The Cavaliers are known as a defensive ballclub, and they
have the numbers to prove it. But when the high-octane Knicks roll through town,
they know they’ll have to score to win.
That was the case once again, as the Wine and Gold rung
up 74 first-half points, built up a 24-point lead and still wound up holding off
New York’s late-game barrage, winning their 11th straight game – 113-106 – on
Saturday night at Quicken Loans Arena.
LeBron James broke the Cavaliers’ individual record with
35 first-half points – going 13-for-28 before intermission as Cleveland took a
20-point lead, 74-54, heading into the locker room.
James deferred to his teammates in the third quarter,
going scoreless until the final minute of the period. The Knicks cut six points
off Cleveland’s lead in the third and a red-hot Nate Robinson – who scored 23
second-half points – led a furious New York rally in the fourth. When rookie
Jordan Hill hit a short jumper with just over two minutes to play, the Knicks
cut Cleveland’s edge to just three.
But LeBron canned back-to-back 20-footers to give the
Wine and Gold just enough breathing room to capture their league-leading 41st
win.
“Going through something like this, we got to the point
where it was two or three points and we buckled down and got some stops,” said
Coach Mike Brown. “We have the best closer in the game in LeBron, so we knew
we’d give ourselves a chance to score with him on the floor.”
James finished 17-of-31 overall, going 6-for-12 from
beyond the arc and 7-for-7 from the stripe for 47 points – one off his Quicken
Loans Arena high. LeBron led the Cavaliers with eight boards, eight assists and
five steals.
“I was able to shoot the ball extremely well, but still
get my teammates involved,” said James. “When I’m on fire, I can go for a lot of
points but getting my teammates involved is good for us in the long run. I can’t
do it by myself and I’ve always been that way, ever since I was a little kid.”
Both teams shot well on Saturday night – the Cavaliers
at 55 percent, New York at 53. Cleveland was an even 50 percent from beyond the
arc and went 82 percent from the line.
Shaquille O’Neal continued his mid-season tear, going
8-for-13 from the field and 3-of-5 from the line for 19 points to go with three
blocked shots. Anthony Parker followed up with 11 points and J.J. Hickson
rounded out the Cavaliers in double-figures with 10.
The Cavaliers will get Super Bowl Sunday off before
getting back in the gym to tune up for the Nets, who roll into town on Tuesday
night.
