Knicks-Cavaliers Preview

By JEFF BARTL
Posted Apr 19 2012 9:42PM

With a playoff spot secured, the New York Knicks are gearing up for the postseason as Carmelo Anthony continues to step up his game.

Amare Stoudemire's return may provide another boost.

Stoudemire is hoping to end a 13-game absence when New York visits the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night.

New York, which clinched a spot in the postseason after Milwaukee lost at Indiana on Thursday night, has gone 9-4 while Stoudemire has been recovering from a bulging disk in his back. Anthony has been the main reason for the team's success during that stretch, averaging a league-high 32.2 points in April.

He scored 33 to lead the Knicks (33-29) past New Jersey 104-95 on Wednesday, had 35 on Tuesday in a win over Boston and scored 42 in a loss to Miami on Sunday.

"He's playing unbelievable right now," said center Tyson Chandler, who added 18 points and 10 rebounds Wednesday. "He's playing, if not the best, definitely in the tops right now, as far as individual basketball."

Anthony, though, refused to take all the credit, deferring accolades to his teammates. Steve Novak and J.R. Smith each hit three 3-pointers off the bench Wednesday for the Knicks, who are in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, one game ahead of eighth-place Philadelphia.

New York will be making its second straight trip to the postseason following a six-year absence.

"Guys are feeling comfortable with their shot right now," Anthony said. "They get it and make something happen."

Some have wondered, though, if Stoudemire's impending return will take shots away from the red-hot Anthony. Anthony averaged 14.0 points while shooting 39.4 percent in his last seven games before Stoudemire and Jeremy Lin went down with injuries March 24, though New York went 6-1 in that stretch.

If he returns Friday, Stoudemire may have to shake off some rust, much like Kyrie Irving had to do in Cleveland's 103-87 loss to the 76ers on Wednesday.

Irving returned after missing nine straight games with a sprained shoulder and scored nine points while shooting 4 of 10 from the field.

"It felt good to be back out there," Irving said. "I really felt good finally getting my legs back under me. I'd rather be out there on one leg than sitting on the bench."

Coach Byron Scott and the organization mulled shutting down the rookie for the remainder of the season rather than risking further injury to the No. 1 overall pick, but Irving pleaded to play.

"Kyrie and I talked the other day a bunch via text and he kept telling me how much it was eating him up sitting on the bench," Scott said. "He's a competitor. He wants to play. He wants to be out there with his teammates."

Irving isn't sure how much he'll be on the court with the Cavaliers (20-41) finishing another disappointing season, though he said he'll play as much as he's allowed.

"Most likely I won't play in all five (remaining games) knowing coach Scott, but we'll see how it goes," Irving said. "I've been putting my case in and letting him know I'm 100 percent and ready to go."

Irving and Stoudemire missed the most recent meeting March 31, when Smith scored a game-high 20 points off the bench in New York's 91-75 win.

Irving and Anthony scored 22 points apiece in the Knicks' 120-103 win Feb. 29. The Cavs beat the Knicks at home 91-81 on Jan. 25 despite Irving being held to seven points.

Cavaliers stun playoff-bound Knicks

By TOM WITHERS
Posted Apr 21 2012 1:38AM

CLEVELAND (AP) Amare Stoudemire came back. The Knicks went missing.

Stoudemire returned after missing 13 games with a back injury, but playoff-bound New York looked tired after clinching a spot in the postseason and played one of its most uninspired games in weeks, losing 98-90 to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night.

"There's nothing about tonight's game that I liked," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. "We just didn't compete. That's unacceptable."

Stoudemire, who had been sidelined since March 24 with a bulging disk, scored 15 points and didn't show any signs of the injury. But the Knicks came out flat, stayed that way until making a late run and lost to a Cleveland team that won for just the fourth time in 19 games.

"We could have come out with more energy and did a better job out there," Stoudemire said. "We felt complacent, being that we clinched, we felt like we accomplished something. We just got to keep our focus going into the postseason."

The Knicks dropped to 15-6 under Woodson, who took over when Mike D'Antoni resigned on March 14. New York may have missed a chance to move any higher than the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference. As it stands now, the Knicks will face LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat in the first round.

"There's no reason to panic right now," Stoudemire said. "We feel like we can do some damage in the postseason."

Carmelo Anthony added 12 points, but he and Tyson Chandler sat out the entire fourth quarter as Woodson chose to rest some of his starters before a matchup with Atlanta on Sunday.

"There was a 20-point lead at about the 7- or 8-minute mark," Woodson said. "I started to go back (to them) and I just said no. I'm thinking this is seven games in 11 days for us, maybe they are tired, but that's not an excuse. You have to give Cleveland credit.

