Cavaliers 91, Knicks 84
CLEVELAND -- Kevin Love had 23 points and 13 rebounds and forward LeBron James added 24 points, nine rebounds and five assists to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 91-84 win over the New York Knicks on Wednesday night.
The Knicks were playing without Carmelo Anthony and still nearly pulled off the upset thanks to 23 points and 13 rebounds from rookie Kristaps Porzingis.
The Knicks rallied from 11 points down to take their first lead on a tip-in from forward Lou Amundson with 11:08 to play, but they went scoreless for 3 1/2 minutes late in the game and Porzingis was shut out in the fourth quarter.
Cavs guard Kyrie Irving had five points and four assists on 1-of-7 shooting from the field in 20 minutes. It marked his second game back from a fractured kneecap, but Irving is clearly still rusty. He has made 6 of 19 shots from the floor since returning and sat the final five minutes after reaching his minutes allotment.
The Knicks sat Anthony because of a sprained right ankle and coach Derek Fisher mentioned the upcoming schedule as part of the reason why.
Anthony participated in Wednesday morning's shootaround, but with three games in four nights after Christmas, the Knicks seemed content to sacrifice a road game against the top team in the East in an effort to get Anthony healthy for the upcoming road trip.
Instead, the Knicks limited the Cavs to 39 percent shooting from the floor and had a chance to win until the final minute. Cavs guard Iman Shumpert's defense forced the Knicks into a timeout after guard Arron Afflalo was trapped in the corner with the score tied at 82.
Knicks forward Lance Thomas threw away the inbounds pass and Cavs guard Matthew Dellavedova converted at the other end. The Cavs strung together a couple more stops, including once when Shumpert stripped Afflalo again two possessions later for a turnover, and James clinched the win with a dunk in the final minute.
Guard Mo Williams returned after missing a week with a sprained right thumb, giving the Cavs a fully healthy roster for the first time all season. As a result, coach David Blatt played 10 players in the first quarter and 11 in the game.
"I'll be happiest when we see a full roster that's entirely healthy, but it feels good," Blatt said. "We've been waiting for this."
Irving is still on a minutes restriction, Williams hasn't practiced since being cleared to return and Shumpert still isn't completely healthy after a groin injury last week, but this is the closest the Cavs have been to fully healthy since the start of the playoffs last spring.
NOTES: F Carmelo Anthony is upset the Knicks were left off the Christmas Day schedule this season. "We should have been on Christmas," he said. "Christmas in New York, that is what it should have been. New York is one of those teams that should always be playing on Christmas." Anthony joked that he was boycotting the games, then later conceded he'd be watching. ... F LeBron James will be playing his 10th Christmas Day game, and six of the 10 have been on the road. But James hasn't created any new holiday traditions as a result. "They're not even here right now," James said. "They're in L.A. We have no traditions." ... Cavs F Kevin Love said he's a big fan of Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis. "I really like his game. I think he's going to be a really great player in this league," Love said. "Obviously with his size being able to step out and shoot, he's gonna have to put weight on. You can tell he loves the game, has a little bit of a swagger to him, a little bit of an edge. I think he's going to be a very good player."