Knicks seek fifth straight win as struggling Cavaliers visit
The New York Knicks are starting to look like they did during their run to the NBA championship last season.
And just like last season, New York might get to torment the Cleveland Cavaliers multiple times in the span of less than a week.
The Knicks will look to stay hot on Wednesday night when they close their first back-to-back set of home games this season by hosting the Cavaliers.
The Knicks opened their quick homestand by cruising to a 117-85 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night.
The Cavaliers played most recently on Monday, when they fell 124-112 to the host Charlotte Hornets.
The win Tuesday was the most lopsided of the season for New York, which has won four games in a row and six of seven following an 0-3 start. The current surge includes a 109-97 win over the Cavaliers in Cleveland on Saturday.
The Knicks' average margin of victory in their wins this season is 17.8 points per game.
New York rolled to a four-game sweep of the Cavaliers last May in the Eastern Conference finals, during which the Knicks won each game by at least 11 points and closed the series with a 130-93 rout.
Overall in the playoffs, the Knicks allowed less than 100 points nine times in 19 games. They have surrendered less than 100 points in five of their past seven contests, including a 98-93 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Oct. 30.
"We started off slow and now we're picking it up," said New York's Karl-Anthony Towns, who has 10 double-doubles in as many games this season. "At the end of the day, the offense will catch up. The defense is something you got to establish. We're doing a great job of that right now."
The Cavaliers' trip to the conference finals last season marked their deepest foray into the playoffs since LeBron James exited for the second time following the 2017-18 season. This season, the team has struggled to pick up its game against top competition in November.
Cleveland is 1-4 this month, with two losses to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
On Monday, the undermanned Hornets -- who were without starters Moussa Diabate (right quad), Kon Knueppel (hamstring strain) and Brandon Miller (hip strain) -- buried the Cavaliers by outscoring them 78-52 over the middle two quarters.
The Cavaliers allowed the Hornets to shoot 50% from 3-point range (23 of 46) and were outrebounded 49-32. Cleveland reserves Thomas Bryant, Mario Hezonja and Meleek Thomas combined to score 39 points -- just 17 fewer than starters Jarrett Allen, James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Peyton Watson.
"The difference in energy level was stark -- (the Hornets) were faster than us, quicker to the ball, quicker to rebounds obviously, more physical," Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. "Sometimes in the NBA you get humbled by it. You take it on the chin. Obviously we've got a tough game coming up in New York, so it's always how you respond in this league. How do we respond to this?"
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| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6:24 |  | +2 | James Harden makes two point fadeaway jump shot (Meleek Thomas assists) | 43-40 |
| 6:32 | | Cavaliers 60 second timeout | ||
| 6:32 |  | Karl-Anthony Towns personal foul (Loose ball) (Jarrett Allen draws the foul) | ||
| 6:35 | | Cavaliers offensive rebound | ||
| 6:35 | | Mario Hezonja misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 6:35 | | Mario Hezonja misses two point jump shot | ||
| 6:49 | | +3 | Miles McBride makes three point jump shot | 41-40 |
| 7:05 | | Karl-Anthony Towns defensive rebound | ||
| 7:05 | | Karl-Anthony Towns blocks Jarrett Allen's two point floating jump shot | ||
| 7:17 | | Tyler Kolek personal foul (James Harden draws the foul) | ||
| 7:35 | | +3 | Karl-Anthony Towns makes three point jump shot (Tyler Kolek assists) | 41-37 |
| 7:43 | | +2 | Donovan Mitchell makes two point driving layup (James Harden assists) | 41-34 |
| 7:54 | | Donovan Mitchell defensive rebound | ||
| 7:54 | | Karl-Anthony Towns misses two point driving floating bank jump shot | ||
| 7:54 | | Karl-Anthony Towns misses two point jump shot | ||
| 8:11 | | +3 | James Harden makes three point jump shot | 39-34 |
| 8:11 | | +3 | James Harden makes three point jump shot | 39-34 |
| 8:16 | | Miles McBride personal foul (Loose ball) (Mario Hezonja draws the foul) | ||
| 8:16 | | Cavaliers offensive rebound | ||
| 8:16 | | Donovan Mitchell misses three point stepback jump shot | ||
