Game Feed:
Knicks: 51 – Cavaliers: 69
The Knicks are shooting 39.6% from the field and 36.4% from three.
The Cavaliers are shooting 52.0% from the field and 40.9% from three.
High Scorers:
NYK: C. Lee – 13 points
CLE: K. Irving – 15 points
Rebounds:
NYK: 24 (K. O’Quinn – 7 rebounds)
CLE: 29 (T. Thompson – 9 rebounds)
Assists:
NYK: 14 (C. Anthony – 4 assists)
CLE: 15 (L. James – 5 assists)
Floaters
1. Derrick Williams
In 12 minutes, Williams has efficiently scored eight points on 3-4 from the field (2-3 3-pt). More impressive, Williams has taken a majority of defensive possessions on Carmelo Anthony, impressively sharing the job with Iman Shumpert. Anthony is 4-13 from the field in 20 minutes.
Derrick Williams' 3-pt shooting history:
Career avg: 29%
Season avg: 23%
Cavalier career avg: 38%— Nikki Goel (@NikkiGoelCavs) February 24, 2017
Melo went 2-6 while guarded by Derrick Williams at the end of the 1st; His two baskets were a rubber-rim triple and the banked buzzer beater
— Nikki Goel (@NikkiGoelCavs) February 24, 2017
With a fresh 10-day contract, Williams’ only focus is to remain on this roster through the playoff run. He’s slowly becoming invaluable on defensive matchups, transition activity and bench scoring. The Cavs have a subpar defensive rating while sitting bottom three in transition defense and bench scoring this season.
2. Bench
Between Kyle Korver, Derrick Williams and Richard Jefferson, the Cavs are getting 29 efficient points (10-17 shooting) from their bench. These individuals are also the main reason the Cavs connected on nine first-half triples. LeBron James’ minutes might continue to worry many, but he’s in good hands if this backup production continues. With Cleveland’s current injuries, minutes are inevitable.
Game Preview:
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UPCOMING MILESTONES: With 14 more assists, Kyrie Irving reaches 2,000 assists for the Cavaliers, and becomes just the eight player in franchise history to reach this mark.
As the Cavaliers look to start their post-All-Star-Weekend campaign off with a bang, they welcome the New York Knicks to the Quicken Loans Arena. With the trade deadline at 3:00 PM today, one can expect that a few more moves around the league may fall into place before tipoff tonight, and some of these moves may affect these two teams. As of now, the Knicks are 12th in the Eastern Conference with a record of 23-34, and have lost three of their last ten games. The Cavaliers, on the other hand, have won eight of their last ten, and currently hold a three game winning streak.
This will be the final of four matches between these teams this season. All three previous contests have been victories for the Wine and Gold – 117-88 on October 25 behind 29 points from Kyrie Irving, 126-94 on December 7th where each of the Big Three on the Cavaliers put up over 20 points, and 111-104 on February 4th behind LeBron James’ 32 points. The Cavaliers have bested the Knicks in each of their last nine contests against each other, with their most recent loss coming from the opening game of the 2014 season.
As a team, the Knicks make a strong impact through rebounding, where they pull down 46.0 per game – 4th most in the league. This grants them 15.2 second chance points per game, which can keep them in the game even when their shots aren’t falling. Offensively, they take a lot of mid-range pull up jump shots – they are fifth in the league in pull up points per game (22.6), first in elbow points per game (7.0), and third in percent of points coming off of mid-range shots (20.3%). Knowing this, the Cavaliers have to make a solid effort to not get beaten on high pick and rolls and to not get caught watching as a player makes a move inside the arch. In addition, the Knicks have been lethal from the corner three, where they average a league high 44.0%. On defense, the Cavaliers have to be wary around the basket, as they average 5.9 blocks per game – tied for second most in the league.
Key players to watch for on the Knicks will be Carmelo Anthony (averaging 23.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game), Kristaps Porzingis (averaging 18.3 points and 7.1 rebounds per game), and Derrick Rose (averaging 18.3 points and 4.5 assists per game).
Tipoff is set for 8:00 EST and will be broadcast on TNT.
