Cavs blow out Knicks by 37 points in matchup of 2 of East's best
CLEVELAND -- Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points, Evan Mobley added 21 and the Cleveland Cavaliers bullied the New York Knicks from the start Friday night, winning 142-105 in a matchup of two of the Eastern Conference's top teams.
Only the Cavs looked elite, winning their sixth straight and improving the NBA's best record to 46-10. Cleveland has won 14 games by 20-plus points, matching its most in a season in franchise history. The Cavs also topped 140 points for the fourth time in 2024-25, their most in franchise history.
The 37-point loss was the Knicks' largest under coach Tom Thibodeau, and tied the third largest in Thibodeau's head coaching career.
... the Knicks...beat Chicago in overtime Thursday in their first game back from the All-Star break.
New York couldn't use a back-to-back set as an excuse as the Cavs won in Brooklyn a night earlier. Friday was Cleveland's second-largest win this season; the Cavs beat the Dallas Mavericks by 43 points Feb. 2.
...
The Cavs played most of the second half without center Jarrett Allen, who injured his right hand. X-rays were negative.
New York was without versatile swingman Josh Hart, who missed his second straight game because of a sore right knee. But the Knicks saw the return of OG Anunoby, who played for the first time since Feb. 1 after dealing with a toe injury.
Anunoby played 27 minutes, finishing with 5 points, 1 steal and 2 turnovers.
...
The Knicks fell to 0-6 this season against the Cavaliers, Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder (the only teams with better records than New York).
