If there was any concern about the All-Star Break disrupting the Wine and Gold’s rhythm heading into the season’s second half, those worries were allayed almost immediately – as the Cavs crushed the Knicks for the 10th straight occasion, including all four matchups this season.
Cleveland went into the Break having run their record in February to 7-1 and came out on the other side ready to rumble – with seven players notching double-figures as the Cavaliers continued their mastery of the Knicks, taking the 119-104 decision on Thursday night at The Q.
Both franchises spent the day working through the final hours of the NBA’s trade deadline, but by game-time on Thursday night, both had determined to stand pat.
As they had in the previous meeting in New York, the Cavaliers ran out to a big second half lead before having to suppress a Knicks rally – opening up a 21-point edge early in the third period and clinging to an eight-point lead at the end of the quarter.
But after being held to just 18 points in the third, the final period belonged to Cleveland – improving its advantage to double-figures on Channing Frye’s bomb to begin the fourth and never allowing the Knicks closer than 13 points the rest of the way.
Kyrie Irving posted his seventh straight 20-point performance – leading Cleveland with 23 points on 9-for-16 shooting, adding six assists, three boards and a steal.
LeBron James notched his third triple-double in his last five matchups against New York – along with sixth this season and 48th of his career – finishing with 18 points, a game-high 15 assists and 13 boards.
The four-time MVP was 7-for-11 from the floor and added three blocked shots – including a fourth-quarter chase-down block on Courtney Lee, timing up Lee’s dunk attempt, pinning it on the glass and calmly peeling the loose ball off the glass.
Kyle Korver continued his red-hot run – coming off the bench to lead all reserves with 20 points, going 7-for-12 from the floor, including 6-of-10 from long-range. In the month of February, the veteran sharpshooter is averaging 15.9 points on 62 percent shooting from the field, including 63 percent (36-for-57) from beyond the arc.
Richard Jefferson and his podcast partner, Channing Frye, finished with 14 points apiece in the victory. Derrick Williams, who inked a second 10-day contract on Wednesday, added 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting off the bench.
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