The New York Knicks defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 109-93 to take a 2-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Josh Hart lead the Knicks with 26 points and seven assists. Hart also shot 5-11 from three.

"I was kind of frustrated, I've been putting in the reps," said Hart, who missed his first three shots in the game. "It's not translating right now. I just knew I would keep shooting and if I did that, I would be good."

Mikal Bridges and Jalen Brunson each added 19 points in the win. Brunson also had 14 assists.

Knicks coach Mike Brown, who benched Hart for Landry Shamet in Game 1, complimented Hart's toughness.

"It's just who Josh is. He's a gamer. He knew what he had to do in terms of adjustments he needed to make in order to be effective," Brown said. "He was great, he was decisive. We have to play fast, so we're not going against a set defense all the time."

Donovan Mitchell lead the Cavs with 26 points. The Cavs as a team shot just 38.8% from the field.

Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said that Brunson's playmaking was the difference.

"Obviously we're loaded up more to him, and he found other guys," Atkinson said of Brunson. "We just got to find that balance, but 14 assists, but credit to him, right? Took away some of the scoring options, blitzed him, gave him different looks."

The Knicks have now won nine straight playoff games heading into Saturday's Game 3 in Cleveland. The Cavaliers are 2.5 point favorites for Game 3 after the Knicks initially opened at 1.5 favorites. The Knicks are -750 favorites to advance to the Finals, giving them an 88 percent implied probability.