Cavaliers-Knicks Preview

By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO
Posted Dec 15 2012 2:09PM

The New York Knicks own the best record in the Eastern Conference, and are the NBA's only remaining unbeaten team at home.

They may have to withstand another absence by Carmelo Anthony to continue that run.

With Anthony's status unclear, the Knicks will try to improve to 10-0 at Madison Square Garden for the first time in 21 years as they face the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night.

New York (17-5) has opened the season with nine wins in a row at home, averaging 106.6 points while hitting 43.0 percent from beyond the arc - a staggering 12.2 3-pointers per game.

The Knicks haven't enjoyed a better start at MSG since beginning 11-0 in 1991-92.

Anthony has been the catalyst, scoring 29.0 points per game at home while averaging 36.3 in New York's current three-game win streak - including 45 across the river in Brooklyn on Tuesday.

He scored 22 of his 30 points in the opening quarter Thursday before spraining his left ankle in the third of New York's 116-107 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, which opened this season-high six-game homestand.

"He's fun to watch when he's playing like that," said center Tyson Chandler, who had 18 points. "He's pretty much unstoppable when he's playing that way."

It's uncertain if Anthony will be playing at all Saturday.

That could leave the Knicks without the league's second-leading scorer for the third time in six games. They split visits to Miami and Chicago without him last week before he returned from a cut on his finger with 34 points in Sunday's win over Denver.

Raymond Felton picked up the slack in his absence last week, scoring 27 apiece in the win against the Heat and the loss to the Bulls.

Felton is second on the team with an average of 15.9 points and its leader with 6.8 assists, but he's struggled with his shot lately. He's shooting just 30.2 percent since Anthony's return against the Nuggets.

One of Felton's worst performances last season came against Cleveland in a win with Portland on Jan. 8. He was 1 of 9 from the floor and finished with two points.

The Knicks have averaged 111.3 points while winning three in a row against the Cavaliers (5-19) at MSG.

Cleveland, 2-12 on the road, has dropped seven of eight this month while scoring 89.8 points per contest behind 38.5 percent shooting.

The Cavaliers' struggles continued with Friday's 90-86 loss to Milwaukee, as they committed 27 turnovers - their highest total since having 28 in an overtime win against Golden State on Jan. 20, 2007.

Coach Byron Scott was left searching for answers.

"I have no idea," Scott said. "If I knew that I'd bottle it up and make a lot of money because I have no idea."

The Cavaliers are also dealing with a pair of banged-up stars in Kyrie Irving and Anderson Varejao.

Irving, the team leader with 22.5 points per game, took a nasty fall in the first quarter Friday. He returned to the game and finished with 26 points, but an examination later showed he suffered a broken bone in his jaw. Irving did not accompany the team to New York so he could be fitted with a protective mask, but he plans to play Saturday.

Varejao also was knocked out of Friday's win after sustaining a lower left leg contusion, but X-rays were negative and he returned to compile eight points and 18 boards.

The center leads the NBA with an average of 14.9 rebounds to accompany his 14.0 points.

Injuries have forced Varejao to miss six of the last seven meetings with the Knicks, while Irving scored 21 points in a 98-90 win against them at home April 20.

Knicks overcome Irving's 41, hold off Cavs 103-102

By BRIAN MAHONEY
Posted Dec 15 2012 11:25PM

NEW YORK (AP) Once they outlasted Kyrie Irving, the New York Knicks could turn their attention to the next point guard coming to Madison Square Garden.

Even Linsanity shouldn't be as tough to deal with as the guy wearing the black mask Saturday night.

Raymond Felton scored 25 points, Tyson Chandler had 23, and the New York Knicks overcame Irving's career-high 41 points and the absence of Carmelo Anthony to post a 103-102 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Knicks won their fourth straight when Anderson Varejao missed the second of two free throws with 1 second left. They improved the NBA's only unbeaten home record to 10-0, their best start since the 1991-92 team won its first 11 at Madison Square Garden.

"Guys stepped up. Raymond played great, Tyson played great, and it was just enough," Knicks forward Steve Novak said.

Anthony, the NBA's No. 2 scorer, missed the game after spraining his left ankle Thursday in the third quarter of a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. But Chandler scored 21 in the second half and grabbed 10 rebounds, and Felton and Jason Kidd combined for 15 assists.

It almost wasn't enough thanks to Irving, who had no problems wearing a black protective mask after breaking a bone in his face on a hard fall Friday night against Milwaukee.

"When a guy gets that hot, there's nothing you can really do, other than just stay in front of him and make him take tough shots, which he did. He just hit great shots and we still got the win, though," Felton said. "Any time a guy comes in your building and scores 41 points and he still got a loss, then you did your job."

Rookie Chris Copeland scored 11 in his first career start in place of Anthony, who had 30 points in 22 minutes before getting hurt when he landed awkwardly after a hard foul by Dwight Howard. The Knicks improved to 2-1 without him, adding this to a surprising rout in Miami on Dec. 6.

The Knicks hope Anthony can play Monday against Houston in Jeremy Lin's return to Madison Square Garden, where the undrafted rookie from Harvard became a fan favorite last season and played his way into a big contract with the Rockets.

"He did an excellent job of bringing a lot of cheer. He brought a lot of great vibes to the city and just the arena in general. I had a fun time playing with him," Chandler said. "So I don't know what his reception is, but whatever it is he's on the other side now, so he has to pay for that."

