New-look Knicks embarrassed by Cavs

CLEVELAND - With or without LeBron James, the Cavaliers still beat the Knicks in Cleveland. With or without Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks still can't beat the Cavaliers here. And never mind getting them to play together; the Knicks can't get Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire to finish a game together.

Anthony (27 points) and Stoudemire (31 points) didn't have any trouble getting their offense going in a 115-109 loss to the Cavaliers Friday night, but it was the other end of the floor that should be a greater concern. The Knicks (29-27) let the league's fifth-lowest-scoring offense score 20 points more than their season average and were dominated on the glass (62-42) by the fourth-worst rebounding team in the league.

"They were faster, quicker to the ball,'' Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said of the Cavaliers, who can count two of their league-low 11 wins this season against the Knicks. The first of those victories was in overtime here Dec. 18 - the only Cavaliers victory in a stretch in which they lost 36 of 37 games. The Knicks haven't won in Cleveland since Nov. 29, 2006, a streak that is seven games and has carried on beyond LeBron.

"It takes time,'' Stoudemire said of the adjustment period that is to be expected after the major roster shakeup from the Anthony trade. "We went through this at the start of the season with the old Knicks and trying to figure it out. We're going through that over again.''

It took the Heat some time to adjust to James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh playing together, too, but as Chauncey Billups - who had 26 points and eight assists - pointed out, this is a much different situation. "We don't have the kind of time that they had,'' Billups said.

And they didn't have an answer for the Cavaliers. Antawn Jamison finished with 28 points and 13 rebounds and J.J. Hickson had 24 points, 15 rebounds and a career-high five blocks for Cleveland. Baron Davis, who was acquired from the Clippers for Mo Williams at Thursday's trade deadline, did not play.

The Knicks had much more talent on the floor than the Cavs, which is what makes this such an alarming loss, especially in the midst of a playoff push.

"I don't like to make excuses,'' said Anthony, who fouled out, just as Stoudemire had Wednesday. "This was a game, regardless of how long we've been together, we should have got.''

D'Antoni said that while the team adjusts, "we have to be scrappy. We have to have a little bit more fight now.''

Fight? This looked like a surrender until Billups scored 20 of his 26 in the fourth quarter to single-handedly will the Knicks into making a game of it down the stretch.

The Knicks trailed by 12 points in the fourth, but behind Billups and Stoudemire (12), the Knicks closed to within two on three occasions.

But when they needed a defensive stop, they couldn't get one. Daniel Gibson hit them with the final dagger, hitting a three-pointer with 30.6 seconds left to make it 110-105.

Billups called it "the shot of the game'' and blamed it on a mix-up he had with Stoudemire. With the Nuggets, Billups was used to switching on a pick-and-pop. But Stoudemire didn't switch.

"That's just familiarity, that's all,'' Billups said.

Anthony, who iced his right elbow on the bench early in the fourth quarter after injuring it going for a rebound, fouled out with 24.3 seconds left. Stoudemire fouled out Wednesday against the Bucks.

Anthony struggled against Jamison, who scored on four straight possessions late in the fourth and drew consecutive fouls on Anthony while posting up.

Anthony said the elbow "flared up'' and was "sore'' but added that it won't force him to miss any time. The Knicks can't afford that at this point, especially with the next game Sunday in Miami against the Heat.

"I can deal with it,'' he said. "I'll be fine.''