Wrap-Up — If Cleveland's convincing win over the Raptors on Monday night in Toronto didn't show the Eastern Conference that they'd snapped out of their mini-funk, Wednesday night's wire-to-wire drubbing of the red-hot Knicks sure did.
The Cavaliers made it six straight at Madison Square Garden and eight straight overall against the Knicks – clobbering a confident squad that had won nine of its previous 12 contests, 126-94, on Wednesday night in New York.
The Wine and Gold left nothing to chance in their second meeting with the Knicks this year – jumping on them early and not letting up even as Coach Lue emptied his bench with just under eight minutes to play and the Cavaliers up 29.
The Cavaliers shot 49 percent from the floor, canned 22 three-pointers, took 31 free throws to New York's 15 and outran them on the break, 23-8. Tristan Thompson grabbed one more rebound than the entire Knicks starting lineup.
The Big Three all topped the 20-point plateau – the sixth time they've done so this season.
Kyrie Irving, who'd averaged 28.3 ppg in five career appearances at the Garden, was right on pair in Wednesday's win – leading both squads with 28 points, going 9-for-17 from the floor, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, adding six helpers and a pair of rebounds.
LeBron James was in all-business mode from the opening tip and followed up with 25 points on an efficient 7-for-10 shooting, going 10-for-14 from the stripe, leading both clubs with seven assists to go with six boards, a steal and a pair of blocked shots.
As he often does, Kevin Love did most of his heavy lifting early – netting 16 of his 21 points in the first quarter, finishing 6-for-16 from the floor and 5-of-5 from the line in Wednesday's win.
Tristan Thompson nearly grabbed a career-high in rebounds – snagging a season-high 20 boards to go with a pair of steals and a block.
With former Knick, J.R. Smith, back in Cleveland nursing a hyperextended left knee suffered in Monday's win in Toronto, DeAndre Liggins got the start for Cleveland. And as he did in relief on Monday, the D-League's two-time Defensive Player of the Year came up big – stifling the Knicks on one end and going 2-for-2 from long-range on the other.
The Wine & Gold came out strong with 36 points in the 1st quarter, and never looked back.
Another former Knick, Iman Shumpert, led all bench scorers with 14 points – going 4-for-8 from the floor, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. James Jones – in true “Champ” form – went 3-for-3 from deep to finish with nine points in eight minutes of work.
Turning Point — This one was over early, with Kevin Love setting the Knicks up and Kyrie and LeBron knocking them down. After Love dropped 16 points on New York in the opening quarter, James netted 11 in the second and Irving, 11 more in the third. By the fourth quarter, it was officially garbage time.
New York managed to get Cleveland's 17-point second quarter lead down to eight – 54-46 – with 4:04 to play in the half. But LeBron would proceed to personally outscore the Knicks, 7-2, the rest of the way to put the Cavaliers up 15 at intermission.
By the Numbers – 111.1 … points the Cavaliers are averaging so far this season, 2nd-best mark in the Eastern Conference and 4th in the league. They've scored at least 100 points in 17 of 20 games, have topped the 110-point mark three times, the 120 mark six times and dropped 137 on the Blazers late last month.
Quotable – Kyrie Irving, on playing in his favorite road arena, Madison Square Garden …
“I never take this opportunity for granted being in the Mecca. Growing up in New Jersey and always having my friends and family here and being able to play the game I love at an extremely high level. They just love basketball here especially in the Tri-State area. They die for the Knicks. For me to be a Cleveland Cavalier and come in here, it's always a great opportunity.”
Up Next — After routing the Knicks to take two of the last three games on their recent roadie, the Wine and Gold return to The Q for four of their next five, beginning with this weekend's back-to-back against the Heat on Friday followed by the Hornets on Saturday. After a two-day rest, it's a mid-week home-and-home back-to-back against Memphis – with the Grizzlies rolling in on Tuesday and the Cavaliers traveling to the Grindhouse the following night. The Cavs return home for a date with the Lakers next Saturday night in Cleveland.
