NEW YORK _ Before the game began Sunday night Knicks coach David Fizdale spoke optimistically of the team building off a hard-fought, emotional win in Dallas two nights earlier. And it seemed like a good night to claim that, back home to face a below-. 500 Cavs squad.
But almost from the opening tip the Knicks displayed little of the fire and almost none of the shooting. Down 14 in the first quarter, 18 at halftime and as many as 30 in the second half, the Knicks returned to Madison Square Garden with a lifeless, ugly performance in falling, 108-87, to the Cavaliers.
The home court didn't feel like a safe place for the team _ as it hasn't in any of their four home games this season. The crowd booed the team loudly as the deficit grew. A comeback effort that cut the Cavs' lead from 30 to 15 in the third quarter prompted chants of, "Dee-fense," from the home crowd. But the encouragement still left the team facing that deficit as the fourth quarter began.