| 8:28 | | +2 | Tyler Kolek makes two point stepback jump shot (Landry Shamet assists) | 36-34 |
| 8:31 | | Peyton Watson personal foul (Tyler Kolek draws the foul) | ||
| 8:41 | | James Harden personal foul (Loose ball) (Karl-Anthony Towns draws the foul) | ||
| 8:44 | | Knicks offensive rebound | ||
| 8:44 | | OG Anunoby misses three point stepback jump shot | ||
| 9:10 | | +2 | Donovan Mitchell makes two point driving floating jump shot | 36-32 |
| 9:24 | | Cavaliers 60 second timeout | ||
| 9:26 | | +2 | Karl-Anthony Towns makes two point driving bank jump shot (Mikal Bridges assists) | 34-32 |
| 9:39 | | Karl-Anthony Towns defensive rebound | ||
| 9:39 | | Peyton Watson misses three point jump shot | ||
| 10:04 | | +2 | Tyler Kolek makes two point driving layup (Mikal Bridges assists) | 34-30 |
| 10:07 | | Knicks offensive rebound | ||
| 10:07 | | Peyton Watson blocks Landry Shamet's three point jump shot | ||
| 10:13 | | Mario Hezonja personal foul (Mikal Bridges draws the foul) | ||
| 10:28 | | +1 | Peyton Watson makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 34-28 |
| 10:28 | | Cavaliers offensive rebound | ||
| 10:28 | | Peyton Watson misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 10:28 | | Tyler Kolek shooting foul (Peyton Watson draws the foul) | ||
| 10:32 | | OG Anunoby turnover (lost ball) (Mario Hezonja steals) | ||
| 10:41 | | Karl-Anthony Towns defensive rebound | ||
| 10:41 | | Tyrese Proctor misses three point jump shot | ||
| 10:56 | | +1 | Karl-Anthony Towns makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 33-28 |
| 10:56 | | Mario Hezonja shooting foul (Karl-Anthony Towns draws the foul) | ||
| 10:56 | | +2 | Karl-Anthony Towns makes two point driving floating jump shot (OG Anunoby assists) | 33-27 |
| 11:02 | | OG Anunoby offensive rebound | ||
| 11:02 | | Mario Hezonja blocks OG Anunoby's two point driving layup | ||
| 11:14 | | OG Anunoby defensive rebound | ||
| 11:14 | | Tyrese Proctor misses two point fadeaway jump shot | ||
| 11:23 | | +2 | Landry Shamet makes two point cutting layup (Karl-Anthony Towns assists) | 33-25 |
| 11:31 | | Cavaliers turnover (shot clock violation) | ||
| 11:31 | | Cavaliers offensive rebound | ||
| 11:31 | | Donovan Mitchell misses three point fadeaway jump shot | ||
| 11:31 | | Cavaliers turnover | ||
| 11:32 | | Cavaliers turnover (shot clock violation) | ||
| 11:33 | | Cavaliers offensive rebound | ||
| 11:33 | | Donovan Mitchell misses three point fadeaway jump shot | ||
| 11:47 | | Evan Mobley offensive rebound | ||
| 11:47 | | Donovan Mitchell misses three point pullup jump shot |
| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0:00 | | End of period | ||
| 0:02 | | OG Anunoby defensive rebound | ||
| 0:02 | | Tyrese Proctor misses three point jump shot | ||
| 0:03 | | Mikal Bridges personal foul (Donovan Mitchell draws the foul) | ||
| 0:18 | | +2 | Jalen Brunson makes two point driving layup (Karl-Anthony Towns assists) | 33-23 |
| 0:31 | | +3 | Tyrese Proctor makes three point jump shot (Donovan Mitchell assists) | 33-21 |
| 0:50 | | +3 | Karl-Anthony Towns makes three point jump shot (Miles McBride assists) | 30-21 |
| 1:03 | | +3 | Meleek Thomas makes three point jump shot (Jarrett Allen assists) | 30-18 |
| 1:20 | | +2 | Karl-Anthony Towns makes two point driving dunk | 27-18 |
| 1:40 | | +2 | Tyrese Proctor makes two point driving finger roll layup | 27-16 |
| 1:51 | | Tyrese Proctor defensive rebound | ||
| 1:51 | | Jalen Brunson misses two point driving floating jump shot | ||
| 2:00 | | Knicks 60 second timeout | ||
| 2:01 | | +2 | Meleek Thomas makes two point turnaround fadeaway jump shot | 25-16 |
| 2:10 | | Jarrett Allen defensive rebound | ||
| 2:10 | | Andre Drummond misses two point hook shot | ||
| 2:19 | | Andre Drummond offensive rebound | ||
| 2:19 | | Landry Shamet misses three point jump shot | ||
| 2:28 | | +2 | Jarrett Allen makes two point driving layup (Donovan Mitchell assists) | 23-16 |
| 2:44 | | +3 | Landry Shamet makes three point jump shot (Miles McBride assists) | 21-16 |
| 3:03 | | Tyrese Proctor turnover (traveling) | ||
| 3:10 | | Jarrett Allen defensive rebound | ||
| 3:10 | | Andre Drummond misses two point driving layup | ||
| 3:19 | | Donovan Mitchell personal foul (Landry Shamet draws the foul) | ||
| 3:35 | | +2 | Donovan Mitchell makes two point turnaround jump shot | 21-13 |
| 3:50 | | +2 | Landry Shamet makes two point pullup jump shot (Andre Drummond assists) | 19-13 |
| 4:01 | | Tyrese Proctor personal foul (Miles McBride draws the foul) | ||