"They kept playing and didn't quit playing from the beginning to the end."

Manny Harris had 19 points and a career-high 12 rebounds to lead the Cavs, and rookie Kyrie Irving scored 21 points in his second game back from a shoulder injury.

Samardo Samuels added 15 points for the Cavs, who have won 10 straight at home over the Knicks. New York hasn't won in Cleveland since Nov. 29, 2006.

"I can't explain it whatsoever," Cavs coach Byron Scott said of Cleveland's dominance over New York. "We came out ready and they were kind of not into it."

Stoudemire was in foul trouble in the first 5 minutes and never got into a groove. Anthony, who has had to carry the scoring load with the team's No. 2 scoring option sidelined, went just 5 of 13 from the field in 29 uninspired minutes. The Knicks didn't wake up until the final minutes when they cut a 19-point deficit to eight on two free throws by Stoudemire with 2:33 left.

New York had a chance to get closer, but Toney Douglas made a silly pass for a turnover and JR Smith then fouled Harris on a 3-point miss. Harris knocked down two free throws and Cleveland's Donald Sloan drove past four Knicks standing like statues for an easy layup to put the Cavs ahead 96-82.

"I've seen this happen over the years," Woodson said. "You clinch a spot. Guys take a sigh of relief and they stop playing."

Not the Cavs.

They outhustled the listless Knicks to loose balls, and with only the NBA lottery to look forward to, had one of their best home games this season.

Cleveland had a little luck, too.

Leading 74-60, the Cavs were in danger of turning it back over when Harris lost control of the ball. But he ran it down near halfcourt, turned and launched his 42-footer that caromed in off the glass as the horn sounded.

"I knew it had a chance," Harris said. "I tried to aim a little higher and what happened, happened."

Irving showed some nice flashes in 26 minutes. The presumptive rookie of the year made two driving layups in traffic and dropped all eight free throw attempts. Scott didn't put his young star back on the court in for the fourth and said it's possible he will sit Irving out in one of the final four games.

"He's a difference-maker," Scott said. "When he's on the floor, I think guys feel a little more comfortable and they know he's going to get things done."

Notes: Cavs F Antawn Jamison passed Gail Goodrich (19,181) for 45th place on the NBA's career scoring list. ... Browns quarterback Colt McCoy sat courtside along with teammates Evan Moore and Montario Hardesty. ... Knicks G Baron Davis was penciled in to start, but sat out with a stomach virus and didn't get to face the Cavs, who waived him earlier this season under the amnesty provision. ... The Knicks also rested F Jared Jeffries because of a sore right knee.

Notebook: Cavaliers 98, Knicks 90

Posted Saturday April 21, 2012 12:15AM

By Brian Dulik, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Point guard Kyrie Irving scored a game-high 21 points and shooting guard Manny Harris added 19, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 98-90 upset of the New York Knicks at Quicken Loans Arena. Harris also had a career-best 12 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who have the fifth-worst home record in the NBA. Knicks power forward Amar'e Stoudemire collected a team-high 15 points, three rebounds and four blocked shots in his return from a lower back injury. Small forward Steve Novak chipped in 15 points for playoff-bound New York, which also got 12 points apiece from small forward Carmelo Anthony and point guard Mike Bibby.

QUOTABLE: "The Cavs just outworked us tonight. They wanted this win more than we did. It's that simple. Tonight was just one of those nights for us. The Cavs had it more than we did, and we didn't adjust to it."
-- Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony.

THE STAT: The Cavaliers have won 10 straight home games over the Knicks, last losing to them in Cleveland on Nov. 29, 2006. "I can't explain it whatsoever, I really can't," Cavaliers head coach Byron Scott said. "I thought tonight we really came ready to play and they were kind of not into it, for whatever reason, and we took full advantage of it." The only current Cleveland players who have lost on their home floor to New York are injured center Anderson Varejao and injured shooting guard Daniel Gibson. "I just think the team picks it up when we play them," Harris said. "We come out with a lot of energy and play them with a lot of aggression."

TURNING POINT: After a Novak 3-pointer pulled the Knicks within 65-56 late in the third quarter, the Cavaliers went on a 14-4 run to take their largest lead of the night. Irving, Harris, center Samardo Samuels, power forward Antawn Jamison, small forward Omri Casspi, and point guard Donald Sloan each had hoops during the spurt that put Cleveland in front 79-60 with 9:41 remaining in the fourth. Harris had the biggest make in the sequence, burying a 42-footer in front of the scorer's table as the shot clock was expiring. "I felt we had the game in hand when he threw up the bank shot and it went in," Scott said, smiling.

