All-universe superstar LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers walked into Madison Square Garden and clobbered the New York Knicks.
- New York Knicks 94 (12-10)
- Cleveland Cavaliers 126 (15-5)
- NBA, Final, Box Score
- Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks learned that first hand on Wednesday night when LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers drummed the good guys to a 126-94 victory at Madison Square Garden.
Even Spike Lee couldn’t finish out this 32-point blowout: (spotted leaving early in the fourth quarter).
Early on, the effort wasn’t terrible. The Knickerbockers moved the ball well on the offensive side leading to high-percentage shots.
Brandon Jennings, who received his first start of the season in absence of an injured Derrick Rose, led the way with 16 points on 6-of-14 from the floor. Courtney Lee was the only ultra hot shooter for New York while the game was semi-reachable. He went for 15 on 5-of-10 including 3-of-7 from 3-point land.
While Kristaps Porzingis provided some life offensively for the Knicks in the early going (12 points), it was his effort on defense on this one particular play that had the Garden in abuzz:
Sadly, that was all she wrote. It was the only highlight of note for the home team as defense, especially perimeter defense, was the ultimate nail in the coffin.
When LeBron James wasn’t receiving a challenge from young KP, he was doing his regular marvelous thing:
As killer as James was, 25 points, six rebounds, and seven assists, it was the Cavs’ 3-point prowess that destroyed New York.
All in all, Cleveland nailed 22 threes, the most threes any opponent has ever hit in Knicks history. Amazingly, they shot 55 percent from long range (22-40). Kevin Love hit on four of these as he shredded the Knicks perimeter defense early (21 points in the game). Iman Shumpert also connected on four 3-pointers.
Kyrie Irving was also spectacular offensively. His 28 led both teams. Tristan Thompson finished with 20 rebounds.
The closest New York came in the fourth quarter was a deficit of 15 points while Cavs avenged their three-game losing streak. New York, on the other hand, saw its four-game winning streak come to an end. The Knicks continue to struggle when playing the second game of a back-to-back.
Next up for the 12-10 Knicks will be the Kings in Sacramento on Friday night.