LeBron James scored 25 points, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love also surpassed 20, and the Cleveland Cavaliers crushed the Knicks 126-94 on Wednesday night.
James had nothing to say Wednesday morning about Knicks President Phil Jackson and not much more about his decision to not stay with the team in a Donald Trump-branded hotel, but he and the Cavs made a loud statement at Madison Square Garden.
It was their second straight win after a three-game skid, and they did it easily in handing the Knicks their worst loss of the season. Irving led Cleveland with 28 points and Love scored 21, 16 in the first quarter.
Brandon Jennings scored 16 points for the Knicks, who had their four-game winning streak snapped and lost for the just the third time in 10 games. He started for Derrick Rose, who missed his first game of the season with lower back pain.
Tristan Thompson grabbed 20 rebounds for the Cavs. They played without guard J.R. Smith, who returned to Cleveland for additional testing after hyperextending his left knee Monday in Toronto.
It was the first meeting since James was angered when Jackson referred to his friends and business partners as a "posse" last month in an ESPN interview. James refused to answer questions at the Cavs' shootaround about Jackson, who watched the game from his usual seat a few rows back of center court.
Love and Irving made consecutive 3-pointers to kick off a 20-4 spurt that extended a one-point lead to 34-17 and the Knicks never really recovered. They trimmed it to nine late in the first half, but James had a ferocious dunk during the Cavs' run of six straight points, and another burst to open the second half pushed it to 71-48 on Irving's 3-pointer.
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Cavaliers: It was a rough first quarter for former Knicks guard Iman Shumpert, who missed a layup and a breakaway dunk, when he appeared to hurt his hand after hitting it on the rim. ... Irving came in averaging 28.4 points in five games at MSG, his highest in any arena.
Knicks: Anthony was presented with his USA Basketball Olympic championship ring before the game. He shared USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year award earlier Wednesday with Kevin Durant after winning his record third gold medal in Rio. ... The Knicks welcomed back a number of former players during a 70th anniversary season celebration, and former coach Jeff Van Gundy, working the game for ESPN, got a big ovation when shown on the overhead video screen.
LEBRON'S LODGING
James said the decision not to stay at the Trump SoHo was a personal preference and not a political statement. He said it was the first time he hadn't stayed in the team hotel - some other players also changed hotels - though he did ride the team bus as usual to the morning workout.
BAD BACK
Rose left the Knicks' victory over Miami on Tuesday in the third quarter and was still feeling pain when he arrived Wednesday to meet with team doctors, who sent him for an MRI exam to make sure there was nothing structurally wrong.
UP NEXT
Cavaliers: Host Miami on Friday. The Cavaliers have won the last three meetings in Cleveland.
Knicks: Visit Sacramento on Friday to open a five-game trip in the West. The Knicks just beat the Kings here on Sunday, 106-98.
