The Knicks were leading the game for a stretch in that matchup and the team kept things close, but by the end the Cavs were able to pull away and get the victory. LeBron finished the game with 31 points overall, which was enough to secure a win for the Cavs.
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The Cavaliers extended their winning streak to seven on Tuesday with a thrilling 118-114 win over the Jazz.
Cleveland trailed 95-86 midway through the fourth, but James took over and brought the Quicken Loans Arena crowd to its feet with one of his trademark plays. Rookie big man Kristaps Porzingis nailed a 3 point shot as time expired but the play was later reviewed and it was ruled that he did not get the shot off in time.
With the score knotted at 82-82 and only 1:21 remaining on the clock, LeBron James dribbled out precious ticks in the fourth quarter. Afflalo had another look to tie the game again, but the ball rimmed out and Tristan Thompson grabbed his 10th rebound. The Knicks are looking to improve on their records of 4-5 Straight Up (SU) and 5-4 Against The Spread (ATS).
Head to head, the Cavaliers are 2-5 ATS in their last seven meetings but the road team is 5-1 ATS in the last six meetings. “Obviously, offensively we struggled from the perimeter and free-throw line”. They have the third-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the league at 1.88.
Anthony was 8-of-11 from the field in the first half, including 4-for-5 from three-point range.
Cleveland, however, did face a competitive Eastern team in the Indiana Pacers back on Sunday, whom they beat by 4 points.
That viewpoint, which has been the story of the season, was especially fitting on Friday night against the enigmatic NY Knicks.
NY is 7-17 SU in its last 24 games. However, they only scored 61 points and had just 5 assists in the following three quarters combined.
NY finished the third quarter on a 6-0 run to enter the final period with a 72-66 lead.
NY increased its advantage over the Cavaliers to five points twice over the next 90 seconds of play, as center Robin Lopez knocked down a hook shot in the lane and later, when Porzingis hit a turnaround jumper at the 4:46 mark of the fourth quarter. The over/under total for the game has been set at 199 points.
Friday marked Ty Lawson’s first game back in Denver after being traded to Houston in the summer following a series of off-court problems.
“I think he’s a pretty good player”.
When matched up against James one-on-one, Anthony fired blanks repeatedly, failing to score and turning the game into a personal challenge. NY ranks 14th in points allowed per game with 100.8.
On average, NY attempts 22.0 three pointers and Cleveland attempts 25.0 per game.
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The field goal only counted as two points toward the Cavaliers’ effort, but it represented the culmination in yet another chapter in the rivalry between James and Anthony-one that has been waged since their teenage years.
