Grading Every Knicks Player After 109-97 Win vs. Cavaliers

The New York Knicks have been on a roll the past few weeks and rolled over the Cleveland Cavaliers 109-97 on Saturday night. Heroes abound when you stomp your opponent into the ground, and a number of Knicks left Rocket Arena with scuff marks on their shoes.

Let’s see who did what and how it happened.

Karl-Anthony Towns: A

Twenty seconds in, Towns committed a foul, and some vestigial remnant of our 2025 brains caused us to slam whatever surface was nearest in frustration. New York was playing a Cleveland team missing center Jarrett Allen.

That left Evan Mobley as their biggest big man. Mobley’s listed as 30 pounds lighter than Towns. This was the kind of night when the only person who can stop KAT is KAT.

Thankfully, Towns would commit only one more foul the rest of the night, leaving him free to do what he’s done all year: rack up the points and rebounds. Towns had his ninth double-double in nine games, and it wasn’t just what he did last night; it’s when he did it.

In the first quarter, three different Cavaliers scored six-plus points. The only Knick to do so was Towns, whose 14 points kept the Knicks in position to land the knockout later. Did they ever?

Jalen Brunson: A

The KO came courtesy of Brunson, whose 18 points in the second quarter flipped the script from a one-point deficit to a 10-point lead at the break. The captain looks to have rounded back into form. After scoring 30-plus in only one of the Knicks’ first seven games, he’s done so twice in the last two. The shots that had always fallen that weren't the first handful of games? They're back to falling.

Landry Shamet: B+

The more Shamet Knicks fans have seen over the past few years, the more he seems to unveil. Three 3s last night in another spot-start for the injured Josh Hart. Shamet was also the only Knick Donovan Mitchell tested more than once and came up short more often than not.

For New York to be without the essential yet undefinable Josh Hart for multiple games and not miss a beat is a testament to how good a teammate and fit Shamet has been since signing with the Knicks two years ago.

Miles McBride: B

A quiet night doesn’t have to be silent. McBride made just one three-pointer and scored only five points. Didn’t have a single rebound, assist, steal, or block. Not even one lousy free-throw attempt. He played most of the third quarter while somehow sporting goose eggs the entire frame.

And yet he had the second-highest plus/minus of any Knick. The fact that Diawara was first indicates the limits of plus/minus ratings, ultimately more of a team stat something Anubis would use to judge Deuce in the afterlife. But McBride has never been a brash or brassy presence. He comes to work, he punches in, he mostly does good, he punches out. Not everyone can have their name on the marquee. But without supporting actors, the leads would be out of a job.

Andre Drummond: B

Eight rebounds in 14 minutes is prodigious and fairly typical of Drummond. Often, that’s how we evaluate him. How many boards?

Yet while a traditional box score shows Drummond didn't score a single point or register an assist, advanced box scores show he had two screen assists, resulting in six Knicks points. And while KAT spent the night torching Bryant, going 6-of-6 against Cleveland’s backup big, Evan Mobley was 0-for-3 guarded by Drummond. Two of those attempts were 3s, which pretty much summarizes the Mobley conundrum, but that’s an article for a Cavs website. Drummond held his own against an alleged Eastern power. That’s what New York needs from their backup big.

Mo Diawara: B

After playing seven minutes total in New York’s first seven games, Diawara has played 35 in the last two. Three assists last night make seven over those 35 minutes, which ties his career-high for a two-game stretch. Whether this is Diawara making his home in this year’s rotation or taking advantage of some spotlight to facilitate a trade, the Knicks hope he continues to push for more opportunities.

Jordan Clarkson: B

A pro’s pro night from the veteran Clarkson: he didn’t play in the first or third quarter and scored only two points in the second. But he continued to show the evolution of his game that’s made him a reserve the Knicks just can’t quit. No Cavalier scored more than three second-chance points. Four Knicks did, led by Clarkson’s seven.

Yes, his scoring was mostly relegated to the fourth, when the game was mostly out of reach. But that’s also the quarter Mitchell went off. Tom Thibodeau would have thrown the entire starting five back in the moment Mitchell made three shots in a row. The know-how of veterans like Clarkson allowed Mike Brown to wait until halfway through the final frame to bring a well-rested Brunson back in to seal the deal. That doesn’t show up in Clarkson's stats, but it’s the kind of little win that helps bring the bigger wins within range.

Tyler Kolek: C

Kolek didn’t struggle so much as he failed to impress. He had as many turnovers last night as he had all season, yet still enjoys a 36-to-4 assist-to-turnover rate. The only concern for Kolek might be that anytime he struggles, or is merely meh, Jose Alvarado is there to reclaim his role as the backup point guard.

OG Anunoby: C

Not the best shooting night for Anunoby, though he did have a team-high 10 contested shots. But it seems OG lost most of those contests: the Cavaliers shot 10-of-15 when he was the primary defender. Not a memorable night, for good or bad.

Mikal Bridges: C

The good news: Bridges continues to show signs of life. Six rebounds and two blocks were season-highs; four assists tied for his best so far. The bad news: Bridges’ continued struggles behind the arc. His 1-for-7 effort from deep now has him at 27% on 3s, and a lot of those were good looks. At least the defense remains a constant, so long as you overlook Bridges defending Mitchell four times and getting scored on all four.

Dalton Knecht: B+

No, the newest Knick didn’t do much in five first-half minutes. But he was the only one of the 11 Knicks who saw the floor to play at a pace over 100. If you’ve followed this team long enough, you know that is rarer than gold.

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