LeBron gets 33 in only MSG visit, Cavs beat Knicks
NEW YORK (AP) - LeBron James scored 33 points in his only visit
to Madison Square Garden this season, leading the Cleveland
Cavaliers to a 100-91 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday
night.
One night after managing just 42 second-half points in an ugly
home loss to Chicago, the Cavaliers rang up 40 in the first
quarter, leaving New York fans with little left to do besides cheer
for the Yankees in attendance and enjoy another mesmerizing
performance by James.
He added nine assists and eight rebounds, but fell just shy of
passing Kobe Bryant as the active scoring leader at the Garden.
James improved his average to 30.4 points, with Bryant averaging
30.5 in 11 visits, according to STATS LLC
James had scored 50 or more in two of his last three visits,
joining Michael Jordan as the only visiting players with multiple
50-point games at the current building.
Mo Williams scored 12 points for the Cavaliers, who have won six
in a row against the Knicks and four straight at the Garden, where
James loves to perform.
New Yorkers are desperate for him to make it his full-time home
when he becomes a free agent next summer, but the Knicks continue
to offer nothing on the court that would make him consider a
switch. As it is, he has as many victories at MSG this season as
the Knicks, who fell to 1-5 overall.
David Lee scored 21 points and former Cavs guard Larry Hughes
had 18 for the Knicks, who played their first nationally televised
home game since March 19, 2006, and showed they are still miles
from being ready for prime time.
James said he was still sore from a couple of falls in
Thursday's 86-85 home loss, but vowed that wouldn't prevent him
from playing the way he always does. Just to prove it, he then
nearly outscored the entire Knicks team in the first quarter.
James shot 8 of 9 in the period, with his second 3-pointer
coming just before the buzzer to give him 19 points and make it
40-21. The Cavs made 16 of 22 shots (73 percent), closing the
quarter with a 17-2 run that basically wrapped it up early.
Before the second quarter started, the Yankees fan then went to
the sideline and joined the crowd that included his pal Jay-Z in a
standing ovation for Alex Rodriguez and six other members of the
World Series champions who came onto the court between periods.
James said before the game he wouldn't think about free agency
until July, believing his team could contend for a title this
season. The Cavs haven't been showing that yet, coming to New York
with only a 3-3 record.
They looked like championship material against the Knicks, whose
defensive effort had to be disheartening to Charles Oakley, Anthony
Mason and Larry Johnson, who were in the crowd. They played for the
franchise back when defense was their trademark.
The Knicks did cut it to single digits with under 4 minutes to
play, but James set up Williams for a basket, then knocked down a
turnaround jumper to make it 95-82 with 2:47 remaining.
NOTES: Former Cleveland ace CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira were
among the Yankees who came on the floor after the first quarter.
The team celebrated its title with a parade through Lower Manhattan
earlier Friday. James said he was asleep and didn't watch. Former
Yankees outfielder Bernie Williams, now a musician who has been
nominated for a Latin Grammy, played the national anthem on his
guitar, and Reggie Jackson also was in the crowd. ... J.J. Hickson
made his first start of the season at forward for the Cavaliers,
with Anderson Varejao coming off the bench for the first time.