The Knicks escaped with a win vs the Cavaliers to remain undefeated at home

First Quarter

The Knicks fortunately only trailed by one point, 28-27, after a rough defensive first quarter. The Cavaliers while not moving the ball particularly well – they only had four assists – but seemed to consistently beat their man one-on-one. Much of this had to do with the absence of Carmelo Anthony and Rasheed Wallace, as the Knicks were forced to play Chris Copeland and Steve Novak (at one point together) for extended minutes, neither of whom are as good defensively as Anthony. Wallace’s absence hurt Tyson Chandler’s aggressiveness as he was tentative to get a second foul after a touch foul early in the quarter. Copeland for his credit did hit all three of his shots in the quarter. On the other side of the spectrum, Jason Kidd, the number one three point shooter in the NBA heading into the night, was 0-4 from three, appearing to rush his shots. It seemed that in the absence of Carmelo Anthony, the offense did not open up as much as Mike Woodson would like as Raymond Felton and JR Smith took multiple long two pointers. The Cavaliers had opened up a six point lead when a few timely offensive rebounds led to shots by JR Smith and Steve Novak (a three pointer). The last play was particularly wild (and of no consequence) as the teams traded steals. Overall, the late quarter surge put the Knicks in a good situation, despite playing poorly in the quarter.