| 4:22 | | +3 | Tyrese Proctor makes three point pullup jump shot | 19-11 |
| 4:41 | | Tyrese Proctor defensive rebound | ||
| 4:41 | | Jalen Brunson misses three point jump shot | ||
| 5:03 | | +1 | James Harden makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 16-11 |
| 5:03 | | +1 | James Harden makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 15-11 |
| 5:03 | | +1 | James Harden makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 15-11 |
| 5:03 | | Andre Drummond shooting foul (James Harden draws the foul) | ||
| 5:13 | | +2 | Mohamed Diawara makes two point driving finger roll layup (Andre Drummond assists) | 14-11 |
| 5:23 | | Peyton Watson personal foul (Jalen Brunson draws the foul) | ||
| 5:37 | | +2 | Evan Mobley makes two point alley-oop dunk (Peyton Watson assists) | 14-9 |
| 5:49 | | Peyton Watson defensive rebound | ||
| 5:49 | | Karl-Anthony Towns misses three point jump shot | ||
| 5:57 | | +2 | James Harden makes two point driving floating jump shot (Evan Mobley assists) | 12-9 |
| 6:08 | | Cavaliers defensive rebound | ||
| 6:08 | | Jalen Brunson misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 6:22 | | Karl-Anthony Towns defensive rebound | ||
| 6:22 | | OG Anunoby blocks Peyton Watson's two point driving layup | ||
| 6:31 | | Knicks 60 second timeout | ||
| 6:31 | | Josh Hart personal foul (James Harden draws the foul) | ||
| 6:34 | | OG Anunoby turnover (bad pass) (James Harden steals) | ||
| 6:46 | | OG Anunoby defensive rebound | ||
| 6:46 | | James Harden misses three point jump shot | ||
| 7:00 | | +3 | OG Anunoby makes three point running jump shot (Jalen Brunson assists) | 10-9 |
| 7:08 | | Karl-Anthony Towns defensive rebound | ||
| 7:08 | | Jarrett Allen misses two point jump shot | ||
| 7:08 | | Jarrett Allen misses two point jump shot | ||
| 7:19 | | Donovan Mitchell defensive rebound | ||
| 7:19 | | Peyton Watson blocks Mikal Bridges's two point driving finger roll layup | ||
| 7:37 | | +2 | Donovan Mitchell makes two point driving layup (Peyton Watson assists) | 10-6 |
| 8:03 | | +2 | Jalen Brunson makes two point driving floating bank jump shot (Karl-Anthony Towns assists) | 8-6 |
| 8:17 | | +2 | Evan Mobley makes two point putback dunk | 8-4 |
| 8:20 | | Evan Mobley offensive rebound | ||
| 8:20 | | Evan Mobley misses two point finger roll layup | ||
| 8:39 | | Knicks turnover (shot clock violation) | ||
| 8:38 | | Knicks turnover | ||
| 9:05 | | +2 | Jarrett Allen makes two point alley-oop dunk (Peyton Watson assists) | 6-4 |
| 9:16 | | +2 | Jalen Brunson makes two point stepback jump shot | 4-4 |
| 9:28 | | +3 | Peyton Watson makes three point jump shot (Donovan Mitchell assists) | 4-2 |
| 9:44 | | Jarrett Allen defensive rebound | ||
| 9:44 | | OG Anunoby misses three point running jump shot | ||
| 9:52 | | Karl-Anthony Towns defensive rebound | ||
| 9:52 | | Peyton Watson misses two point stepback jump shot | ||
| 10:01 | | Peyton Watson defensive rebound | ||
| 10:01 | | Evan Mobley blocks Josh Hart's two point running layup | ||
| 10:09 | | Karl-Anthony Towns defensive rebound | ||
| 10:09 | | Evan Mobley misses three point jump shot | ||
| 10:24 | | Jarrett Allen offensive rebound | ||
| 10:24 | | James Harden misses three point running jump shot | ||
| 10:30 | | Mikal Bridges turnover (bad pass) (Donovan Mitchell steals) | ||
| 10:41 | | +1 | Evan Mobley makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 1-2 |
| 10:41 | | Cavaliers offensive rebound | ||
| 10:41 | | Evan Mobley misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 10:41 | | Josh Hart shooting foul (Evan Mobley draws the foul) | ||
| 10:53 | | Jarrett Allen defensive rebound | ||
| 10:53 | | Josh Hart misses three point jump shot | ||
| 11:03 | | Jarrett Allen personal foul (Karl-Anthony Towns draws the foul) | ||
| 11:15 | | James Harden turnover (out of bounds bad pass) | ||
| 11:41 | | +2 | Jalen Brunson makes two point driving layup | 0-2 |
| 12:00 | | Jarrett Allen vs. Karl-Anthony Towns (Josh Hart gains possession) |
| Min. Per Game | ||
| Pts. Per Game | ||
| Ast. Per Game | ||
| Reb. Per Game | ||
| Field Goal % | ||
| Three Point % | ||
| Free Throw % |
| |
+ 2 | James Harden makes two point fadeaway jump shot (Meleek Thomas assists) | 6:24 |
|
Cavaliers 60 second timeout | 6:32 |
|
Karl-Anthony Towns personal foul (Loose ball) (Jarrett Allen draws the foul) | 6:32 |
|
Cavaliers offensive rebound | 6:35 |
|
Mario Hezonja misses two point pullup jump shot | 6:35 |
|
Mario Hezonja misses two point jump shot | 6:35 |
| |
+ 3 | Miles McBride makes three point jump shot | 6:49 |
|
