The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the visiting New York Knicks, 117-88 , at Quicken Loans Arena on Tuesday.
The new-look Knicks (0-1), who added Joakim Noah, Derrick Rose and Courtney Lee in a makeover of their starting five this offseason, had their moments at various points until the middle of the third quarter, at which point LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and rest of the defending NBA champions started to exert their dominance. New York’s comeback efforts were ultimately undermined by a collectively poor shooting night, vulnerability down in the paint despite the presence of Noah and standout second-year forward Kristaps Porzingis, and carelessness with the ball. New York managed just 36.8 percent shooting from the field, were out-rebounded on the defensive glass by a 40-29 margin, were outscored 52-28 in the paint, and allowed 21 points to the Cavs off 18 turnovers, all pivotal factors in a 29-point defeat.
New York was led by Carmelo Anthony, who played only 30 minutes in the blowout but managed 19 points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal. Rose put together a 17-point effort in his New York debut after missing most of the preseason, but could only supplement the scoring with three rebounds, an assist and a block. Porzingis was solid with 16 points, seven rebounds, a steal and a pair of rejections, with more than half his scoring coming on three made three-pointers on five attempts. However, Noah and Lee were shut out on the scoreboard altogether, with the former making up somewhat for his lack of points with six boards, three assists and a steal in a modest 20 minutes.
The decisive second-half lead the Cavs (1-0) eventually built up allowed their two biggest superstars to finish the last several minutes on the bench. Irving, often matched up against a rusty Derrick Rose, paced the Cavs with 29 points, four assists, two rebounds and two steals. James posted a triple-double, totaling 19 points, 14 assists, 11 rebounds and a block in just 32 minutes. Kevin Love contributed a double-double with 23 points, 12 boards, a pair of assists and a trio of steals. The recently re-signed J.R. Smith supplied eight points on 3-for-13 shooting against his former Knicks teammates.
The Knicks head back to New York for their home opener against the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night. The Cavaliers hit the road for the first time this season to take on the Toronto Raptors on Friday evening.
