Cavaliers’ late collapse turns 17-point cushion into 126-124 Christmas loss to Knicks
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The Cleveland Cavaliers appeared headed for a comfortable holiday victory on Monday until a disastrous final stretch allowed the New York Knicks to erase a 17-point deficit and steal a 126-124 win at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
New York dominated the last 10 minutes, grabbing five offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter and converting them into 10 second-chance points. The decisive sequence came with fewer than 30 seconds left: after Cleveland forced a difficult mid-range attempt from Tyler Kolek, Karl-Anthony Towns slipped past Evan Mobley on the weak side for a tip-in that pushed the Knicks’ lead to four.
Jalen Brunson fueled the comeback, scoring 13 of his game-high 34 points in the fourth period. Kolek added 11 points in the quarter, hitting all three of his three-point attempts.
Strong start, familiar finish
Cleveland dominated the first and third quarters, outscoring New York by a combined 29 points, but the momentum flipped in the second and fourth. The Cavaliers connected on 15 of 34 attempts from beyond the arc (44.1 percent) and appeared in control until rebounding issues resurfaced.
Donovan Mitchell paced Cleveland with 34 points on 12-for-24 shooting and dished six assists. Darius Garland finished with 20 points and 10 assists, while Mobley, returning after nearly two weeks out, supplied 14 points and nine rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench.
The loss dropped Cleveland to 0-for-3 this season when leading by at least 15 points in the fourth quarter. The Cavaliers travel to Houston to face the Rockets on Saturday, looking to produce a complete 48-minute performance and put their late-game rebounding woes behind them.
Source: Hoops Wire
