Cavaliers completely humiliate Knicks 124-93
by Jeff at the BBC on Mar 1, 2010 8:36 PM CST
in 2009 Post Game Recap
21 comments
Keep dreaming, Knick fans. Even LeBron James couldn't have helped your team tonight.
Using a high-powered offensive attack in the first half, the Cleveland Cavaliers thoroughly dominated the New York Knicks to the tune of a 31-point blowout, 124-93. LeBron James led the way with 22 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. However, the King was not the only player puffing up the stats against the weaker Knicks squad.
- Antawn Jamison - 17 points and 12 rebounds
- J.J. Hickson - 17 points and 9 rebounds
- Anderson Varejao - 14 points and 10 rebounds
- Mo Williams - 7 points and 10 assists
But it was Delonte West that will be the talk of the town tonight. His 15-point performance was highlighted by a dunk that will easily be the play of the night in the NBA. With 4 and a half minutes left in the second quarter, West inbounded the ball to Varejao and rolled around the baseline. Varejao hit West with the pass from 6 feet out, and West skied high into the air, rattling the rim over top of a stunned Tracy McGrady. West let out a primal scream as he his feet hit the ground, and the Cavalier bench erupted in delight as players actually tripped over themselves celebrating into a dogpile.
Cleveland scored 74 points in that first half, tying a season-high. They tied the 74-point half they picked up the last time Cleveland faced the Knicks.
All 12 active members of the roster scored in the victory.
"After getting up big, our guys did a nice job of staying focused and coming out in the third quarter and trying to close or finish the game the right way. Give everybody in that locker room credit"
-Cavaliers Head Coach Mike Brown
Perhaps the most shocking statistic of the night came from inside the paint. Despite losing both of their 7-footers in the past two weeks, the Cavs dominated inside. New York simply refused to drive the ball inside, frequently settling for outside jumpers, while Cleveland kept pounding the ball inside and crashing the boards. The wine and gold ended the game with the rebounding edge 60-31, nearly doubling up on the flat-footed Knicks.
Hickson started at center tonight, the first time in his career, giving the Cavs a new look.
"It was great. It allows us to play a different type of defense. It allows us to switch to different types of pick-and-rolls. J.J.'s athleticism is great."
- LeBron James on starting Hickson at center
The Cavs also outrebounded New York on the offensive glass 14-2, mostly thanks to the hustling Varejao, who brought down 6 o-boards.
New York opened the game with the first basket, and their last lead, of the night. Cleveland went on a quick 9-0 run and just kept expanding the lead from that point on. They led by 12 points after one quarter, expanding it to 26 points by halftime, and pushing it to a 42-point blowout by the end of the third stanza.
The lead actually reached 49 points at one point.
New York left at least two starters in throughout the fourth quarter and trimmed the final deficit down to 31 points against the end of the Cavs' bench.
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With the win, the Cavaliers knock their "magic number" down to 4. Four more Cleveland wins, or 4 more Miami Heat losses, or any combination of the two, will secure a playoff berth. Yes, we know that it was never in doubt whether or not we'd make the dance, but it'll be official at that point.
Also, we're aware that Miami is the 8th-seed now and Charlotte is on the outside looking in, but Miami's 31 losses are the key factor in determining the magic number. Charlotte only has 30 losses.
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Without Shaq, they're running
like crazy like Barkley said they should. Btw, does anyone think they should pickup another backup center besides Z ? I think they should sign Theo Ratliff for the rest of the season. I know he is old, but he is a 7 footer that can still play some good D and shot blocking ability with limited minutes. This will give Z some rest till the playoffs. I think it would be good insurance in a way. Also, the Cavs still have another game against the Magic.
i would like to see how this plays out the rest of the way. you want another center? question is – do we need Z? we are at 15 right now on the roster. to add anyone, we have to cut someone. darnell jackson will have to be released to add Z. if you want theo ratliff (?!?) we would have to cut danny green. we need to keep some young guys on the team, so we dont turn into the celtics in two years.
is it possible to put green and jackson in the D-league?
it would be nice to have ratliff and Z at least for the last 22 games…i guess for Z it will be around13 games since he can’t return till march 22nd right? just some insurance for the regular season. i guess signing ratliff to a 10-day contract would be better. when will they play orlando again? the reason is that i would like the cavs to get the best record. they’re only 1 game ahead of the lakers.
by inquisitiveman on Mar 1, 2010 10:34 PM CST up reply actions
I don't think that's possible
even if you send the young’ns to the D-League. I read somewhere on FtS that they still take a roster spot. Sorries.
Canadian Cavalier (or bandwagon fan if you purists must insist)
Every now and then I think that this site is going to rise beyond Cleveland.com territory. Then I read a lead that contains the words, “Keep dreaming, Knick fans. Even LeBron James couldn’t have helped your team tonight.”
