joakim (Noah) in the title game of the Rising Stars event Friday at All-Star weekend.
Alvarado, who was named the Most Valuable Player, had five points in the title game.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
A certified bucket getter. Peep Jose Alvarado's <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JordanRisingStars?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JordanRisingStars</a> MVP mixtape 🔥 <a href="https://t.co/6SoruJRNsP">pic.twitter.com/6SoruJRNsP</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1626800481539354630?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 18, 2023</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

The win capped a memorable day for Gasol, who was named a Basketball Hall of Fame finalist earlier Friday.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m going out on top. It may be one and done for me,&rdquo; Gasol said of his coaching debut.
New York&rsquo;s Quentin Grimes scored 14 points in the final but was wrapped up &mdash; literally held at times &mdash; by Alvarado down the stretch.
&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know you could do that in the Rising Stars game. I should have alerted the refs to call a technical or something,&rdquo; Grimes said. &ldquo;It was all fun but I was going for the win tonight.&rdquo;
Said Alvarado: &ldquo;It might not have been (legal), but he was doing good.&rdquo;
The four teams, comprised of 21 first- and second-year NBA players along with seven G League players, competed in semifinals games to a target score of 40.
Alvarado&rsquo;s 13 points helped Team Pau top Team Deron (Williams) in the first game 40-27, despite an array of spectacular dunks by Trey Murphy III.
In the second semifinal, Grimes scored 13 points including the winning 3 to power Team Joakim over Team Jason (Terry), composed of the G Leaguers. Mac McClung, who is competing in Saturday&rsquo;s Dunk Contest, nearly stole the show with 10 points in the comeback bid but missed a jam on his last attempt.
CELEBRITY GAME
Team Dwyane rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Team Ryan 81-78 in the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game on Friday night. Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith and Basketball Hall of Fame finalist Dwyane Wade served as honorary captains of the celebrity teams.
Seattle Seahawks receiver DK Metcalf paced Team Dwyane with 20 points and 10 rebounds &mdash; but he&rsquo;ll be best remembered for an array of dunks. Actor Everett Osbourne led Team Ryan with 23 points, 12 rebounds and three assists. Metcalf was named the game&rsquo;s MVP.
Each celebrity team included a WNBA All-Star. Phoenix Mercury guard Diamond DeShields played for Team Ryan. Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale played for Team Dwyane. Other notable athletes participating included former NFL player Calvin Johnson and former MLB player Albert Pujols.
Wade added former NBA player Carlos Boozer to his team in the second half. Smith countered by adding former NBA player Richard Jefferson. Jefferson served as part of the officiating crew during the first half; he also worked as an official for one quarter of a Summer League game in Las Vegas last year.
Between the game, and a 3-point shootout between Smith and Wade, $142,000 was raised for 5 for the Fight, a charitable foundation devoted to funding cancer research.
Smith said the funds raised on Friday would benefit the Huntsman Cancer Institute on the University of Utah campus.
JABARI ON JORDAN
Houston&rsquo;s Jabari Smith Jr. was asked if Michael Jordan &mdash; who turned 60 on Friday &mdash; could compete if they were were to play 1-on-1 now.
Smith was pretty sure Jordan wouldn&rsquo;t be getting buckets.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s not beating me right now. If a 60-year-old is hooping on me, I need to hang it up,&rdquo; Smith said. He then added, &ldquo;Happy Birthday, MJ!&rdquo;
SHORT STUFF
Alvarado is listed at 6 feet, which might be a tiny bit generous.
He doesn&rsquo;t mind.
When told before Friday&rsquo;s Rising Stars event that he was a hero for the undersized, Alvarado had a message for others who consider themselves vertically challenged.
&ldquo;Hey short people, I&rsquo;m just like y&rsquo;all. We got a lot of heart,&rdquo; Alvarado said. &ldquo;I see lots of other little guys tagging me on Instagram. I see your love. Keep being yourself, don&rsquo;t try to be nobody else.&rdquo;
Alvarado admitted that the highlights of him hiding behind bigger players to get steals in the backcourt is making it tougher to surprise opponents.
&ldquo;Everybody seen those clips. Now, so I just got to find another way, but I&rsquo;m crafty,&rdquo; he said.
WELCOME MOMENT
Oklahoma City&rsquo;s Jalen Williams said the season has been like a dream. He used to wear Derrick Rose&rsquo;s shoes constantly when he was younger and then found himself guarding D-Rose in Madison Square Garden.
&ldquo;So wild,&rdquo; Williams said before the Rising Stars games. &ldquo;Going up against people that I watched on TV is definitely kind of surreal.&rdquo;

Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado’s drifting three clinched a 25-20 win for Team Pau over Team Joakim in the Rising Stars title game.

