New York, NY (Sports Network) - LeBron James led seven Cleveland players in double figures with 26 points and the Cavaliers continued their incredible early season push by blowing out the New York Knicks, 119-101, at Madison Square Garden.
Delonte West added 16 points and Wally Szczerbiak scored 15 for the Cavaliers, winners in 10 of their last 11 games. James, who finished 7-of-14 from the field, sat out the fourth quarter as the Cavaliers held a 29-point lead going into the final 12 minutes.
Quentin Richardson scored 22 and David Lee contributed 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Knicks, losers in four of their last five contests.
The teams combined for 70 three-point attempts with the Cavs going 10-of-33 from beyond the arc and the Knicks finishing at 13-of-37.
Before the game the Knicks finalized their deal from last week with the Los Angeles Clippers. The completion of the deal was delayed reportedly due to concerns the Knicks had about Cuttino Mobley's heart. On Friday, the Knicks sent forward Zach Randolph and guard Mardy Collins to the Clippers for Mobley and forward Tim Thomas.
Multiple reports indicated that concerns about Mobley's heart delayed the completion of the deal. Mobley didn't play in the game against the Cavaliers. Thomas did and finished with 16 points on 4-of-8 three-point shooting.
Al Harrington, who was acquired in Friday's deal that sent Jamal Crawford to Golden State, saw his first action in a New York uniform and had 13 points and nine rebounds while going 5-of-16 from the field.
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The changes from last week's trades will clear salary cap space for the Knicks in the summer of 2010, when they could make a play for James, who is due to become a free agent then. But for now he continues to torture the Knicks, as the Cavs beat New York for the third time in the last four meetings.
The Cavaliers used a 17-6 run to end the first quarter with Szczerbiak hitting a big three-pointer during the run. That gave the Cavs a 34-22 advantage.
Cleveland then started the second period on an 18-2 spurt with J.J. Hickson's jumper capping the burst for a 52-24 margin with eight minutes remaining in the half.
It only got worse for the Knicks, as guard Nate Robinson strained his groin. Robinson dribbled up the court and missed a layup, but after coming down winced in pain before falling to the ground with 4:31 left in the half. He was assisted off the court and was then taken to the locker room for examination.
Ben Wallace came up with two straight blocked shots, leading to a West jam for a 59-35 lead. The Knicks trailed 67-38 at the half, and then James scored 13 points during the third quarter. That included an emphatic two-handed jam off a feed from West after Szczerbiak stole the ball from Thomas.
With a 95-66 lead going into the fourth, the outcome was never in doubt, and Cavs coach Mike Brown decided to give James a rest for the final quarter.
