Cavaliers 101, Knicks 83
LeBron James collected 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists as visiting Cleveland cruised past New York.
Kyrie Irving added 18 points and Kevin Love recorded 16 points and 16 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who have won 16 of their last 18 games. J.R. Smith went 7-of-11 from the field en route to 17 points against his former team as Cleveland shot 50.6 percent.
Langston Galloway scored 13 points to lead the Knicks, who dropped their seventh straight game. Andrea Bargnani, Quincy Acy and Lance Thomas each added 11 points while Travis Wear and Lou Amundson scored 10 apiece for New York.
Love nailed a 3-pointer to kick off a 9-0 run at the midway point of the first quarter that gave the Cavaliers a quick 11-point advantage. James capped a 14-4 run closing the period with a 3-pointer that made it 36-17, and Cleveland pushed the lead to 27 points on Irving’s free throws with 3:53 left in the half.
The Cavaliers settled for a 24-point cushion at the break and James’ basket with 2:21 to play in the third quarter extended it to 81-53. James Jones hit a 3-pointer early in the fourth to make it a 30-point bulge before Cleveland took its foot off the gas.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Cavaliers will reportedly add veteran C Kendrick Perkins, who was bought out of his contract after being traded to Utah at Thursday’s deadline. … Knicks G Tim Hardaway Jr. went 1-of-8 from 3-point range and the team struggled to 3-of-19 from beyond the arc. … Cleveland G Iman Shumpert, who went from New York to the Cavaliers along with Smith, collected four points, seven assists and five rebounds off the bench against his former team.