Recap: Cavs 126, Knicks 94 (or, Flexin’ On ‘Em)

No, that was not a re-run of CSI: New York airing on ESPN last night. Although, what the Cleveland Cavaliers did to the New York Knicks might have resembled a crime scene. The Cavs strolled into Madison Square Garden yesterday evening and flexed their championship-calibur muscles for a national audience against a talented, playoff-bound Knicks squad. Both teams compared their collective biceps; the Cavs’ was bigger, and that could have been the game right there considering what a breeze the 32-point win ended up being for Cleveland.

The Cavs improved to 15-5 and a game-and-a-half ahead of the Raptors in the East, while New York fell to 12-10, good for sixth in the conference. Cleveland’s J.R. Smith missed this one due to a balky knee and is still day-to-day; Derrick Rose also missed last night’s game due to back spasms (aka over-flexed back muscles) after he struggled late the night before. Aside from a bunch of muscles being flexed, let’s see what went down.

First Quarter

Cleveland started the game by going to — who else? — Kevin Love, who drew first blood by canning a triple and took the Cavs’ first three shots. Not quite two minutes into the game, LeBron James ran out of bounds as he closed out hard on Courtney Lee‘s three point attempt, which missed, and Love snagged the rebound. Love immediately hurled the ball like a quarterback to the other end of the court — which had me thinking, “where the heck is he throwing the ball THAT far down court?” until I realized, “oh, of course, it’s LeBron”. Bron had traveled at warp speed from off-camera out of bounds to complete the QB-WR connection and earned himself a pair of free throws. Six minutes later, essentially the same play happened, only this time Love threw an over-the-head pass better and harder (arcing just over the seven-foot Kristaps Porzingis) to hit James in stride as the King slammed it home.

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Flexin’ on ’em! What a great pairing the Cavs have in LeBron and Love, surely part of the team management’s original vision when bringing Love in from Minnesota. Is there anyone better than Kevin at the outlet pass in this league?

LeBron was pushing hard in the open court as Cavs were able to force three turnovers and collect long rebounds, as all but six of the Knicks’ shots ended up coming from outside the paint by the quarter’s end. With 4:41 left in the quarter, Love hit his third triple (making him 3-for-6), and on the very next possession, used the fear of his shooting to draw a three-point foul from Carmelo Anthony, who had closed out harder than he wanted. After going 3-for-3 at the line, Love pushed the Cavs’ lead to 17 and the crowd was starting to fall out of the game.

Cleveland finished the first frame up: Cavs 36, Knicks 26.

Second Quarter

The Cavs opened the second quarter with LeBron surrounded by Iman Shumpert, Richard Jefferson, Mike Dunleavy, and Channing Frye. Shump and RJ had some nice passing action between them and both looked spry. RJ in particular was nice to see moving the way he was after somewhat resembling a corpse earlier in the season. Both Cleveland and New York jousted throughout the quarter as the Cavs held onto a lead that ranged from 9-17 points, never quite feeling truly threatened. Once Kyrie Irving entered back into the game, he decided it was HIS turn to start flexin’ on ’em. On one play, Kyrie crossed up Porzingis in such a way that had even the home crowd “ooh” and “ahh” before the mid-range jumper splashed in the net.

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Cleveland featured the Kyrie-LeBron pick-and-roll in this quarter and it generated a lot of open looks around the arc. The shooting display opened the floor to allow the Wine & Gold to continue attacking unset defenses and push the pace in transition with LeBron leading the way.

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By halftime, the Cavs as a team were 19-of-41 from the field and the Knicks were 19-of-43; the difference was Cleveland’s 9-of-18 shooting from deep versus 5-of-17 for New York, a 12 point swing in itself. Cleveland was also 16-of-18 at the free throw line, a shocking disparity compared to the Knicks taking only six free throw attempts and making five. Add in a +4 turnover margin for the Cavaliers and you have what looks like a 15 point lead at halftime.

Cavs 63, Knicks 48.

Third & Fourth Quarters

At the 10:00 minute mark of 3rd, Ky and Bron pushed yet another transition ball to result on a thunderous alley-oop, extending the Cavs’ lead to 20.

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That did not stop Cleveland from attacking, however; the Big Three continued to answer the bell as the offense ran through their actions. That Love-to-Bron QB-WR combo? The Cavs ran similar stuff for Love, tossing arcing entry passes when he would dive toward the rim. These types of plays are embedded in team’s DNA.