Leading by 10 midway through the fourth quarter, the Knicks had their lead cut to 102-101 when Irving made two free throws with 10.1 seconds left. After Novak made one free throw, Irving pushed the ball up and seemingly the whole Knicks team converged on him, leaving Varejao uncovered toward the left sideline. Irving threw him the ball and Varejao dribbled into the lane, where he was fouled with a second left. After making the first, he may have been distracted when the officials took the ball back from him so the Knicks could make a late substitution, and the second shot fell out.

Irving scored 17 points in the final period, the second-year pro surpassing his previous best of 34 points despite saying he arrived less than three hours before the tip and with only about four hours of sleep after getting fitted for the mask.

He was asked if he was tempted to keep the ball for himself on the last possession.

"There's always temptation there, but I have the utmost trust in my teammates and you know Andy made a great play, got to the free throw line and gave ourselves a chance to win," Irving said.

CJ Miles finished with 17 points for the Cavs, who had three masked men in uniform as they dropped their third straight. Tristan Thompson and Tyler Zeller were already wearing them for previous facial injuries.

"We played good. We played hard. Answered a lot questions that I had for the guys after the game," Cleveland coach Byron Scott said. "It's just a matter of us doing it on a nightly basis. That's the biggest thing. We can't do it just against the Lakers or the Knicks. You got to do it against everybody and I know we're capable of playing that hard every single night."

J.R Smith scored 16 points and Novak had 13 for the Knicks, who are 21-1 at MSG in the regular season under Mike Woodson.

Copeland made all three shots in the first quarter, but Thompson was 4 for 4 as the Cavs took a 28-27 lead. The Knicks opened a seven-point lead in the second but the Cavs came back to tie it before Novak's 3-pointer with 13 seconds remaining sent New York to halftime with a 48-45 advantage.

The Knicks scored the first seven of the second half, opening a 55-45 lead on Felton's 3-pointer a little more than 2 minutes into the third quarter. Cleveland didn't let them get any further away, getting the deficit down to two late in the period before trailing 78-73 going to the fourth.

NOTES: The Knicks were also without reserve forward Rasheed Wallace because of a sore left foot. ... Longtime Knicks TV and radio announcer John Andariese was honored with the fifth annual Dick McGuire Knickerbocker Legacy award, given by the family of the Hall of Fame player and team employee to a person who "exudes the qualities of what it means to be a Knickerbocker." Andariese retired before the season after more than 35 years of broadcasting the Knicks.

Notebook: Knicks 103, Cavaliers 102

Dan Kelly, for NBA.com
Posted Sat Dec 15, 2012 11:19 PM - Updated Sat Dec 15, 2012 11:19 PM

THE FACTS: Kyrie Irving scored a career-high 41 points on 15-for-25 shooting while wearing a black face mask after breaking a bone in his face against the Bucks on Friday night.

Anderson Verajao went to the free-throw line with a chance to tie the game and send it into overtime, but he missed the second free throw and the Cavs lost 103-102.

Raymond Felton was the leading scorer for the Knicks with 25 points on 9-for-20 shooting. Jason Kidd had a rough night from 3-point range, going 3-for-13. But Kidd added eight assists, six rebounds and two blocks to go along with nine points.

QUOTABLE: "I think Irving is one of the young bright spots in this league who is going to be good for a long time."
-- Knicks coach Mike Woodson

THE STAT: The Knicks are now 10-0 at Madison Square Garden this season and 21-1 under coach Mike Woodson dating back to last season.

TURNING POINT: Kidd opened the second half with four consecutive assists and the Knicks ran out to a 10-point lead. The Cavs hung around the rest of the game but could never catch all the way up after that run.

QUOTABLE II: "When a guy gets that hot there's nothing you can really do. The kid's got a bright future."
-- Raymond Felton on Kyrie Irving

WHO'S HOT: Tyson Chandler entered the game shooting a league-leading 70 percent from the floor. He shot 9-for-10 from the floor to improve his percentage.

WHO'S NOT: The Cavs fall to 5-20 on the year and 2-13 on the road. They miss the injured Dion Waiters, who could be back Tuesday, but this figures to be a long season for the young Cavs.

QUOTABLE III: "When we play like that and when we play together and we compete on both ends of the court, we give ourselves a chance to win."
-- Kyrie Irving

NOTABLE: The Knicks continued to bomb away from deep at an NBA-record pace, going 13-for-35 from beyond the arc. They average 12 made 3s per game, which would be an NBA record if they can keep it up all year.

NOTABLE II: Jeremy Lin returns to Madison Square Garden on Monday. Regarding Lin's reception, Raymond Felton said, "They [the fans] should give him a standing ovation when he comes back here, without a doubt. He deserves nothing more but that."

QUOTABLE IV: "I thought he played great. He can make shots. I was pretty pleased with his play."
-- Mike Woodson on Chris Copeland in his first career start.

INSIDE THE ARENA: Former Seinfeld executive producer and star of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry David sat courtside and called the Keith Hernandez Seinfeld episode his favorite.

UP NEXT: For the Knicks, Monday @ Houston, Wednesday vs. Brooklyn, Friday vs. Chicago. For the Cavaliers, Tuesday vs. Toronto, Wednesday @ Boston, Friday vs. Indiana.

• Cavaliers: Leuer, Waiters
• Knicks: Shumpert, Stoudemire

• Cavaliers: --
• Knicks: --

• Lead Changes: 9
• Times Tied: 6

• Arena: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
• Officials: #13 Monty McCutchen, #47 Bennie Adams, #77 Karl Lane
• Attendance: 19033
• Duration: 2:16