Kyrie Irving’s driving layup with seven seconds remaining in the game helped the Cavaliers escape New York with a 90-87 win over the New York Knicks Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.
Cleveland (10-7) extended its winning streak to a season-high five games. New York (4-15) has lost 15 of its last 17.
With LeBron James struggling for most of the night, Irving picked up the slack, scoring a season-high 37 points on 12-for-18 shooting from the floor. He was 10-of-11 from the foul line.
Without his output, the Cavaliers wouldn’t have had a chance. Irving loves this venue. He came in averaging 29 points a game in Madison Square Garden, his highest average in any road arena.
It was a sloppy affair. Both teams combined for 38 turnovers.
For the second straight game James started off sluggish, going into the break 2-of-8 from the field. He played the role of facilitator much of the night, providing a game-high 12 assists.
He finished with 19 points in addition to five rebounds. Kevin Love registered his ninth double-double of the season – 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Tim Hardaway scored 20 points off the bench for New York. Amar’e Stoudemire contributed 18 points and nine boards. Quincy Acy put in 15 points, six rebounds and a block as he started at power forward.
Carmelo Anthony missed 15 of his 19 field goal attempts including a potential game-tying three at the buzzer.
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