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Cavaliers vs Knicks Final Score: LeBron James Struggles In Homecoming Loss

By Wes Goldberg

Oct 30, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James warms up prior to the game against the New York Knicks at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 30, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James warms up prior to the game against the New York Knicks at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /
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Despite renewed excitement around the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James struggled in his homecoming in a 95-90 loss the the New York Knicks.

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Maybe nerves got the best of him, but LeBron James struggled in his homecoming with the Cleveland Cavaliers in a 95-90 loss to the New York Knicks. It wasn’t without it’s highlights, though. The return had been the storyline drove this NBA off-season and, finally, we got to see it in action.

But not before a rousing introduction and rebirth of the chalk toss.

It took nearly six minutes for LeBron to score his first points in his first game back, but it happened just as we expected–on a Kevin Love outlet pass.

That was the most exciting part of the game. Truthfully, the game was a bit sloppy. Nerves may have gotten the best of LeBron. He committed three turnovers in the first half and that set the tone of the game. He struggled to his shots, scoring 17 points on five-of-15 shooting and finished with eight turnovers.

Meanwhile, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love played well, scoring 22 and 19 respectively. Even though LeBron was off, the trio fit well within David Blatt’s offense. Love spaced the floor and Irving and James were able to get to the basket while the role players contributed as well.

The game was close throughout, with the Knicks pulling away in the fourth. Carmelo Anthony led the charge with 25 points. The Knicks ditched the triangle approach briefly before getting back to it in the second half. It’s clearly still a process with the team, and they got lucky with Melo’s game and the fact that they shot 50 percent from 3-point range as a team.

Both of these teams are in a major transition and it will take a while until they get their feet under them. Once they do, the Cavs will certainly be the stronger team. In the television interview with TNT at halftime, LeBron said it was good to get the nerves that come with the first half out of the way. Maybe he just needed a whole game.

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