Written by Jesse Lamovsky

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It was the second half from hell Wednesday night in Madison Square Garden, as the Cavaliers fell apart in the final twenty-four minutes and fell to the Knicks, 120-103. After dominating a first half in which they led by as many as 17, Cleveland’s lead vanished under an avalanche of turnovers and New York baskets as the Cavaliers lost their third straight to drop to 13-20 on the season.

For those of you who were complaining about the Cavaliers winning too many games during the season’s first half- get ready to be happy. I have a feeling the losses are going to come fast and furious in this second half.

Nice Start: Cleveland came into the game winners of five of its last six in Madison Square Garden, and for the first two periods it looked as if the Cavaliers were ready to continue their winning ways in the World’s Most Famous Arena. With Antawn Jamison racking up 15 early points and the bench contributing in a huge way, Cleveland took command early and steadily built its lead to as many as 17 before settling for a 61-49 advantage at the break.

Critical to the early success of the Cavaliers was their bench, which tallied 27 first-half points and totally outshined New York’s heralded second unit. Daniel Gibson scored ten points with a troika of three-point makes, Tristan Thompson slopped for nine with three rebounds and even Luke Harangody contributed with a bucket and a key charging foul on Amare Stoudamire.

Third Quarter from Hell: Everything changed after halftime, however. After playing almost airtight basketball during the first half the Cavaliers came out sloppy in the second, committing five turnovers in the first five minutes of the third period. When the Knicks ratcheted it up their defensive pressure the Cavaliers seemingly panicked, rushing bad shots and throwing blind passes into traffic. New York roared back, taking its first lead of the night at 75-74 on a Steve Novak three-pointer with 2:52 remaining in the third quarter.

Speaking of Steve Novak: The lanky sharpshooter from Marquette was the number-one difference-maker on Wednesday night. His five three-pointers in a six-minute span of the third and fourth quarters keyed a 34-12 New York run that turned a 74-67 Cavalier lead into a 101-86 Knick runaway. Jeremy Lin will get the ESPN love for this game and he did play well, give him credit- but Dwayne Wade’s former Golden Eagle teammate was the man of the match in this writer’s humble opinion.

Kyrie vs. Lin: The first meeting between the league’s two most heralded newcomers came down decidedly in favor of Jeremy Lin. Playing 33 minutes the kid from Harvard hit 6-of-12 from the field and 7-of-9 from the line and finished with 19 points, 13 assists, five rebounds and only one turnover. Lin looked confident, poised and in control all night.

Kyrie Irving did not. Playing 34 minutes the Cleveland rookie shot 8-of-18 from the field, 2-of-7 from three-point range and 4-of-4 from the line en route to 22 points, seven assists, three rebounds and four turnovers. The bare numbers don’t do justice to the raggedness of his performance, however. Irving struggled with his defense and his shot selection, particularly in the second half, and looked like a very frustrated player as things fell apart for his team down the stretch.

In all fairness to Kyrie, he’s playing with three starters- Anthony Parker, Omri Casspi and Semih Erden- who probably wouldn’t even make the roster of a top-flight NBA team. But he just didn’t play well Wednesday night.   

Unsightly Stats: The disaster of the second half was reflected in the numbers. New York outscored the Cavaliers 71-42 in the final twenty-four minutes. From the 1:55 mark of the second quarter to the :55 mark of the fourth, the Knicks outscored Cleveland 74-37. After committing three turnovers in the first half the Cavaliers committed 14 in the final two periods.

Next: No rest for the weary. Chicago and its 29-8 record roll into the Q Friday night at 7:30.