Jose Alvarado wins Rising Stars MVP, leads Team Pau over Team Joakim

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; LeBron James will soon be the NBA&rsquo;s top scorer, though that was never his focus.
He&rsquo;s also one of the game&rsquo;s leading passers, and combining the two &mdash; possibly better than anyone ever &mdash; is what really makes him proud.
&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t get to this point in my career by thinking about records or how many points I have, whatever the case might be,&rdquo; James said. &ldquo;I just play the game the right way. I approach the game every night only trying to be a triple threat by scoring, rebounding, assisting, defending, and may the chips fall where they may.&rdquo;
James moved within 89 points of breaking the career scoring record and climbed into fourth place on the assists list, finishing with his first triple-double of the season in his return to Madison Square Garden as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the New York Knicks 129-123 in overtime Tuesday night.
James had 28 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, with the points giving him 38,299 for his career. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the leader with 38,387.
<div class="Component-dfp-0-2-62 apnews_article_midarticle_1" data-card-id="sovrn-article-midarticle">But James&rsquo; game has always been about more than scoring, as he proved again Tuesday. He fed Dennis Schroder for a 3-pointer that snapped a 118-all tie with 3:13 remaining, grabbed his 10th rebound later in the extra period and then powered to the basket for a 127-121 lead with 19 seconds to go.</div>
<div class="Component-dfp-0-2-62 apnews_article_midarticle_1" data-card-id="sovrn-article-midarticle"> &ldquo;He&rsquo;s just doing it all,&rdquo; Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what great players do. That&rsquo;s what all-time greats do, and he&rsquo;s right up there at the top of the list with all of them.&rdquo;</div>
<div class="Component-dfp-0-2-62 apnews_article_midarticle_1" data-card-id="sovrn-article-midarticle">
James had earlier moved ahead of Mark Jackson and then Steve Nash into fourth place on the assists list during his first game at Madison Square Garden in three years.
Anthony Davis added 27 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers, who had dropped two straight to open their trip. Both James and Davis had sat out their loss Monday in Brooklyn.
Jalen Brunson scored 37 points and Julius Randle had 23 points and 12 rebounds for the Knicks, who were 7 for 34 from 3-point range and dropped their second straight.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re scoring plenty, that&rsquo;s not our issue,&rdquo; Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. &ldquo;So we&rsquo;ve got to shore up our defense.&rdquo;
James was fuming following his last game, the&rsquo; Lakers loss in overtime in Boston on Saturday, after which referees said they missed a foul on his drive to the basket to end regulation.
He then sat out Monday with what Ham said was left foot soreness, though the Lakers had listed the injury as an ankle. They listed him as questionable to play in the morning, then upgraded James to available after he moved well during a pregame workout.
He certainly didn&rsquo;t want to miss this one after being hurt two years ago and suspended last season for striking Detroit&rsquo;s Isaiah Stewart in the face. His last game here was Jan. 22, 2000, when he was days away from passing Kobe Bryant into third place on the career scoring list.
Now the only one left to catch is Abdul-Jabbar, which could happen in the next 10 days. James said getting closer doesn&rsquo;t make it feel any heavier.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going anywhere, I&rsquo;m going to be in this league for at least a few more years,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;So I&rsquo;m going to do it, so it&rsquo;s not heavy at all.&rdquo;
<div class="Component-dfp-0-2-62 apnews_article_midarticle_3" data-card-id="sovrn-article-midarticle">
The game was tied at 90 before James fed Troy Brown Jr. for a 3-pointer with his eighth assist, then set up Thomas Bryant for a dunk that moved him ahead of Jackson and then Nash into fourth place for assists. He has 10,338 assists.
James has always called MSG one of his favorite places to play and this visit draw a sellout crowd that included celebrities such as Michael J. Fox, Michael B. Jordan, Emma Stone and Chris Rock. Fans filled seats in the lower sections of the arena just to watch James warm up, but he struggled to give them one of his vintage performances once the game began.
He threw up an airball in the second quarter as part of his 2-for-8 start, but made his final two shots of the half, then threw a pass that Schroder heaved in from halfcourt to beat the buzzer and cut it to 53-52 at halftime.
Recently acquired Rui Hachimura had 19 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers, while Russell Westbrook added 17 points and eight assists, with three of them in OT.
<div class="Component-dfp-0-2-62 apnews_article_midarticle_4" data-card-id="sovrn-article-midarticle">
TIP-INS
Lakers: Patrick Beverley was out with left knee soreness. Ham said the guard has had some tough defensive matchups lately and they were just being careful in giving him a rest.
Knicks: Second-year G Quentin Grimes was chosen Tuesday to take part in the Rising Stars at All-Star weekend. ... The Knicks missed 13 or their first 15 shots as the Lakers took a 15-5 lead.
</div>
</div>
</div>

LeBron James put up his first triple-double of the season as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the New York Knicks 129-123 in overtime.

