After the New York Knicks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night, it was clear what the lead story would be. Point guard Jalen Brunson scored a career-high 48 points and has been worth every penny of his $100 million contract. New York got a big win and is sitting pretty in the Eastern Conference fifth-seed.
All-Star and leader Julius Randle is out for the rest of the regular season, meaning other players need to step up.
Going into the Cleveland game as 3.5-point underdogs, it would have been expected that the Knicks could look discombobulated without Randle.