Cleveland Cavaliers fall short late against New York Knicks

Cleveland Cavaliers unable to complete the comeback in New York

The Cleveland Cavaliers were unable to steal one against the New York Knicks to surrender a 105-103 defeat at the Madison Square Garden. With another disappointing close loss, the Cavs continue to flounder away from home and have now fallen to 9-15 on the road and 29-20 overall.

Despite overtaking New York early in the second half, a huge 17-3 spurt by the Knicks through the closing minutes of the third quarter and to open the final period had put the Cavs firmly on the back foot. And in spite of the returning superstar Donovan Mitchell’s late-game brilliance to keep it close for a chance to steal it at the end, they simply ran out of ammunition.

Mitchell bucked a slow start to score 24 points to go with eight rebounds and eight assists, while Jarrett Allen matched his point total with a double-double that included 12 boards. Darius Garland also added 22 for the Cavs but had shot poorly from the field and scored mostly from the free-throw line.

On the other hand, Knicks forward Julius Randle led all scorers with 36 huge points, coupled with 13 boards and four assists to help rally the home team through a suffocatingly competitive contest late.

The Cavs continue to struggle in finding consistency

Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has yet to figure out an antidote to the Cavs’ road woes, as well as figure a way for the team to stay consistent. Not only is the young squad struggling to close out close games on the road, but they have also now lost six of their last 10 outings overall.

Tonight, it was simply too little production from the bench. You cannot expect to win with the entire group of backups combining for a grand total of 12 points. Especially if the group includes high-volume scorers (and now possible centerpiece trade chip) like Caris LeVert.

The Cleveland Cavaliers remain stuck in fifth in the jarringly competitive Eastern Conference and will look to secure a few wins to avoid sliding further into Play-In territory nearing the All-Star break. They will get a day off before traveling onward westward for the second leg of the three-game road trip to face the Houston Rockets on January 26th.