Utter fail. C’mon, folks, let’s raise the standards around here. You guys are better than that.
C'mon, Pat
Having a sense of humor does not necessarily equal a lack of standards, you know.
After two years of having Knick fans tell us (at EVERY turn) that they’re going to take LeBron from us, I’m not even allowed to have one little jab at them?
The Buckeye Battle Cry
SB Nation's official Ohio State blog
by Jeff at the BBC on Mar 1, 2010 9:41 PM CST up reply actions
Sorry, but these are the official recaps. You want to work in humor? Check out the folks at Let’s Go Tribe, who are wizards at working in humor while writing excellent recaps and analysis. Here on FTS – in the last week alone – we’ve had recaps claiming that J.J. Hickson is a “dominant power forward,” with no evidence and no real reason for saying so, and then we get this sarcastic comment that not even LeBron could help the Knicks. And what’s the excuse? Well, Knick fans are mean and they’ve been picking on us, so they started it.
Elevate the discussion. Improve the analysis and don’t stoop to the cleveland.com level. And if you do, don’t shrug it off by saying that someone else started it. Own it. This site has so much potential. Yes, I have high standards thanks to the superhuman job they do over on Let’s Go Tribe. But I want to see that here, too.
In all seriousness
I understand that you didn’t like the jab at Knicks fans, and I understand why. I also understand that you have aspirations for FTS to be an incredible site.
However…..here’s a little chronological history lesson you might want to know about.
- At 17 years old, I won scholarships based on my writing in high school
- I studied journalism at The Ohio State University
- I worked at The Lantern, Ohio State’s newspaper
- I was a sports writer in Massillon
- I was a Cavaliers’ beat writer for a Cleveland weekly newspaper
- I spent time doing radio in Knoxville, Tennessee
- I worked for Premiere Radio Networks in Los Angeles
- I’ve spent the last four years owning and operating The Buckeye Battle Cry
- I also write here at Fear The Sword
In other words, I’m pretty well-versed in the art of communication. I know what I’m doing.
If you don’t like a comment, hey I can handle that. Just tell me and move on.
But please do not ever speak down to me like you just did. You are not my teacher, and I am not your student. Here, we are both equals, as fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Treat me like the equal that I am, as I have earned it.
I do like taking advice and I will pay attention to it, but when you thrust it alongside a condescending attitude, it’s as worthless as the cyberspace you typed it on.
Thank you. Go Cavs.
The Buckeye Battle Cry
SB Nation's official Ohio State blog
by Jeff at the BBC on Mar 2, 2010 7:39 AM CST up reply actions
Jeff -
I think you write very well. Sites like FTS need strong writers like yourself. No doubt.
My initial comment was probably a bit hyperbolic. Some context: I was sifting through the pabulum at cleveland.com and came here, expecting to get away from the “Take THAT Knicks fan!” attitude. Instead, it punched me in the face with the first line. So was I overly sensitive to it? Sure.
I’ll stand by my contention that Let’s Go Tribe is a true standard setter and FTS would do well to emulate it. But on the whole, there is something of very high quality brewing here. Damn right I want to see it blossom. I am so, so tired of uninformed, juvenile sports “talk.” That goes for talk radio, blogs, ESPN, cleveland.com, etc.
So I apologize for the tone. I’m obviously stopping by because I dig the site. High standards will help it grow.
It's all good
Thank you
The Buckeye Battle Cry
SB Nation's official Ohio State blog
by Jeff at the BBC on Mar 2, 2010 9:53 AM CST up reply actions
Sorry tabler…thanks for being the beacon of light we needed.
by johnnyphoenix on Mar 1, 2010 10:47 PM CST up reply actions
One of our big strengths showed today. Versatility. We have so many different lineups we can throw at other teams that we basically exploit any opposition weakness. The Lakers and Celtics don’t have enough depth to be versatile and while Orlando is deep no matter who they have on court at anyone time its more or less the same thing. That’s why im confident we can go all the way this season.
Leon Powe outdueled Eddie House
That was the most compelling and intriguing matchup of the game. You know it. Don’t lie to me.
Yes
I really wanted a 50-point win. Alas, it was not to be.
Because, probably according to the New York media, the Knicks stormed back on a +18 point performance the rest of the way against the Cavaliers.
Why, that’s the kind of dedication and heart that LeBron WANTS to play alongside. he’s sure to be a Knickerbocker next year. He even wore a Yankee hat once!
By the way, I LOVE the screen name, sir. LOVE it!
The Buckeye Battle Cry
SB Nation's official Ohio State blog
by Jeff at the BBC on Mar 2, 2010 4:48 PM CST up reply actions
Anyone think Lebron should post up more
I really really believe he would just make a killing posting down low! Or is he not that good of a post up player? Brown should exploit this instead of having Lebron shoot 3pters too many times.
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