Link: Jamal Crawford could not be blamed for his impulsive, celebratory fling. The Knicks escaped, just barely, with a 101-98 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night, providing a positive bookend to an otherwise prickly November. It was only their sixth victory in 17 games, so the Knicks savored the moment.
And after plowing through a tightly packed schedule, 10 road games, injuries to three starters and the curious benching of their starting point guard, the Knicks felt they had achieved something more.
“We’re still here,” Quentin Richardson said, as if to reassure the general public. “We’re still tight as a team. We haven’t went our separate ways, anything like that. We’re still together, still working hard.”
They are also still making countless mistakes, but the Cavaliers made more Wednesday with the game on the line, allowing the Knicks to end a two-game losing streak. The Knicks got outstanding play from Eddy Curry, who scored 12 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, and from Crawford, who scored all of his 11 points in the final period. Richardson, coming back from a strained hamstring, had a team-high 27 points, matching the production of the Cavaliers star LeBron James, whom he defended.
The final minutes were typically shaky for the Knicks, who came apart a night earlier in Chicago.
Steve Francis missed two free throws with 36 seconds left and shot an air ball from 14 feet with 7.9 seconds left. In the minutes leading to that point, Curry missed 3 of 9 free throws. But Cleveland was worse. James missed a driving 3-footer. Damon Jones overthrew James for a turnover. And on the Cavaliers’ final possession, Donyell Marshall shot an air ball on a 3-point attempt.
The Knicks were 10 for 15 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, but had only 2 turnovers, and Coach Isiah Thomas called it a vast improvement from their fourth quarter in Chicago.
“I was glad that at least we got to the line,” Thomas said. “I thought we were a little smarter down the stretch, in terms of getting the right people to the line.”
In the end, that meant Francis, who is shooting 92 percent from the line and was reasonably expected to make the clinching free throws.
The Knicks had already survived one meltdown, losing a 71-60 lead in the third quarter. In quick succession, Stephon Marbury committed an offensive foul, Francis lost his dribble out of bounds, Curry missed a pair of layups, and Malik Rose had a layup blocked by Anderson Varejão.
The Cavaliers scored 10 unanswered points in what became a 19-2 run that stretched into the fourth quarter. But the Knicks pushed back in the fourth and kept the score close the rest of the way.
James was effective, if not dominant, and missed 4 of 7 shots in the fourth quarter. He was 10 for 22 from the field, finishing with 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 turnovers. Richardson has earned a reputation for guarding him well, and on this night he played James to a draw.
“Take that any day, as long as we win,” Richardson said.
Curry and Crawford, close friends and longtime teammates in Chicago and New York, were in sync in the final quarter. Crawford made 4 of 6 shots and loosened up the defense. On the clinching play, he drove into the paint and dished to an open Curry for a dunk. Curry was fouled and completed the 3-point play to give the Knicks their final 101-98 edge.
“I’m used to Jamal’s heroics; we depend so much on Jamal making big shots in the end,” Curry said. “It felt good to be a part of it.”
Curry has scored 20 or more points in four straight games, making and then matching his season high over the past two nights. For the first time since joining the Knicks last year, he is looking like the go-to player that Thomas wanted.
“He’s the guy,” Crawford said. “He’s the guy we go through. We’re going to go through Eddy 15, 20 times a game, hopefully. He’s attracting so much attention. He’s opening stuff on the perimeter. It’s good to see him take over down the stretch.”
Had the Knicks lost, it would have been a long, rough flight to Detroit for Nate Robinson, the Knicks’ impetuous second-year guard. He was called for goaltending on a James layup in the fourth quarter and committed an offensive foul at the end of the third by knocking Jones to the floor near midcourt.
But his most inexplicable play came in the second quarter. Robinson, who is 5 feet 9 inches, was on a breakaway when he attempted to bounce a pass to himself for a circus dunk. He botched his footwork and was called for traveling. The turnover led to a layup by Drew Gooden and a hard, cold stare from Thomas.
Thomas did not bench Robinson, but he felt that Robinson got the message by staying on the court to wallow in his embarrassment.
“I don’t think we’ll see that again,” Thomas said. “I think he understands how I feel about that. I don’t think any more punishment is necessary.”
Robinson spoke sheepishly of the play as teammates standing nearby teased him about it. Asked what Thomas said to him, Robinson said: “Nothing. He looked at me.”
The nightmare won't end unless the Knicks start winning more games and playing on a more postive level. Just because this month will end doesn't mean the struggle won't. I want less talk and more wins.
