Published On: Wed, Apr 2nd, 2025

Knicks run out of gas in second half, fall to Cavaliers, 124-105

The Knicks saw a 34-point second-half swing doom them in their 124-105 loss to the Cavaliers in Cleveland.

The loss broke a streak of 71 consecutive wins when they were up by 15-plus points in a game.

Here are the takeaways…

-The last time these two teams met, the Cavaliers took it to New York in the form of a 142-105 beatdown back in February. It was a different story on Wednesday but ultimately the same result.

The Knicks, coming off the second of a back-to-back, were ready to shoot from the jump, as their first nine field goals (that also came on nine assists) helped them climb to a strong 11-point lead midway through the opening period. They took advantage of sloppy possessions from the Cavs, scoring 10 of their 34 first-quarter points on four turnovers.

Coming off a game-high 27 points against the Sixers on Tuesday, winger OG Anunoby set the team’s torrid first-half pace with contributions as a scorer and facilitator. At the half, Anunoby led all scorers with 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting, and a team-high five assists.

Karl-Anthony Towns, who missed Tuesday's game with knee soreness, dropped seven points but pulled down seven boards on Wednesday. Josh Hart helped Anunoby in the scoring department, posting 12 points on 5 of 11 shooting (2for-6 from three) to go along with his two rebounds and two assists.

-The Knicks enjoyed a double-digit lead for most of the first half, but the Cavaliers made a late push in the second quarter to cut the Knicks' lead to 60-53 at halftime. Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with 11 points while De'Andre Hunter scored 10 points off the bench.

-The second half didn't start off great for the Knicks. Anunoby picked up his fourth foul early on and had to sit, and the Cavs took advantage by taking the lead with seven minutes remaining in the third on the back of Mitchell who scored nine points in the frame but a 7-0 run — fueled by a Precious Achiuwa steal that resulted in a clear-path foul — but Cleveland answered with an 8-0 run of their own to give them a 91-85 lead heading into the fourth.

-The Knicks' defense began to fade as the fourth quarter went on, as Cleveland would get to the basket with extra passes with ease and open threes were aplenty. The Cleveland bigs took it to the Knicks, cutting to the basket and getting offensive rebounds. New York was outrebounded 44-39 and turned the ball over 14 times to Cleveland's 13.

Anunoby scored just four points in the second half after his torrid start.

Towns (25), Hart (19), Mikal Bridges (8) and Delon Wright (7) rounded out the scoring for the Knicks starters. Achiuwa (13) led the scoring for the bench. Landry Shamet, after making six threes on Tuesday, hit just one in his five-point performance.

Highlights

What's next

The Knicks enjoy a few days off before they travel to Atlanta to take on the Hawks for a 3 p.m. tip.

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