Knicks vs. Cavaliers: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2014 Regular Season
LeBron James' return to the Cleveland Cavaliers commenced Thursday evening at Quicken Loans Arena. However, the New York Knicks spoiled it, overcoming a two-point halftime deficit to pull out an impressive 95-90 victory.
ESPN Stats & Info noted the Cavs' rather poor history in regular-season openers with James on the team, which is somewhat of a silver lining in light of the letdown:
James didn't shy away from the spotlight ahead of his 2014-15 NBA season debut, per SportsCenter:
But three first-quarter turnovers and eight of nine missed shots in the first half saw James start his second stint in Cleveland on a sour note. It was Kevin Love, a past All-Star in Minnesota, who pulled the most weight for the hosts with 14 points, nine rebounds and three assists before the halftime intermission.
At least the pair combined for a memorable play to give James his first points of the year:
But ESPN's Dan Le Batard, among many others, was surprised as to how underwhelming James' performance was:
Bob Finnan of The News-Herald highlighted the brutal numbers James posted:
The incumbent among Cleveland's tremendous trio, point guard Kyrie Irving, who scored 22 points, had five rebounds and seven assists, tried to galvanize the Cavs' comeback charge in the final quarter.
Irving got a bucket to snap a field-goal drought that lasted approximately five-and-a-half minutes and then got a steal and dished it to James for a layup, cutting the deficit to 82-77 with 4:33 left.
ESPN's Jay Williams commented on Irving's brilliance:
It just wasn't enough to stop a hot-shooting Knicks team in the end. New York did cough up the ball down the stretch but had already done adequate damage and built a big enough lead to hold on.
After one of those turnovers and a sweet Irving drive to the basket, Love had a chance to tie the score at 88 but missed an open three-pointer. Knicks sixth man extraordinaire J.R. Smith then hit a runner in the lane on the other end.
When James got an easy score to cut it back to a one-possession game, Carmelo Anthony (25 points) hit a shot in James' eye at the other end to ice it.
Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor praised Anthony's clutch baseline jumper:
Daryl Ruiter of CBS Cleveland noted how the officiating began to frustrate fans late in Thursday's heated battle:
Bleacher Report's Ethan Skolnick provides quotes from new Cleveland head coach David Blatt and James:
Cleveland's ineptitude on offense was evident, though. Everyone tried to share the wealth a little too much. That resulted in a lot of sets that lacked cohesion and movement.
The Associated Press' Tom Withers weighed in:
Thursday wasn't the smoothest of starts for this new, exciting era for the Cavaliers franchise, but the city of Cleveland was a special place to bear witness to. The talent between James, Irving and Love will meld together soon enough and catapult the Cavs into the NBA's elite, relieving years of failure since James' initial departure.
Turner Sports' Matt Winer brings up a strong point about James' initial adjustment period with the Miami Heat:
Blatt will be tested right away in getting his squad back on track. Friday is quickly approaching, and the Cavs have a road trip to take on the Chicago Bulls.
In a matchup that features the two teams many are expecting to qualify for the Eastern Conference Finals, it is critical for Cleveland to put forth a strong effort. As long as James plays better, with these opening-game jitters and emotion out of the way, that shouldn't be a problem.
However, the Knicks did lose by 24 points at home to Chicago in their opener on Wednesday, so it's on Blatt and James as the Cavs' emerging leaders to inspire everyone to bounce back.
