The Sports Xchange
Oct 29, 2017
CLEVELAND -- Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 34 points, and the New York Knicks stunned the Cleveland Cavaliers 114-95 on Sunday night at Quicken Loans Arena.
The Knicks' last win over Cleveland was Oct. 30, 2014, in LeBron James' return debut with the Cavs. New York had lost 10 straight to Cleveland.
Kristaps Porzingis added 32 points and 12 rebounds for the Knicks (2-3). New York's Enes Kanter contributed 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Courtney Lee added 15 points and 10 boards.
The Cavs (3-4) have looked bad while losing three consecutive games. They trailed by as many as 18 points in the third quarter and got as close as six with 8:20 left in the fourth before the Knicks reasserted control.
Kevin Love led Cleveland with 22 points and 11 rebounds. James added 16 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Derrick Rose returned from a sprained left ankle and contributed 15 points. He missed the previous four games.
This was Cleveland's fifth starting lineup in seven games and fourth loss in eight days.
On Oct. 21, the Cavs' 17-game winning streak against the Orlando Magic was snapped in a blowout loss at home.
The Knicks led 29-19 after one quarter. In their past five games, the Cavs have been outscored by 54 points in first quarters.
Hardaway finished the first half with 24 points, and Porzingis had 17. New York led 62-54 at halftime.
Cleveland hasn't led at halftime in any of the past five games.
NOTES: Cavaliers G Iman Shumpert missed the game with a sore right knee. ... With his first two 3-pointers, Cavs F Kevin Love reached 900 for his career. This is Love's 10th season in the NBA. ... Cavs F LeBron James needs 41 points to become the seventh player in NBA history with 29,000 points. ... The Knicks have no plans to trade rookie G Frank Ntilikina or C Willy Hernangomez for Suns G Eric Bledsoe, the New York Post reported. The Suns, who are trying to trade Bledsoe, are reportedly interested in those two players from New York.