NBA News Wire
Cavaliers 106, Knicks 100
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
NEW YORK — The short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers, using just nine players, turned back the New York Knicks 106-100 Sunday at Madison Square Garden.
Cavaliers guard Jarrett Jack scored a season-high 31 points and recorded 10 assists, including 13 points in the fourth quarter. Jack started in place of Cleveland’s leading scorer Kyrie Irving, who is out due to a biceps injury.
Cleveland (27-44) shot 23-for-30, 76.7 percent, from the floor in the second half.
Forward Carmelo Anthony scored 32 points for the Knicks, whose eight-game winning streak ended. Anthony managed just five points in the fourth quarter, when he shot 0-for-5 from the field.
The Knicks (29-40) failed to capitalize on an Atlanta loss earlier in the day. New York trails the Hawks by three games for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
A Jack basket and two free throws by guard Matthew Dellavedova iced the game for Cleveland in the final 24 seconds.
Anthony’s two free throws moved the Knicks to within 102-100 with 42 seconds left after Jack’s 20-foot jumper gave the Cavaliers a 102-96 lead with 1:45 to play.
A 3-pointer from guard Dion Waiters (22 points) and a layup from center Anderson Varejao lifted Cleveland to a 100-94 cushion with 2:37 to play.
Forward Luol Deng’s 3-pointer gave Cleveland its first lead since early in the game at 93-92 with 5:45 remaining. Jack tied the score at 90-90 with a jumper with 7:28 left.
Cleveland cut the Knicks’ lead to 73-70 on a 7-0 burst with 4:52 left in the third quarter, but New York remained on top 84-77 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Knicks’ ball movement on the perimeter led to a 61-46 halftime lead. Felton recorded eight of New York’s 14 first-half assists, and the Knicks were 8-for-12 from the beyond the 3-point arc in the half.
The Knicks shot 17-for-21 (71.4 percent) from the floor in the first quarter, taking a 34-27 lead. Anthony connected on six of his seven shots for 14 points. Waiters, who received a rare start for Cleveland, contributed 10 points.
NOTES: New York was without G Iman Shumpert, who was sidelined with the flu. … The Knicks start a five-game road trip against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday. … Knicks G Tim Hardaway Jr. began the day third among NBA rookies in free-throw (82 percent) and 3-point accuracy (36.5 percent). … Knicks F Carmelo Anthony is averaging a career-best 8.3 rebounds per game. He pulled down eight boards Sunday. … F Amar’e Stoudemire averaged 18 points during the Knicks’ eight-game winning streak. … The Cavaliers are the only team in the league with three players in the Eastern Conference’s top 10 rebound leaders — C Anderson Varejao (10.0), F Tristan Thompson (9.3) and C Spencer Hawes (8.5). … Cleveland G Dion Waiters is the highest-scoring bench player in the Eastern Conference this season at 14.7 ppg. … Cavaliers G Kyrie Irving, who turned 22 on Sunday, missed his fourth straight game with a left biceps strain. … The Knicks are the first NBA team to win eight straight games immediately after a seven-game losing streak since the 1992-93 Houston Rockets.
