The Cleveland Cavaliers came back from 13 down to defeat the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, 110-104, continuing their perfect 4-0 start to the season. Meanwhile, New York fell to 1-2 after the loss, not quite the start the fans hoped for after the Knicks traded for Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges. Still, perhaps this is just the new players having growing pains adjusting to each other, as star guard Jalen Brunson mentioned postgame about shooting 8-24 while Towns only took eight shots.

Here's Brunson talking about his poor shooting night and realizing that he needs to give KAT more touches, as shared by Knicks Videos on X, formerly Twitter.

Cavaliers def. Knicks, stay undefeated

Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) reacts after a dunk against New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson (23) and guard Jalen Brunson (11) during the first quarter at Madison Square Garden
© Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Jalen Brunson taking 24 shots while his best teammate Karl-Anthony Towns took only eight gave the Knicks enough film to look at after losing to the Cavaliers.

The team held a 13-point lead at one point, but the Cavaliers stayed with it and eventually roared back to take the victory on the road, partly thanks to Darius Garland's heroics.

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Garland paced his team with 34 points, while shooting 12-19 from the field and 5-8 from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Garland's backcourt partner Donovan Mitchell added 25 points on 9-17 shooting.

Likewise, the Cavaliers guard said beating the Knicks at the garden gave him a good feeling, owing to their budding rivalry over the last few seasons.

“It feels good coming into the Garden and getting a win,” Garland said, via Tommy Wild for Sports Illustrated. “There's nothing really better than that. Coming to the Mecca and stealing one on their home court was good.”

Moreover, the Knicks also survived an injury scare to Brunson, but seemingly not for Josh Hart. Brunson left for the locker room in the third quarter but came back to finish the game. However, Hart limped to the locker room late in the fourth, after colliding with Caris Levert, ultimately finishing with 16 points and 13 rebounds.

“I thought it was honestly just a weird game from start to finish. It was kind of a grind-it-out game,” Brunson explained via Peter Botle for the New York Post. “[We] had a 13-point lead and then let it slip away. It's no excuse. We've got to play our best basketball in the fourth quarter and we didn't tonight.”

Simply put, both Brunson and Towns will have to learn how to play with each other if the Knicks want to become true championship contenders.