Knicks Beating Slumping Cavaliers, Bolstering Nets’ Slim Playoff Hopes

CLEVELAND – Jamal Crawford scored 25 points and Maurice Taylor had 16, including 11 in the fourth quarter, as the Knicks damaged Cleveland’s playoff chances with a 95-89 win over the Cavaliers last night.With guard Stephon Marbury watching from the bench for the entire fourth quarter, the Knicks held off Cleveland’s rally and handed the Cavs a loss they couldn’t afford with less than a week left in the regular season.LeBron James scored 27 points on 7-of-25 shooting – 4-of-13 on 3-pointers – and had a career-high 18 rebounds for the Cavaliers (40-38), whose loss dropped them even with Philadelphia in the no. 7 playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The 76ers beat the Miami Heat 126-119 last night.Cleveland leads idle New Jersey (38-40) by two games in the standings with four games left, but three of those are on the road. Also, the Cavs would lose a tiebreaker to the Nets, which is why this game, the Cavs’ third straight against a non-playoff team, was one they couldn’t let slip away.But now that they have, the Cavs are in a spot they never imagined possible a month ago when their first trip to the playoffs since 1998 seemed certain.The Knicks, who blew a 12-point lead in the third quarter when James had 11 points and nine rebounds, took control in the fourth behind Taylor. He made five of his first six shots to open the period to help New York build an 87-77 lead with 4:57 left.During New York’s spurt, the Cavaliers turned the ball over five times. They had eight turnovers overall in the fourth quarter.James, though, made a pair of 3-pointers and fed Robert Traylor for a dunk as Cleveland cut it to 93-89 with 1:26 to go. But James couldn’t come up with a big 3-pointer, and the Knicks held on despite making just 2-of-8 free throws in the final minute.The Knicks, who were beaten here by 25 points on January 8, snapped a seven-game losing streak in Cleveland.All-Star center Zydrunas Ilgauskas returned to the Cavaliers’ starting lineup after missing four games with a dislocated right ring finger. He finished with 13 points in 27 minutes.With filmmaker Spike Lee fantasizing about him in a Knicks uniform and daily rumors swirling that he’ll demand a trade, James said he’s only focused on getting the Cavs to the playoffs.“He’s a good dude,” James said of Lee. “I don’t want to get into that. I’m more worried about wearing the Cavaliers uniform every night.”Cavs owner Dan Gilbert dismissed the speculation about James’ future. “LeBron is here for three more years,” he said, pounding his fist into his hand for emphasis.

Knicks Beating Slumping Cavaliers, Bolstering Nets’ Slim Playoff Hopes

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