QUOTABLE II: "There was nothing about tonight's game that I liked. As a unit, we just didn't compete. You've got to give Cleveland credit. They kept playing and didn't quit from beginning to end -- and we just didn't compete."
-- Knicks head coach Mike Woodson.

HOT: Samuels had 15 points, three rebounds and two blocked shots in 24 strong minutes for the Cavaliers, nicely complementing the 10 points and six boards that starting center Tristan Thompson put up. ... Jamison collected eight points, eight rebounds, five assists, one steal and one rejection without committing a turnover. He also moved past Gail Goodrich into 45th place in NBA history with 19,186 career points. ... Second-year pro Harris played a career-high tying 41 minutes in notching his second NBA double-double. All 12 of his boards came on the defensive end, helping Cleveland win the overall rebounding battle 52-32. ... Cavaliers small forward Anthony Parker, who scored nine points, is averaging 11.9 points and shooting .597 from the field over his last nine games. ... Knicks point guard Toney Douglas was very active in 21 minutes off the bench, posting six points, a team-leading nine rebounds, and a game-high tying six assists. ... Stoudemire played for the first time since March 24 in Detroit. The six-time All-Star had missed 13 straight games. ... New York is 15-6 since Woodson replaced Mike D'Antoni on an interim basis on March 14.

NOT: Knicks center Tyson Chandler was outplayed by Thompson and Samuels, finishing the contest with just four points, eight boards, one block and zero fouls in 25 minutes. "It just got away from us," Chandler said. "We gave away way too many layups and drives to the rim." ... New York small forward Landry Fields, who was removed from the starting lineup to make room for Stoudemire, missed his first six shots and failed to score in the first three-plus quarters. ... Knicks starters Chandler, Anthony, Stoudemire, Bibby, and shooting guard Iman Shumpert combined for 14 rebounds, 13 fouls and 11 turnovers. ... The Cavaliers are 3-13 in their last 16 home games and 8-24 overall since Feb. 22. Prior to beating the Knicks, Cleveland's last victory over a team with a winning record came on March 11 against Houston. ... Jamison is 13-for-45 on field goal attempts in the last five games. ... Cavaliers power forward Luke Walton dressed, but did not play. New York centers Jerome James and Dan Gadzuric also logged the dreaded "Did Not Play -- Coach's Decision" Gadzuric was signed earlier in the day, prompting the Knicks to release small forward Bill Walker.

QUOTABLE III: "We looked like a really solid team out there. I wish (the effort) would have been consistent like this throughout the season. We want to show that we can actually play with the good teams. Tonight, we showed that."
-- Cavaliers point guard Irving.

GOOD MOVE: Scott did not make a substitution in the fourth quarter, keeping the odd quintet of Harris, Samuels, Sloan, Casspi, and power forward Luke Harangody on the court from start to finish. The Cavaliers were outscored 34-26 during the period, but never allowed the Knicks to pull closer than eight points. "I really felt our second unit was playing really well together, and I thought they could close the game out," Scott explained. "That's why I didn't panic and just left them in there."

BAD MOVE: Varejao, who has been sidelined since Feb. 11 with a broken right wrist, plans on playing for his native Brazil in the Summer Olympics. The mop-topped "Wild Thing" only appeared in 25 games for Cleveland in 2011-2012 -- averaging 10.8 points and a team-high 11.5 rebounds -- and could be putting his recovery at risk by participating in the London Games. "If (the Cavaliers) don't want me to play, then we're gonna have to talk -- and see why not," Varejao said sternly.

NOTABLE: New York remains in seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings, one-half game ahead of Philadelphia. The Knicks still could catch sixth-place Orlando, but would have to win their final three games and have the Magic lose-out. "Now that we've clinched (a playoff spot), we feel like we accomplished something," Stoudemire said. "We just have to make sure we keep our focus going into the postseason. We're all veterans. We all understand how to win, so that's nothing to worry about." ... New York point guard Baron Davis (stomach virus) was a late scratch and was replaced in the starting lineup by Bibby. ... Cavaliers small forward Alonzo Gee (left ankle sprain) missed his third straight game, allowing Harris to make his second start in a row. ... Top overall draft pick Irving went 8-for-8 from the foul line, upping his season free throw percentage to .878.

UP NEXT: For the Knicks, Sunday @ Atlanta, Wednesday vs. L.A. Clippers, Thursday @ Charlotte. For the Cavaliers, Sunday @ San Antonio, Monday @ Memphis, Wednesday vs. Washington.

• Knicks: Jeffries, Lin
• Cavaliers: Erden, Gibson

• Knicks: --
• Cavaliers: --

• Lead Changes: 4
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH
• Officials: #19 James Capers, #20 Leroy Richardson, #11 Derrick Collins
• Attendance: 19349
• Duration: 2:04