BRUN OFA KIND!

Jalen’s career-high 48 lifts Randle-less Knicks to huge win

CLEVELAND — The Knicks might not have Julius Randle back in time for the start of the playoffs, but the preview of a potential first-round matchup featured a scintillating head-tohead battle between the lead guards of the two teams.

With Randle missing his first game of the season with a sprained left ankle, Jalen Brunson took over the scoring mantel and outdueled All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell as the Knicks all but sealed a playoff berth and a likely first-round matchup with the Cavaliers squad they defeated, 130-116, on Friday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Brunson pumped in 33 of his career-best 48 points in the first half, with seven made 3-pointers in 12 attempts, while adding nine assists. The $104 million point guard fronted seven Knicks in double figures, exceeding his previous scoring high of 44 set on Jan. 9 against the Bucks.

“You guys have seen it all year. I think there’s nothing that he does that surprises you, and it’s a testament to how toughminded he is,” Tom Thibodeeau said of Brunson, who had missed seven of 11 games prior to Wednesday’s return against the Heat due to foot and hand injuries. “He’s always so mentally tough, particularly when he has adversity.

“He’s nicked up a little bit, but he’s a machine. He just keeps going. And I think that’s the best leadership you could have.”

Backup power forward Obi Toppin opened the game in place of Randle and scored 12 points in 19 minutes in his first start of the season.

Immanuel Quickley and Quentin Grimes contributed 14 points apiece, and Mitchell Robinson posted 10 with 14 rebounds. The fifth-place Knicks (45-33) lead the Nets — who beat the Hawks on Friday — by 2 ½ games and the seventh-place Heat by 4 ½ with four games remaining. With an extra game left, Miami still potentially can forge a three-way tie with the Knicks and Brooklyn, leaving a minute mathematical chance of the Knicks slipping into the 7-10 play-in scenario via tiebreakers.

Mitchell, who the Knicks attempted to land in a trade last summer with the Jazz, netted 26 points in the first two quarters and 42 overall. Darius Garland added 20 points and nine assists for the No. 4 Cavaliers, who played without former Nets big man Jarrett Allen (groin) and Isaac Okoro (knee).

“Not fun. He’s capable of doing that any given time, at any point in the game. He’s special for a reason,” Brunson said of his back-and-forth with Mitchell. “It’s a credit to my teammates and coaches. They make life easy for me and they have confidence in me. The ball was just going through the hole. I just kept shooting with confidence.”

Neither team’s offense could be stopped in the first quarter, with the sides combining to shoot 68.1 percent from the field (32-for-47). Mitchell nailed his first eight shots and scored 23 of the Cavaliers’ 47 points in the first — a franchise record for any quarter. Brunson nearly matched Mitchell with 21 on 8-for-11 shooting, as the Knicks only trailed by five through one.

Brunson drained his fourth triple of the half and hit a short runner for a seven-point cushion and 33 points in the two quarters, his career-best output for any half as the Knicks led, 79-72, at intermission.

Brunson netted seven more points in the third to reach 40 for the fourth time this season, and the Knicks carried a 105-102 lead into the final period.

Josh Hart’s long-distance bucket, a traditional three-point play by Quickley, a dunk by Deuce McBride and two driving buckets by RJ Barrett helped push the lead to 15 with 7:36 left in the fourth.

Caris LeVert’s trey and a dunk by Evan Mobley trimmed the cushion down to seven with 3:08 to go, but Brunson’s layup and subsequent 3-ball boosted his career-total to 48 and replenished the lead to 12 with under two minutes remaining. He missed a pull-up jumper in the closing seconds to fall short of his first career 50-point game.