The Cleveland Cavaliers trounced the New York Knicks 119-101 at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday with National Basketball Association scoring leader LeBron James pacing a balanced attack in which seven players returned double-digit scores.
James scored 26 points, despite watching the entire fourth quarter from the bench, as Cleveland (11-3) moved to within one-and-a-half games of the Boston Celtics (13-2) for the best record in the NBA's Eastern Conference. New York dropped to 7-7 after its fourth loss in five games.
Forwards Tim Thomas and Al Harrington made their debuts for the Knicks, while Cuttino Mobley sat out the game pending the results of medical tests. All three were acquired in the past week by New York, which was outrun, outgunned and outmuscled.
Elsewhere in the NBA, it was: Suns 99, Thunder 98 Wizards 124, Warriors 100 Mavericks 109, Pacers 106 and Lakers 120, Nets 93.
In New York, Cleveland made the most of its height advantage from the opening tip-off and scored the last five points of the first quarter to seize a 12-point lead at 34-22.
The Cavs ran the lead to 31 points in the second, doing a lot of that damage while James was on the bench, before going into halftime with a 67-38 cushion. They led by 29 after three quarters before cruising in the final period.
Delonte West added 16 points and Wally Szczerbiak had 15 for the Cavaliers, who rang up their highest points total of the season.
Cavs coach Mike Brown was pleased with his team's aggressiveness and physical defensive play that led to 17 turnovers by the Knicks against just eight for Cleveland.
"That's what we want our identity to be," Brown said. "We're a defensive team. We want to be about defense, grit and toughness.
"Guys were flying all over the place in the first half."
New York was further depleted when guard Nate Robinson limped off court in the second quarter with a groin injury.
Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni remained positive despite the heavy defeat.
"We didn't play well. We played against a really good team, obviously," he said. "I know that we can get a lot better.
"We hate it for tonight but it is only tonight.
"This is not going to deter us.
"The only thing that bothered me at halftime was that we lost our spirit."
While the Knicks might have lacked emotion, the Madison Square Garden crowd made clear their appreciation of James.
Fans, hopeful New York can sign James when he and a host of other top players become free agents after next season, gave him a big cheer during introductions and many wore 2010 T-shirts and brandished signs urging him to join the Knicks.
"It's humbling knowing you have fans not only in Cleveland but all over, especially in New York, the basketball Mecca," James said.
Quentin Richardson had 22 points as top scorer for the Knicks, who never led in the game. Thomas added 16 points and Harrington contributed 13.
(Agencies via Shanghai Daily November 27, 2008)