Karl-Anthony Towns defensive rebound | 7:05 |
|
Karl-Anthony Towns blocks Jarrett Allen's two point floating jump shot | 7:05 |
|
Tyler Kolek personal foul (James Harden draws the foul) | 7:17 |
| |
+ 3 | Karl-Anthony Towns makes three point jump shot (Tyler Kolek assists) | 7:35 |
| Team Stats | |
|
|---|---|---|
| Points | 43 | 40 |
| Field Goals | 17-33 (51.5%) | 17-32 (53.1%) |
| 3-Pointers | 5-14 (35.7%) | 5-13 (38.5%) |
| Free Throws | 4-6 (66.7%) | 1-1 (100.0%) |
| Total Rebounds | 19 | 14 |
| Offensive | 3 | 2 |
| Defensive | 10 | 10 |
| Team | 6 | 2 |
| Assists | 10 | 13 |
| Steals | 3 | 0 |
| Blocks | 4 | 2 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 3 |
| Fouls | 8 | 8 |
| Technicals | 0 | 0 |
| On Court | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB | +/- | FPTS |
| J. Harden | 9 | 0 | 1 | 3/5 | 1/3 | 2/2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +9 | 11 |
| M. Thomas | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2/2 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +8 | 7 |
| J. Allen | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2/4 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | +2 | 11 |
| M. Hezonja | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -7 | 2 |
| J. Tyson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +4 | 0 |
| On Court | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB | +/- | FPTS |
| J. Harden | 9 | 0 | 1 | 3/5 | 1/3 | 2/2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +9 | 11 |
| M. Thomas | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2/2 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +8 | 7 |
| J. Allen | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2/4 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | +2 | 11 |
| M. Hezonja | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -7 | 2 |
| J. Tyson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +4 | 0 |
| On Bench | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB | +/- | FPTS |
| T. Proctor | 8 | 2 | 0 | 3/6 | 2/4 | 0/0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | +1 | 9 |
| T. Bryant | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| K. Diop | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| E. Udeh Jr. | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| R. Minix | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| C. Porter Jr. | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| N. Omier | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 43 | 13 | 10 | 17/33 | 5/14 | 4/6 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 10 | +17 | - |
| On Court | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB | +/- | FPTS |
| L. Shamet | 7 | 0 | 1 | 3/5 | 1/3 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 9 |
| T. Kolek | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2/2 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +7 | 6 |
| M. McBride | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1/1 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4 | 7 |
| M. Diawara | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -7 | 2 |
| A. Drummond | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0/2 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -6 | 5 |
| On Court | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB | +/- | FPTS |
| L. Shamet | 7 | 0 | 1 | 3/5 | 1/3 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 9 |
| T. Kolek | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2/2 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +7 | 6 |
| M. McBride | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1/1 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4 | 7 |
| M. Diawara | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -7 | 2 |
| A. Drummond | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0/2 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -6 | 5 |
| On Bench | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | STL | BLK | TO | OREB | DREB | +/- | FPTS |
| J. Clarkson | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| D. Knecht | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| J. Akins | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| J. Alvarado | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| T. Nickel | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| P. Dadiet | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| J. Wiseman | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 40 | 12 | 13 | 17/32 | 5/13 | 1/1 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 10 | -11 | - |