For the second time this season, the Knicks had the defending Eastern Conference champs on the ropes. Just over a week ago in Cleveland, Derek Fisher's squad led until LeBron James fueled a come-from-behind win, and tonight's game followed a similar script.
For the third straight game, Carmelo Anthony caught fire for a quarter -- he had 14 of his 26 points in the first -- but New York was unable to sustain as James scored 12 of his game-high 31 points in the fourth.
The Knicks hung tough early as Cleveland came out firing. In the second, Fisher's club used a 20-8 run, fueled by eight points from Arron Afflalo in his Madison Square Garden regular season debut, to build a 53-46 lead at the half.
The Cavs kept chipping away, and Mo Williams stepped up in the final minute with six straight points to steal the victory. Afflalo (14 points), Kristaps Porzingis (11 points, 7 rebounds) and Jose Calderon joined Anthony in double-figure scoring.
The Knicks' next game comes Sunday against the Pelicans at MSG.