LeBron outduels Melo to lead Cavs to 8th straight win
LeBron James got the best of Carmelo Anthony at Madison Square Garden on Friday night.
James poured in 31 points, three rebounds, and six assists in leading his Cleveland Cavaliers to victory against Anthony and the New York Knicks.
The Cavaliers have now won eight in a row after losing their season opener.
Anthony stole the show early with a quick 14-point flurry in the first quarter. He pushed his total to 22 by halftime while the Cavaliers searched - unsuccessfully - for anyone who could stop him.
The second half was a different story. It belonged to James.
The King got whatever he wanted on offense. Step-back jumpers, streaking drives to the basket, a parade of free throws - there was just no stopping him as he poured in 18 points on 7-of-11 from the field after halftime.
Twelve of James' points came in the final frame, matching New York's total for the quarter.
On defense, James proved to be the antidote to Anthony's venom. He held the Knicks star to four points on 1-of-9 shooting, which stopped New York's offense in its tracks as Cleveland regained the lead late in the fourth.
Still, the Knicks had a chance to send the game into overtime, but rookie Kristap Porzingis missed another golden opportunity by the narrowest of margins.
Knicks head coach Derek Fisher drew up a beautiful inbounds play that got Porzingis a wide-open alley-oop, but the 7-footer clanked it off the front iron. The miss came on the heels of a late game-winner that didn't count in the Knicks' loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday.
Instead, James and the Cavaliers improved to 8-1 on the year, while the Knicks dropped to 4-6.
Anthony finished with 26 points in the loss.