Cavaliers top Knicks, snap losing streak
12/19/2010CLEVELAND -- Mo Williams scored 23 points, including the tying basket late in regulation and six points in overtime, and the Cleveland Cavaliers snapped a 10-game losing streak with a 109-102 victory over the New York Knicks Saturday night.
Antawn Jamison, who added 21 points, and Anderson Varejao each made two baskets in the extra session as Cleveland broke its longest losing streak since the 2002-03 season.
Amare Stoudemire and Raymond Felton each scored 23 points for the Knicks, who have lost three straight after winning 13 of 14.
The win was Cleveland's first since beating Memphis on Nov. 27. The Cavaliers had been outscored by an average of 17.5 points during the losing streak. Cleveland has won eight in a row over the Knicks.
Varejao's basket in the lane broke a 93-all tie early in overtime. Stoudemire tied the game with two free throws, but another basket by Varejao and a jumper by Williams gave the Cavaliers a 99-95 lead and forced the Knicks to call timeout with 3:12 to play.
Stoudemire scored inside, but Jamison's tip-in made it 101-97. Baskets by Jamison and Williams, who had 14 assists, pushed the lead to 105-97 with 29 seconds left, putting away the game.
A 3-pointer by Landry Fields and a basket by Felton gave the Knicks a 93-89 lead with 52 seconds left. After Jamison's basket, the Cavaliers got a defensive stop and Williams scored in the lane with 3.7 seconds left to tie it. The Knicks called timeout, but Stoudemire's fadeaway 12-footer was off the mark.
The Knicks led the entire first half, with their biggest margin reaching nine points. The Cavaliers took their first lead early in the third quarter, but the Knicks scored nine straight points, including two baskets by Stoudemire and a 3-point basket by Wilson Chandler.
The Cavaliers fought back and tied it at 74 on Parker's three-point play going into the fourth quarter.
The losing streak is the Cavaliers' longest since a 15-game skid in 2002-03, the season before they drafted LeBron James.
The Knicks fell to Boston by two points Wednesday night and were routed by Miami 113-91 on Friday in two high-profile games this week at Madison Square Garden.
Six Cleveland players scored in double figures. Parker scored 17 points, while Varejao had 14 points and 17 rebounds. Ramon Sessions scored 12 while Daniel Gibson had 11.
NOTES: The Knicks hit 7-of-16 3 pointers in the first half. ... New York's next two games are at home, against Oklahoma City on Wednesday and Chicago on Christmas Day. ... Cavaliers' F Joey Graham (partial tear in right quad) will miss the next two to three weeks. ... F Leon Powe (lacerated finger) will miss at least a week.
HEAT WIN: LeBron James didn't get a chance to show off for the president. Didn't get a chance to psyche out Gilbert Arenas at the free throw line. Didn't get a chance to put No. 1 overall pick John Wall in his place.
So James merely had the same experience he's had everywhere else lately: He got booed and won. This time, however, he needed a fortunate no-call at the buzzer.
James and Chris Bosh got away with contact on Kirk Hinrich on a potential game-winning layup, letting the Miami Heat escape with a 95-94 win last night over the last-place Washington Wizards, who nearly pulled off the upset without Wall and the just-traded Arenas.