Cavaliers embarrassed by Knicks 106-86
BY STONE LEXINGTON
CAVALIERS BEAT WRITER
(CLEVELAND, OH) - After a rough first half of the 2019-20 NBA season, the Cleveland Cavaliers have begun their trek toward season’s end. Hosting the New York Knicks on Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, the Cavs didn’t do much celebrating on Monday, falling to the Knicks in embarrassing fashion at home, 106-86. The loss was Cleveland’s fifth straight and 10th in their last 12 games.
“We were not good, we couldn’t make a shot,” Cavs head coach John Beilein said of his team that shot 32-of-94 against New York. “We missed 60 shots. Give the Knicks credit.”
The Cavs had only 10 active players on Monday, including two G-League two-way players. Brandon Knight (left knee soreness), Kevin Porter Jr. (left knee sprain), Dylan Windler (left leg stress reaction), Ante Zizic (illness) and John Henson (lower back soreness) all missed the game against the Knicks. Most of the Cavs’ key players, however, were in the lineup but largely ineffective, as Cleveland shot a season-worst 34 percent from the field
Cleveland’s starting backcourt of rookie point guard Darius Garland and second-year shooting guard Collin Sexton combined to shoot 10-of-40 from the field with seven total assists. Garland shot 4-of-20 from the floor with 11 points and three assists, while Sexton totaled 17 points on 6-of-20 shooting with five rebounds and four assists.
Kevin Love made just four buckets en route to 12 points and nine rebounds, but there were a few satisfactory performances from Larry Nance Jr. (12 points, 10 rebounds) and Tristan Thompson (13 points, season-high 22 rebounds).
The Cavs played their way to a 50-49 lead after a sloppy first half by both teams. The Cavs shot just 41 percent in the first half, while the Knicks managed just 45 percent. Neither team led by more than five points in the first half, but the Knicks began to make their move in the opening minutes of the second half.
New York opened the third quarter with a 17-4 run to take their largest lead of the game to that point at 66-54. The Cavs third quarter didn’t get much better from there, as they only scored 10 more points in the quarter. The Knicks led 79-64 at the end of the third quarter and never looked back.
“The turnovers are the biggest thing right now,” Beilein said. “It’s people wanting to win and trying their best to win, just need to be a little bit more patient and try to not just do it by yourself sometimes.”
Julius Randle and Marcus Morris led New York with 19 points apiece, while Bobby Portis and Reggie Bullock chipped-in 12 points each.
The Cavs will look for their next win on Thursday against the Washington Wizards at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
POSTED 01/20/2020 19:58
Lake County Sentinel