James has triple-double, leads Lakers past Knicks in OT

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Julius Randle had 28 points and 16 rebounds to lead the New York Knicks to a 102-83 win over the Phoenix Suns on Monday in New York.
&ldquo;My teammates are getting me the ball in the right spots. They&rsquo;re getting me going early,&rdquo; Randle said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just focus and effort, night in and night out.&rdquo;
Jalen Brunson, who returned after missing three games with a sore right hip, scored 24 points. Immanuel Quickley scored 15 points, Quentin Grimes had 12 and Mitchell Robinson finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks.
&ldquo;I shot 6-of-11 from the foul line. There&rsquo;s the rust," Brunson said. "I started out 0-for-3 and didn&rsquo;t finish the game the way I wanted to shooting-wise. But I was still in rhythm. I feel I can be more efficient, but I was just happy to be back out there.&rdquo;
Deandre Ayton led Phoenix with 12 points. Chris Paul had 11 and Mikal Bridges added 10.
The Suns, who lost for the sixth time in their last seven games, scored the first four points of the game. The Knicks followed with the next 14 and led the rest of the way.
New York went ahead 23-11 after the first quarter, the lowest total allowed to any opponent in any quarter by the Knicks since Feb. 1, 2020 (vs. Indiana).
Phoenix pulled to within 11, but a 21-0 Knicks run produced a game-high 32-point lead, 52-20.
The Suns ended the second quarter on an 11-2 streak and trailed 54-31. Phoenix tied for the fewest halftime points scored by a Knicks opponent since Orlando also scored 31 on April 11, 2015.
&ldquo;Defensively, we had to get back to our ways,&rdquo; Randle said. &ldquo;When we won eight in a row, the defensive end was big for us. We feel that rhythm and chemistry coming back on that end.&rdquo;
The Knicks went up 74-43 following a 10-run but had their lead cut to 79-58 after the third quarter.
&ldquo;I thought the way our guys came out, they played really hard defensively and played very unselfish offensively,&rdquo; said Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau. &ldquo;It is sometimes difficult to play with a lead like that, but I thought our guys did a good job of playing tough. They can make up ground quickly the way they shoot threes. That was a big concern.&rdquo;
The Suns, who scored a season low, only got as close as 18 points, 83-65, in the fourth quarter.
&ldquo;It is a mind-boggling thing,&rdquo; Suns coach Monty Williams said. &ldquo;The frustration comes in for us because we&rsquo;ve been a team that can overcome that when we are not shooting the ball well. Mentally and emotionally, I have to get our guys stronger. We haven&rsquo;t been able to handle those kinds of lapses this year.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Suns: Leading scorer Devin Booker (sore left groin) missed his fourth consecutive game. &hellip; Bridges is the lone Phoenix player to start all 38 games this season. Damion Lee is the only other Sun to play in all 38.
Knicks: RJ Barrett (lacerated right index finger) missed his third straight game. &hellip; The Knicks had lost nine straight games to the Suns. New York had not beaten Phoenix since Nov. 3, 2017 (120-107 at MSG). &hellip; Randle, who posted a double-double for the 10th time in his last 11 games, is the only Knick to start all 38 games this season. He heard loud chants of &ldquo;MVP&rdquo; throughout the game. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s good to be on the good side of the Garden,&rdquo; Randle said.
HOME SWEET HOME?
The Knicks are the only NBA team to have a winning record so far this season but a losing record (9-10) at home. Monday&rsquo;s win snapped a three-game home losing streak.
UP NEXT:
Suns: Phoenix visits the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.
Knicks: New York hosts the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday.

Julius Randle had 28 points and 16 rebounds and Jalen Brunson added 24 in his return to lead the Knicks to a 102-83 win.

