Knicks 95, Cavaliers 86: Scenes from the Julius Randle triple-double of glory

The New York Knicks held off the red-hot Cleveland Cavaliers for a hard-fought 95-86 victory. It wasn’t the prettiest basketball game — New York turned the ball over 25 times and shot a ghastly 13-21 from the free-throw line — but they were buoyed by the strong play of Julius Randle. Randle notched the Knicks’ first triple-double of the season: 28 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists. It was the Knicks’ first 20-point triple-double since Carmelo Anthony.

The Knicks were missing Alec Burks, who has been huge for them so far this season, but Reggie Bullock picked up the slack, hitting five three-pointers and getting a clutch steal late to seal the victory.

Elfrid Payton was strong late in the game, hitting two threes (serious, when did Elf learn how to shoot threes?).

The kids didn’t really stand out, so head coach Tom Thibodeau leaned hard on the vets — Randle played 44 minutes and Bullock played 41 — but on this night, it was a recipe for victory.

Benny has the recap. Enjoy your evening, folks.