NEW YORK (AP) — OG Anunoby had 24 points and 14 rebounds, Jalen Brunson scored 23 points and the New York Knicks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 119-111 on Wednesday night in their first game under coach Mike Brown.
Karl-Anthony Towns added 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks, who had a 17-point lead in the first half, fell behind after Donovan Mitchell led a comeback, then regained the lead for good with a 14-0 run early in the fourth quarter.
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Cleveland Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell (45) protects the ball from New York Knicks' Og Anunoby (8) and Mikal Bridges (25) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, at Madison Square Garden in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
New York Knicks' Jalen Brunson (11) drives past Cleveland Cavaliers' Jarrett Allen (31) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, at Madison Square Garden in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
New York Knicks' Mikal Bridges (25) drives past Cleveland Cavaliers' Evan Mobley (4) and Jarrett Allen (31) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, at Madison Square Garden in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
New York Knicks' Karl-Anthony Towns (32) shoots over Cleveland Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell (45) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, at Madison Square Garden in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Mitchell finished with 31 points, 21 in the third quarter, but the Cavaliers couldn't pull out the win after starting last season with 15 straight en route to a 64-18 record, best in the Eastern Conference. Evan Mobley added 22 points and eight rebounds.
The Cavs and Knicks are expected to be two of the top contenders in the East, though neither is ready to look like it yet. The Knicks are without center Mitchell Robinson (left ankle injury management) and Josh Hart (lower back spasms).
The Cavs started the season with All-Star Darius Garland and swingman Max Strus recovering from offseason foot surgeries and on Wednesday were also without forward De'Andre Hunter, who averaged a league-high 16.9 points off the bench last season, because of a bruised right knee.
Brown took over when the Knicks surprisingly decided to fire Tom Thibodeau despite reaching the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2000.
Mikal Bridges hit all four shots and scored 10 points in the first quarter, helping New York lead 33-23. A 10-0 run late in the first half gave the Knicks their biggest lead at 63-46 before Mitchell, who had been quiet, had a couple free throws and a basket to give himself some momentum for his big third.
Cavaliers: Visit Brooklyn on Friday.
Knicks: Host Boston on Friday.
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Cleveland Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell (45) protects the ball from New York Knicks' Og Anunoby (8) and Mikal Bridges (25) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, at Madison Square Garden in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
New York Knicks' Jalen Brunson (11) drives past Cleveland Cavaliers' Jarrett Allen (31) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, at Madison Square Garden in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
New York Knicks' Mikal Bridges (25) drives past Cleveland Cavaliers' Evan Mobley (4) and Jarrett Allen (31) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, at Madison Square Garden in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
New York Knicks' Karl-Anthony Towns (32) shoots over Cleveland Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell (45) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, at Madison Square Garden in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela, part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil.
The U.S. Coast Guard boarded the tanker, named Veronica, early Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on social media. The ship had previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump’s "established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean,” she said.
U.S. Southern Command said Marines and sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to take part in the operation alongside a Coast Guard tactical team, which Noem said conducted the boarding as in previous raids. The military said the ship was seized “without incident.”
Several U.S. government social media accounts posted brief videos that appeared to show various parts of the ship’s capture. Black-and-white footage showed at least four helicopters approaching the ship before hovering over the deck while armed troops dropped down by rope. At least nine people could be seen on the deck of the ship.
The Veronica is the sixth sanctioned tanker seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by Trump’s administration to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products and the fourth since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid almost two weeks ago.
The Veronica last transmitted its location on Jan. 3 as being at anchor off the coast of Aruba, just north of Venezuela’s main oil terminal. According to the data it transmitted at the time, the ship was partially filled with crude.
Days later, the Veronica became one of at least 16 tankers that left the Venezuelan coast in contravention of the quarantine that U.S. forces have set up to block sanctioned ships, according to Samir Madani, the co-founder of TankerTrackers.com. He said his organization used satellite imagery and surface-level photos to document the ship movements.
The ship is currently listed as flying the flag of Guyana and is considered part of the shadow fleet that moves cargoes of oil in violation of U.S. sanctions.
According to its registration data, the ship also has been known as the Gallileo, owned and managed by a company in Russia. In addition, a tanker with the same registration number previously sailed under the name Pegas and was sanctioned by the Treasury Department for being associated with a Russian company moving cargoes of illicit oil.
As with prior posts about such raids, Noem and the military framed the seizure as part of an effort to enforce the law. Noem argued that the multiple captures show that “there is no outrunning or escaping American justice.”
Speaking to reporters at the White House later Thursday, Noem declined to say how many sanctioned oil tankers the U.S. is tracking or whether the government is keeping tabs on freighters beyond the Caribbean Sea.
“I can’t speak to the specifics of the operation, although we are watching the entire shadow fleet and how they’re moving,” she told reporters.
But other officials in Trump's Republican administration have made clear they see the actions as a way to generate cash as they seek to rebuild Venezuela’s battered oil industry and restore its economy.
Trump met with executives from oil companies last week to discuss his goal of investing $100 billion in Venezuela to repair and upgrade its oil production and distribution. His administration has said it expects to sell at least 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil.
Associated Press writer Ben Finley contributed to this report.
This story has been corrected to show the Veronica is the fourth, not the third, tanker seized by U.S. forces since Maduro’s capture and the ship also has been known as the Gallileo, not the Galileo.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a press conference, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at a news conference at Harry Reid International Airport, Nov. 22, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill, File)