Randle, Brunson help lift Knicks over Suns 102-83

HOUSTON (AP) &mdash; Julius Randle scored 35 points and Immanuel Quickley added 27 as the New York Knicks snapped a five-game skid with a 108-88 win over the Houston Rockets on Saturday night.
The Rockets led for most of the first half, but the Knicks went on top just before the break and lead by double-digits for most of the second half.
Houston cut the lead to eight points on a basket by Tari Eason with about nine minutes to go before the Knicks scored the next seven points, capped by a 3 from Evan Fournier that made it 91-76.
The Rockets scored the next four points, but New York answered with an 8-0 run, with 3s from Quickley and Quentin Grimes, to extend the lead to 99-80 with about four minutes to go.
Kevin Porter Jr. had 23 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Rockets, who have dropped three in a row. Houston opened the game strong, scoring 35 points in the first quarter, but had a terrible second, managing just 14 points to allow the Knicks to close the gap.
The Rockets had 24 turnovers and made just 6 of 34 3-pointers after hitting 8 of their first 12.
Randle had 12 rebounds and six assists and Quickley had seven assists and five rebounds before they both sat down for good with about two minutes left.
A 7-1 run by the Knicks extended the lead to 76-62 late in the third quarter. Porter and Jalen Green then made consecutive 3-pointers to start an 8-1 run that got Houston within 7. But New York scored the last five points of the third, with a 3 from Grimes, to take an 82-70 lead into the fourth.
TIP-INS
Knicks: Jalen Brunson missed his third straight game with a hip injury. &hellip; RJ Barrett missed a second straight game with a lacerated right index finger. &hellip;Grimes had 19 points. ... Mitchell Robinson had 12 rebounds.
Rockets: Alperen Sengun was a late scratch with lower back pain. &hellip; Green added 16 points. ... Eric Gordon had 12. ... Rookie Jabari Smith Jr. scored 10. ... Eason had nine points and 13 rebounds off the bench.
&nbsp;

Julius Randle scored 35 points and the New York Knicks snapped a five-game skid with a 108-88 win over the Houston Rockets.

Randle's 35 leads Knicks over Rockets 108-88 to snap skid

DALLAS (AP) &mdash; Luka Doncic thought his improbable tying basket in the final second of regulation actually won the game.
No biggie. The Dallas superstar just set the table for a triple-double unlike the NBA has ever seen.
Doncic had a franchise-record 60 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists, including the <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1607950883312001027?s=20&amp;t=dQDB5jAu1UNu9ps8OmTnLQ">tying basket off his intentionally missed free throw</a> to force overtime, as the Mavericks rallied for a wild 126-121 victory over the New York Knicks on Tuesday night.
After grabbing the loose ball on a rebound and shooting the 11-foot jumper in one motion, the 23-year-old danced around while waving his arms as the thinned-out crowd expecting a loss celebrated wildly.
It was 115-115 with 1.0 seconds remaining.
&ldquo;A lot of people asked me about this back in the locker room, and I said I thought we won it,&rdquo; Doncic said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s why I went to the crowd like this. I thought we won the game, and then I see it&rsquo;s tied. I was like, &lsquo;Oof.&rsquo;&rdquo;
Dallas was down nine with 33 seconds left in regulation before getting even in a back-and-forth sequence capped by Doncic grazing the rim and hitting the backboard with the intentional miss.
The first 60-point game in Dallas history also included Doncic's career high in rebounds and was the first 60-20-10 game in NBA history. The young Slovenian had his seventh triple-double and the league's highest-scoring performance of the season.
The Mavericks moved three games over .500 with a fourth consecutive victory, both marks matching their season bests.
Quentin Grimes scored a career-high 33 points and Dallas native Julius Randle had 29 points and 18 rebounds for the Knicks, who lost a fourth consecutive game coming off an eight-game winning streak, their longest in almost nine years.
Jalen Brunson missed the game with a hip injury, unable to play in what would have been his return to Dallas.
New York was essentially without two starters after RJ Barrett exited with a cut on a finger 96 seconds into the game, but trailed for less than a minute in regulation.
&ldquo;I thought we were playing well,&rdquo; Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. &ldquo;Didn't close out the last 30 seconds of the game.&rdquo;
After Miles McBride missed one of two free throws with 11.5 seconds left, Spencer Dinwiddie, who scored 25 points, hit a 3-pointer to get Dallas within 113-112.
McBride made both free throws the next time for a 115-112 lead with 7.7 seconds to go, then Grimes fouled Doncic before the Dallas superstar could attempt a potential tying 3-pointer.
Doncic made the first free throw before the miss with 4.2 seconds to go, then ended up with the ball after it bounced off several sets of hands.
&ldquo;I know it was two seconds or something," Doncic said. &ldquo;I just threw it up, hopefully it went in.&rdquo;
The teams combined to miss the first nine shots of overtime, all the points coming on free throws before Doncic hit a jumper for a 122-117 lead with 1:08 remaining.
Doncic was 21 of 31 from the field and 16 of 22 from the line while topping Dirk Nowitzki's previous club record of 53 from Dec. 2, 2004.
The 23-year-old's record night came two days after the Mavericks unveiled a statue of Nowitzki outside the arena.
&ldquo;I'm tired as hell,&rdquo; Doncic said after playing all but 12 seconds of the second half and overtime, and 49 minutes overall. &ldquo;I need a recovery beer.&rdquo;
Dallas led for less than a minute of regulation but never trailed in overtime. Doncic put the Mavs ahead for good at 118-116 with two free throws midway through the extra period.
Brunson missed his first game of the season in his first visit to Dallas, where the point guard spent his first four seasons before signing with the Knicks in free agency last summer.
The two-time NCAA champion from Villanova got to play against his former team in early December in New York, when the Mavericks rolled to a 121-100 victory.
TIP-INS
Knicks: Starting for Brunson, Immanuel Quickley had a career-high 15 assists and scored 13 points. ... Mitchell Robinson had a season-high 20 points and 16 rebounds.
Mavericks: F Dorian Finney-Smith will miss at least two more weeks with a right adductor strain that has sidelined him the past four games. ... Christian Wood had 19 points and nine rebounds.
UP NEXT
Knicks: At San Antonio on Thursday as New York hits all three Texas cities. The Houston visit finishes the three-game trip Saturday.
Mavericks: The Rockets at home Thursday in the first of two meetings in five days. The rematch in Houston is Monday.

