Cavaliers 106, Knicks 100
NEW YORK -- The short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers, using just nine players, turned back the New York Knicks 106-100 Sunday at Madison Square Garden.
Cavaliers guard Jarrett Jack scored a season-high 31 points and recorded 10 assists, including 13 points in the fourth quarter. Jack started in place of Cleveland's leading scorer Kyrie Irving, who is out due to a biceps injury.
Cleveland (27-44) shot 23-for-30, 76.7 percent, from the floor in the second half.
Forward Carmelo Anthony scored 32 points for the Knicks, whose eight-game winning streak ended. Anthony managed just five points in the fourth quarter, when he shot 0-for-5 from the field.
The Knicks (29-40) failed to capitalize on an Atlanta loss earlier in the day. New York trails the Hawks by three games for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
A Jack basket and two free throws by guard Matthew Dellavedova iced the game for Cleveland in the final 24 seconds.
Anthony's two free throws moved the Knicks to within 102-100 with 42 seconds left after Jack's 20-foot jumper gave the Cavaliers a 102-96 lead with 1:45 to play.
A 3-pointer from guard Dion Waiters (22 points) and a layup from center Anderson Varejao lifted Cleveland to a 100-94 cushion with 2:37 to play.
Forward Luol Deng's 3-pointer gave Cleveland its first lead since early in the game at 93-92 with 5:45 remaining. Jack tied the score at 90-90 with a jumper with 7:28 left.
Cleveland cut the Knicks' lead to 73-70 on a 7-0 burst with 4:52 left in the third quarter, but New York remained on top 84-77 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Knicks' ball movement on the perimeter led to a 61-46 halftime lead. Felton recorded eight of New York's 14 first-half assists, and the Knicks were 8-for-12 from the beyond the 3-point arc in the half.
The Knicks shot 17-for-21 (71.4 percent) from the floor in the first quarter, taking a 34-27 lead. Anthony connected on six of his seven shots for 14 points. Waiters, who received a rare start for Cleveland, contributed 10 points.
NOTES: New York was without G Iman Shumpert, who was sidelined with the flu. ... The Knicks start a five-game road trip against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday. ... Knicks G Tim Hardaway Jr. began the day third among NBA rookies in free-throw (82 percent) and 3-point accuracy (36.5 percent). ... Knicks F Carmelo Anthony is averaging a career-best 8.3 rebounds per game. He pulled down eight boards Sunday. ... F Amar'e Stoudemire averaged 18 points during the Knicks' eight-game winning streak. ... The Cavaliers are the only team in the league with three players in the Eastern Conference's top 10 rebound leaders -- C Anderson Varejao (10.0), F Tristan Thompson (9.3) and C Spencer Hawes (8.5). ... Cleveland G Dion Waiters is the highest-scoring bench player in the Eastern Conference this season at 14.7 ppg. ... Cavaliers G Kyrie Irving, who turned 22 on Sunday, missed his fourth straight game with a left biceps strain. ... The Knicks are the first NBA team to win eight straight games immediately after a seven-game losing streak since the 1992-93 Houston Rockets.
