NEW YORK — Statements aren’t made against Charlotte or New Orleans.
After two turbulent months, the Cavs had their chance to make that statement on Thursday.
The tipoff to the NBA’s marquee Christmas slate. National TV. Famed Madison Square Garden. The Eastern Conference second seed. A two-game winning streak. Renewed health.
It was the ideal stage — and day — to send a reminder of why they were once viewed as a preseason conference co-favorite.
And the Cavs … blew it.
Following a pair of morale-boosting blowouts against the bottom-feeding Hornets and Pelicans, and with franchise pillar Evan Mobley making a quicker-than-expected return from a calf injury, Cleveland carried that momentum into New York. It scored the first five points, raced to an 18-3 lead and was in front by 15 after one brilliant quarter.
Rhythmic offense. Stifling defense. Across-the-roster contributions. Minimal mistakes. Swagger. Joy.
More positive signs of a team finding itself — signs that have been flickering since the start of the week.
Only the Cavs couldn’t sustain it.
The Knicks, one of six teams with at least 20 wins this season, started their rally in the second quarter, used an 18-0 burst to claim the lead for the first time and finished the half with a two-point advantage.
Cleveland kept its composure, organically rebuilt the lead and went ahead by a game-high 17 with a little more than 10 minutes left.
It was outscored 40-21 the rest of the way — the third largest comeback victory on Christmas in the play-by-play era.
Every rally is also a collapse. Every comeback is also a choke.
A supposed defense-first team gave up 42 fourth-quarter points on 15 of 27 shooting and 7 of 13 from 3-point range.
There were questionable late-game lineup decisions — Kenny Atkinson taking Dean Wade off the floor being at the top of that list. For all his flaws and limitations, Wade was the team’s best Jaeln Brunson irritant. Brunson, an MVP candidate and New York’s leading scorer, had made just one field goal in the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter — until Atkinson pulled Wade with 4:31 remaining. Brunson then accounted for New York’s next eight points — two jumpers, including the game-tying triple, and an assist to young sparkplug Tyler Kolek. Brunson added the go-ahead 3 a few minutes later — also uncoincidentally with Wade on the bench.
Just 19th in rebounding rate this season, the Cavs couldn’t corral boards in critical moments. New York interior nuisance Mitchell Robinson grabbed four offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter. Karl Anthony-Towns had a timely put-back with 27.3 seconds left after Mobley’s failed box-out.
The maligned and inconsistent bench scored just six points in the fourth quarter — two baskets from usual starter Mobley and another from De’Andre Hunter.
The offense was Mitchell-centric late, with him taking 11 of the team’s 26 shot fourth-quarter attempts.
They ended up losing the possession game — a no-no against the Knicks, the No. 1 key on the Cleveland scouting report.
There were mindless gaffes and sabotaging breakdowns.
It doesn’t matter that Cleveland looked a lot like the team many expected coming into the season, before stumbling to this 17-15 record and seventh spot in the East. Doesn’t matter that it led for nearly 34 minutes. Doesn’t matter that Garland looked shifty, explosive and dynamic — the third time in the last four games hitting the 20-point mark. Doesn’t matter that passion and enthusiasm poured out of the team again. Doesn’t matter that Mobley returned from a five-game absence, beating the return-to-play timeline by at least a week and looking spry and impactful. Doesn’t matter that it was an encouraging performance overall, especially given how things looked over the weekend.
The Cavs are beyond the point of moral victories. On the verge of a statement victory to jumpstart a potential turnaround, when it mattered most, with the world watching, they crumbled.
Again.
Thursday encapsulated everything that makes them so menacing and everything that has sparked so much doubt.