The first 60-point game in Dallas history also included Luka's career high in rebounds and was the first 60-20-10 game in NBA history.

Doncic has 60-21-10, rallies Mavs to wild OT win over Knicks

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; DeMar DeRozan&rsquo;s jumper with less than a second to play gave the Chicago Bulls a 118-117 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday night.
DeRozan finished with 25 points in Chicago&rsquo;s season-high third straight victory. Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 33 points and Nikola Vucevic added 25.
&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t think too much about it,&rdquo; DeRozan said of his jumper from near the foul line. &ldquo;You just read the way they&rsquo;re playing you. It&rsquo;s second nature. I don&rsquo;t care how many shots I missed before. That&rsquo;s a brand new opportunity and you approach it that way.&rdquo;
RJ Barrett scored a season-high 44 points for the Knicks. Julius Randle finished with 29 points and 12 rebounds.
The Bulls&rsquo; comeback from a six-point deficit in the fourth quarter was aided by poor foul shooting by the Knicks, who finished 15 for 26 from the line, including four misses in the final 1:06.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad they missed,&rdquo; DeRozan said. &ldquo;The bad luck we&rsquo;ve had all season of things not going our way, some went our way tonight and we capitalized on it.&rdquo;
Barrett&rsquo;s bucket with 29 seconds left put New York ahead by three before LaVine hit a driving layup with seven seconds left.
Jalen Brunson missed two free throws with six seconds to go, leaving the door open for DeRozan to hit the winning bucket.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve seen him do it through his whole career,&rdquo; LaVine said. &ldquo;If they double, I&rsquo;m right there at the top waiting for him. If not, you get out of his way and let him do what he does.&rdquo;
Quentin Grimes&rsquo; layup with 1:26 remaining in the third quarter had extended the Knicks&rsquo; biggest lead to 91-83. Chicago had its biggest lead at 29-22 at the end of the first quarter.
Immanuel Quickley added 15 points and Brunson finished with 12 points and nine assists for the Knicks.
&ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t any one particular play. I just felt like we never really got our defense established and it was an offensive game,&rdquo; Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard to slow those guys down once they get their confidence going like they did. We missed some free throws. Things can change real fast in this league.&rdquo;
It was the Knicks&rsquo; second straight loss after eight consecutive wins.
TIP-INS:
Bulls: Only seven Bulls have started a game this season. Six have started at least 14 times, with Javonte Green (out with a sore right knee) only getting one.
Knicks: New York is now 8-9 at home this season. &hellip; Grimes had started 15 consecutive games before missing Wednesday&rsquo;s game with Toronto due to a sprained right ankle. &hellip; Thibodeau initiated a successful coaches&rsquo; challenge early in the third quarter, his fourth overturn in five attempts this season.
UP NEXT:
Bulls: Host Houston on Monday.
Knicks: Host Philadelphia on Christmas Day.

DeMar DeRozan’s jumper with less than a second to play gave the Chicago Bulls a 118-117 victory over the New York Knicks.