Harden Scores 32 & Knick Shots Roll Out at End. Cleveland 115 NY 107

November 13, 2026 LouV 2026-27 0
Landry Shamet with a bucket inside. Photo courtesy NY Knicks.

It was a 101-101 tie with 5 minutes left when Miles McBride missed a 3 and James Harden hit a 3 to put Cleveland ahead for good — as Knick shots rolled in and out down the stretch, while the Cavs kept getting just enough scores to win, 115-107 on a Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

Harden — who seemed over the hill at age 37 with poor performances so far this season — had his best game of the year with 32 pts on 9-15 shooting (5-7 from 3) and a +8. After he hit the 3 to put Cleveland ahead 104-101, he kept drawing the defense and fed Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen for buckets inside down the stretch for the win.

Jalen Brunson had 27 pts on 12-23 shooting (3-8 from 3) but had a -20. Tyler Kolek played most of the 4th quarter, with Brunson coming back in with only 4:12 left (after the Harden 3 had put the Cavs up 104-101) and that raised some eyebrows. Kolek had 4 pts (on 2-3 shooting) with 4 assists and a +12 in 13 minutes.

Cleveland came out with determination and had a single-digit lead most of the game, that they stretched multiple times to 10 or 11 pts. The Knicks kept coming back to pull within a few points or a tie, but Cleveland kept having answers.

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 21 pts on 7-11 shooting  (2-5 from 3) with 11 rebounds. Miles McBride scored 19 pts on 7-13 shooting (5-10 from 3). Mikal Bridges had another night of 17 minutes (2 pts on 1-3 shooting), while Landry Shamet played 29 minutes off the bench, scoring 12 pts on 5-8 shooting (2-4 from 3) .

Donovan Mitchell had 23 pts on 8-15 shooting (2-7 from 3).

There was a major free throw discrepancy in the game — Cleveland was 20-25 in free throws for the game while NY only had 11 (and was 11-11). James Harden (9-11 in free throws) got as many as the entire Knick team. OG Anunoby (6-6 in free throws) and KAT (5-5) were the only Knicks who got free throws; Brunson didn’t get any. The refs in the game were Jenna Reneau, Karl Lane, and Marat Kogut.

Coach Brown’s Thoughts

“It was a possession game and we lost it in every category,” said Knick coach Mike Brown afterwards. “They had 14 more free throw attempts than us; 4 more offensive rebounds than us; and 2 less turnovers. And when that happens against a good team, it’s going to be hard to win the game. So I give them a lot of credit.”

“Part of it though — I’m a little surprised and you have to go back and watch the film — but Jalen played almost 35 minutes, he had zero free throw attempts,” continued Brown. “That’s pretty alarming. I’m not sure how or why it was that way. At one point the free throw advantage was 18-3 — that’s not why we lost the game but you hope you get a better whistle.”

NY drops to 6-5; Cleveland improves to 6-6.

1. Cavs Up by 10 After 1 Quarter

Cleveland came out with the energy of a team looking to make amends for the bad loss to the Knicks a week ago. They jumped out to a single digit lead in the 1st quarter that they pushed to 19-11 on a 3 by Tyrese Proctor. Hardin was scoring, Jarrett Allen (who was absent in last week’s game) was scoring, Donovan Mitchell was scoring and passing.

Meleek Thomas and Tyrese Proctor hit back-to-back 3’s near the end of the quarter and Cleveland was up 33-21. A Jalen Brunson bucket pulled NY to 10 down at the end of 1.

2. Cavs Up by 6 at the Half

Karl-Anthony Towns dominated in the 2nd quarter, hitting 3’s, driving for buckets inside, and setting up teammates with passes.

Miles McBride was hitting 3’s and NY pulled to 6 down at the half at 59-53.

3. Cavs Go Up by 11 in 3rd: Knicks Come Back to Tie It

But the Cavs came out of the gate pushing their lead back up to start the 2nd half. Peyton Watson hit a 3 off a James Harden feed to start the period and Cleveland was back up by 9.

Brunson hit a 3 and Mikal Bridges a deuce for 5 straight points cutting the lead to 4 — but Donovan Mitchell and Harden came back with 3’s and the Cavs pushed their lead to 69-58.

NY pushed back with an 11-0 run — Brunson, Shamet, OG, and Josh Hart with buckets and a Brunson 3 for a 69-69 tie.

But Cleveland kept edging ahead — a Donovan Mitchell 3 gave them an 82-76 lead after 3 quarters.

4. Cavs Go Up by 9 in 4th; Knicks Come Back to Tie It

Miles McBride hit a deuce and a 3 to start the 4th and bring the Knicks within a point — but Cleveland again had an answer — with Donovan Mitchell making consecutive buckets, Tyrese Proctor hitting deuce and Jaylon Tyson hitting a 3 for a 92-83 Cleveland lead with 9:44 left.

NY made one final push — an OG 3 and a Josh Hart deuce followed by an OG steal and Hart buckete inside tied the game at 99 as Madison Square Garden rocked.

5. Knick Shots Roll in and Out Down Stretch; Cavs Win

But again Cleveland had answers — Harden with a score to put Cleveland up 101-99, followed by OG free throws to tie it — but then McBride missed a 3, and Harden hit a 3 and the Cavs were up 104-101.

Jalen Brunson came back into the game for Tyler Kolek, and scored inside to make it 104-103 — but Evan Mobley scored on a hook inside off a Harden pass and Cleveland was up 106-103 with 2:59 left.

And in the final 3 minutes — Knick shots kept rolling in and out, and Cleveland scored enough buckets to win:

  • Shamet drove to the basket but his layup rolled in and rolled out — and down the other end Jarrett Allen hit 2 free throws off a drive and Cleveland was up 108-103.
  • Brunson’s 3 bounced just off the rim — and Jarrett Allen dunked off a Donovan Mitchell pass and Cleveland was up 110-103 with 1:41 left.
  • NY pulled to within 110-105 off OG free throws, then NY had a chance to get closer after Mitchell missed a shot — but Brunson’s drive rolled in and out with 1:01 left.
  • NY still had a shot — with the ball down 5 with 40 seconds left after a Peyton Watson miss — and McBride went up for a breakaway layup — but Peyton Watson blocked it from behind and Jarrett Allen dunked-and-1 down the other end for the old ballgame.

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401909967

 

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