**Related Video Above: Cavs fans gather at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse for Game 4 watch party.**

NEW YORK (AP/WJW) — Game 4 certainly didn’t go the way fans in Northeast Ohio hoped.

Jalen Brunson scored 29 points, RJ Barrett had 26 and the New York Knicks took a 3-1 lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers in their first-round series with a 102-93 victory on Sunday.

Josh Hart moved into the starting lineup and added 19 points and seven rebounds for the fifth-seeded Knicks, who can reach the second round for the first time since 2013 with a victory in Cleveland on Wednesday. New York would host Game 6, if necessary, on Friday at what has been a deafening Madison Square Garden during the last two games that were dominant defensively.

New York forced Cleveland All-Star Donovan Mitchell into one of the worst games of his postseason career, finishing with just 11 points on 5-for-18 shooting. Darius Garland had 23 points and 10 assists for the Cavs, bouncing back nicely after going 4 for 21 in the Knicks’ Game 3 romp. Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert each scored 14 points.

“It’s not over with,” Mitchell told reporters after the game. “It sucks, the way we lost sucks. But ultimately, we can’t hang our head and give up, we’re not that type of group.”

Mitchell blamed himself for much of the offensive troubles in the game, telling reporters he needed to be better and show up for his team. When asked if he’s given up on the series he said he hadn’t.

“Because I believe in myself, if you’re going to give up 3-1 you’re not built for these moments.

Barrett was only 6 for 25 in the two games in Cleveland but has been outstanding back at home, where fans chanted his name in the second half. He had five straight points to break the Knicks free from a 75-all tie, then added another basket before Hart scored to push it to 90-81 midway during a stretch when Cleveland could only manage two baskets in more than four minutes.

  • Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) and head coach J. B. Bickerstaff talk in the second half of Game 4 in an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the New York Knicks, Sunday, April 23, 2023, at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Knicks won 102-93. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
  • Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell reacts in the final seconds of the second half of Game 4 in an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the New York Knicks, Sunday, April 23, 2023, at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Knicks won 102-93. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
  • NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 23: Pete Davidson and Jon Stewart attend game Game Four of the Eastern Conference First Round Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on April 23, 2023 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
  • NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 23: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Cleveland Cavaliers heads for the net as Miles McBride #2 of the New York Knicks defends in the first half during Game Four of the Eastern Conference First Round Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on April 23, 2023 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
  • Cleveland Cavaliers forward Isaac Okoro drives against New York Knicks guard RJ Barrett (9) in the first half of Game 4 in an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Sunday, April 23, 2023, at Madison Square Garden in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
  • Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) dunks past New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson in the first half of Game 4 in an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Sunday, April 23, 2023, at Madison Square Garden in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
  • Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ricky Rubio looks to move the ball around New York Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley (5) in the first half of Game 4 in an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Sunday, April 23, 2023, at Madison Square Garden in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
  • Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell goes to the basket in the first half of Game 4 in an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the New York Knicks, Sunday, April 23, 2023, at Madison Square Garden in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

After limiting the Cavs to the lowest point total in an NBA game this season on Friday, the Knicks led most of the way in this one to reach the verge of the Eastern Conference semifinals for the first time since beating Boston in 2013.

They’ve only made it back to the playoffs once since then, falling in five games to Atlanta in 2021. But this team is more complete, thanks largely signing Brunson last summer and acquiring Hart from Portland during this season.

Starting together for the first time since they were college teammates at Villanova, that duo combined for 20 of the Knicks’ 30 points in the first quarter, which ended with them leading by seven.

New York pushed it into double digits in the second and Brunson’s 3-pointer midway through the period made it 46-31. The Knicks were ahead 54-45.

But Garland got the first two baskets of the third quarter, set up Cleveland’s next three scores, then had the Cavs’ next two field goals to tie it at 59. His three-point play gave Cleveland a 66-63 lead and he had 11 points and five assists in the period, before Brunson made a 3-pointer with 6.2 seconds left that sent the Knicks to the fourth with a 73-71 edge.

In the end, Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said his team needs to remember how to keep the tempo, as they did at the start of the third quarter, and not let the Knicks take over.

“At the end of the day you have to put the ball in the basket,” he said.

TIP-INS

Cavaliers: Evan Mobley had 12 points but fouled out in the fourth quarter. Cleveland fell to 7-2 in Game 4s since 2017.

Knicks: Mitchell Robinson had 12 points and 11 rebounds. … All-Star Julius Randle finished with just seven points and two rebounds.