CLEVELAND — The locals smelled blood. They had waited all afternoon, 19,432 of them, to set themselves loose on the Knicks and now they had them. A 92-84 Knicks lead with under four minutes to go had disappeared like a magic trick. The Cavaliers were up by a point now, 93-92, and the Knicks were about to turn in another empty possession at the worst possible time.

Except a funny thing happened on the way to the void.

Josh Hart had another idea.

“Got to be aggressive there,” Hart said.

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CLEVELAND — The Knicks didn’t play many games at full strength over the final month of the regular season due to injuries, but their returning top players fronted them to an all-important victory in their playoff opener

Julius Randle scored 16 of his 19 points in the first half in his first appearance in more than two weeks, and Jalen Brunson bounced back from early foul trouble to net 21 of his 27 after halftime for a taut 101-97 victory over the Cavaliers in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series Saturday night at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.

Trade deadline acquisition Josh Hart also had a dynamic game off the bench with 17 points and 10 rebounds (five offensive) in his postseason debut.

And Obi Toppin scored all nine of his points in a pivotal third quarter run for the Knicks, who will look to grab a 2-0 series lead Tuesday in Game 2.

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The Knicks stole Game 1 on the road, beating the Cavaliers 101-97 Saturday evening.

Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 27 points, while Julius Randle poured in 19 points.

Cavaliers superstar Donovan Mitchell led all scorers with 38 points.

Game 2 is on Tuesday.

Jalen Brunson's strong take to the rim gave the Knicks a 99-95 lead with 35.4 seconds left in the game.

Brunson has come on strong late after early foul trouble, with 27 points on 11-of-23 shooting from the field.

In the regular season, Brunson was one of the best in the NBA in crunch time.

The Knicks have led most of the way, but the Cavaliers took a lead with just over two minutes to play.

Despite the Knicks' advantage for nearly the entirety of the game, the Cavaliers took a 93-92 lead at the 2:12 mark in the fourth quarter.

Donovan Mitchell has led the comeback, with 36 points on 14-of-28 shooting and 3-of-14 shooting form behind the arc.

Donovan Mitchell has cut the Cavaliers' deficit to just five with under four minutes to play.

The Cavaliers superstar has 34 points on 13-of-26 shooting.

The Knicks have led the majority of the contest, but now see their lead cut in crunch time.

The Knicks hold an eight-point lead with just under six minutes to play.

The Cavaliers have cut a previous double-digit lead, as Donovan Mitchell has started to get hot from the field.

Julius Randle has struggled of late, now just 7-of-19 from the field with five turnovers.

After early foul trouble, Jalen Brunson has 18 points and two assists.

The Knicks carry a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter.

On the road, stealing Game 1 would be huge for the Knicks.

They've overcome foul trouble for Jalen Brunson.

The Knicks carry a five-point lead into halftime in their Game 1 clash against the Cavaliers.

New York owns a 50-45 advantage at the midway point.

Julius Randle leads the Knicks with 16 points after entering the game with injury uncertainty.

Jalen Brunson has been limited for the Knicks amid foul trouble, with just six points and no assists.

Brunson has three fouls at the break.

Donovan Mitchell unsurprisingly leads all scorers with 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field.

Both teams have struggled in the shooting department.

The Knicks are shooting 39.5 percent from the field and a paltry 18.8 percent from behind the arc, while the Cavaliers are shooting 38.6 percent from the field and a lowly 22.2 percent from 3-point range.

Immanuel Quickley is notably 0-for-5 from the field, although he's hit three foul shots.

Jalen Brunson picked up his third foul less than three minutes into the second quarter.

The Knicks star headed to the bench after the foul, after racking up two early fouls in the first quarter.

He has six points on 2-of-5 shooting from the field as he takes a seat.

Brunson's foul trouble will be a key storyline to watch as the game unfolds.

The Knicks carry a 30-24 lead after one quarter of play.

Julius Randle, after injury uncertainty entering the contest, leads all scorers with eight points in just eight minutes played.

The Cavaliers finished the regular season with the sixth-best team defense in terms of points per game allowed, surrendering 112.3 points per game.

The Knicks are already on a solid trajectory, on pace to score 120 points.

Along with Randle, Jalen Brunson has six points on 2-of-4 shooting from the field.

Julius Randle has shown no signs of rust in the early stages of the Knicks' Game 1 clash with the Cavaliers.

The Knicks star is 3-for-5 from the field and 2-of-3 from behind the arc in the first quarter.

After quickly getting a break on the bench after starting, Randle drilled another 3-pointer near the end of the first quarter.

He has eight points as the first quarter comes to a close.