Carmelo Anthony Spoils LeBron James’ Homecoming With Late-Game Dagger

Who saw that coming? In what will surely rank as one of the most stunning outcomes of the entire 2014-2015 season, the New York Knicks spoiled LeBron James’ homecoming by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 95-90 on Thursday night.

Stagnant and offense and leaky defense plagued the re-built Cavaliers all night long, who seemed shell-shocked by arguably the worst performance of James’ career. The four-time MVP scored 17 points on just 5-15 shooting and committed a vexing eight turnovers, appearing uncomfortable from the opening tip. Only once before tonight had LeBron played a game in which he shot worse than 35 percent from the field and committed so many miscues. More dispiriting was his overall engagement – The King all too frequently walked back in transition defense and passed up opportunities to be aggressive on the other end.

Looking for an encapsulation of LeBron’s night? This pretty much sums it up:

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But this is about more than James. The Knicks took advantage of inattentive Cleveland defense to shoot a scorching 53.6 percent from the field and assist on a mind-boggling 30 of their 37 baskets. Considering New York’s dreadful offensive performance against the Chicago Bulls last night, perhaps offseason worries of the Cavaliers’ will prove accurate. They certainly did tonight.

The Knicks withstood a huge first quarter performance by Kevin Love to take control from thereafter. Cleveland mounted a late-game surge led by Kyrie Irving and timely three-point shooting, but their deficit ultimately proved too much to overcome. Why? New York made some big, big shots in waning moments of the fourth quarter.

This fadeaway from Carmelo over an outstretched James was the dagger, putting the Knicks up five with 25.9 seconds remaining:

Is it time to panic in Cleveland? Of course not.

LeBron admitted to being adversely effected by nerves associated with his first home game at halftime, and is unlikely to play so poorly again this season. And as he and David Blatt stressed all offseason long, it will take time – and trials and tribulations like this – for the Cavs to reach their considerable ceiling. As for Cleveland being some surefire title bet, though? No way, but we knew that before Thursday night.

Consider this a blip in the radar for LeBron and company, and a building block win for the Knicks and first-year coach Derek Fisher. Other than disappointment gleaned from a game that lacked sizzle despite so much build-up, there’s simply not much more to take away from New York’s shocking win.

What do you think?

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