This is where Cavaliers were forced to find entertainment late in the game

Once Kyrie hit a three at the quarter’s 6:37 mark, Cleveland’s lead had ballooned to 75-52, and the Knicks appeared dead in the water. The team, crowd, and broadcasters all seemed to have the energy sucked out of them in one moment. Things got dicey when a Brandon Jennings triple cut the score to 83-57, to which Tyronn Lue decided he would undercut any burgeoning passivity from his players by pulling the ol’ “Popovich rage timeout” — the flex-on-’em of coaching tools. The Cavs came out of the timeout with their heads on right and continued to pour it on, ending the third quarter up by 27.

The Knicks never quite threatened the rest of the way as the score margin hovered around 30. As far as game was concerned, the most entertaining part of the final quarter was all the upset celebrities filing out the exits during the blowout; however, as far as the Cavs nerd was concerned, Kay Felder got himself some run most of the frame. The zoo mob looked fine in maintaining the final 30+ point margin.

Cavs 126, Knicks 94.

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General Thoughts

Few reservations about this one. Kevin Love and Kyrie took turns owning their matchups and LeBron served as the catalyst by doing a little bit of everything, as per usual. There was a lapse in the 2nd when the players seemed to become lackadaisical on defense, but the Cavs were quick to rectify any mistakes and pretty much played a complete game with determination. The Big Three all scored more than 20 points, and Shumpert was the only other to score more than 10 (he had 14; sure seems to play the Knicks well!). This was a nationally televised game on ESPN with Warriors-Clippers following as the main billing, and the Cavs flexed their muscles to make a statement against a playoff squad with a strong roster and bona fide star power. Before Cavs fans begin puffing their chests, it is important to remember the Knicks were on the second night of a back-to-back and certainly looked it at times. The Cavs were crisper and were able to overpower the tired team missing its starting PG. We will learn much more about the Knicks’ threat level when the two teams square off again in February.

Liggins Sighting

Cavs fans aren’t expecting much from DeAndre Liggins, who received the start in place of J.R. Smith. Liggins is moving well on defense and his long arms are disruptive and reach well beyond his center of gravity to close out those precious extra inches of space. He also scored both of his baskets — two three attempts that appear insignificant in a vacuum but will be instrumental in this extended tryout session of Liggins’. DeAndre will never be one to spearhead his own offense, but if he can utilize the three point shot to make a sleeping defense pay AND provide plus wing defense, the Liggins project will have been a massive success. He could be that true 3-and-D guy that Cavs fans always wanted Matthew Dellavedova to be (not to undersell Delly’s other valuable skills that make him so good).

Second Coming of Klay Thompson?

In 10 minutes of action, the rookie Kay Felder netted himself three assists and four points on a pair of made baskets. Felder continued to show off the ability to scoot past his defender into the teeth of the defense, where he often looks to pass and shows good playmaking instincts as two of his assists resulted in Shumpert threes. He could stand to improve his finishing and shooting (gosh, I make it sound so easy), but continues to flash signs of someone with legit NBA skills to build upon. Now, just to see where those fit in with the Cavs…

Porsche-zingis

If NBA players were cars, that Kristaps Porzingis kid would sure be a luxury vehicle. What stands out watching him is just how well he moves and coordinates himself as a lanky seven-footer. Good things tend to happen when Porz touches ball on offense, although he isn’t ultra-assertive and doesn’t have a crazy ton of plays run for him. He finished 5-of-15 with 12 points. Many basketball fans wonder why Porzingis doesn’t get more plays called for him, but an inefficient showing like last night indicates he may not be ready for that burden. The Latvian forward also has a ways to go on defense and could probably benefit to pack on some bulk, aka MUSCLE, but he certainly is a “unicorn” as the Knicks brass likes to describe, and he and Melo will be a formidable pairing in the East for years to come.

Stats R Fun

-Kevin Love took 16 shots, 12 of which were three pointers. In seven of his past eight games, half or more of his shot attempts have been from deep.

–Tristan Thompson always puts up my favorite statlines. Last night he had three points on 0-for-3 shooting to go with 20 rebounds. His first point came from the second of two free throws with 3:42 left in the third quarter; he had 17 (LOL) rebounds at the time.

-Channing Frye is shooting 47% from deep this season — tops in the league.

–James Jones played one minute less than nine last night. He scored nine points by taking three shots and making all three, all from three-point range. His +/-? Three.