LeBron's win over Carmelo a sign of what both players are
NEW YORK — Friday night energy in Manhattan. Basketball at Madison Square Garden. LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in town to play Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks.
Those are ingredients for a delicious Garden entrée.
Anthony made his first shot and had 10 points in less than five minutes to start the game. James countered with six points and an assist in the first four minutes of the opening quarter.
It was a good indication of what was in store: a LeBron-Carmelo duel.
"We’ve been playing against each other since I was a sophomore in high school (and) he was a junior," James said.
It wasn’t the prettiest of games — neither team shot better than 43% from the field — but it was entertaining and competitive, and that’s what fans wanted to see.
On one sequence, Anthony blocked Anderson Varejao’s dunk attempt and seconds later made a three-pointer. On another, James left Jose Calderon stuck in cement shoes on a spin move resulting in a layup in front of Robin Lopez.
At halftime, Anthony had 22 points, and the Knicks were up by seven.
When the game ended, it was a sign of what both teams are: The Cavs are one of the best teams in the league, thinking championship, and the Knicks are trying to improve on last season’s 17 victories, thinking the playoffs might be a possibility.
Cleveland defeated New York 90-84, outscoring the Knicks 16-4 in the final 5:03 of the fourth quarter. James scored a game-high 31 points, including 18 in the second half and 12 in the fourth quarter — as many as the Knicks scored in the final quarter.
It was also an obvious juxtaposition of the different careers James and Anthony have had since entering the league together in 2003-04 — James the No. 1 pick and Anthony No. 3.
"We know each other personally. We know each other’s games. It’s hard to stop one another," James said. "You just try to make it tough, like we did for each other, and live with the results."
But James stopped Anthony when he had to, and Anthony couldn’t do the same when necessary. During a crucial point late in the fourth quarter, James made two baskets with Anthony defending and one with Kristaps Porzingis guarding him, and Anthony scored just four points in the second half with James defending him on several possessions.
"Some games you’ve got to win without your fastball, and this was another of those games, and a big part of that is what we did on the defensive end," Cleveland coach David Blatt said. "LeBron did a tremendous job of taking the challenge. ...
"Carmelo is a tremendous basketball player, and I thought LeBron did a fabulous job on him in the second half. He really took the challenge. He scored 31, but he held Carmelo to four points in the second half. That’s not a small feat."
The regular-season meetings between the two players have been even in terms of wins and losses throughout their careers.
But it’s easy to notice James’ two titles with the Miami Heat, two Finals MVP awards and four regular-season MVP awards. Anthony, an eight-time All-Star but never first-team All-NBA, has reached the conference finals just once (with Denver in 2009), has never played in the NBA Finals and has reached the second round just once in three playoff appearances with the Knicks. No MVPs for Anthony either.
James and Anthony have been on parallel tracks but going at different speeds, with one player going places and the other not knowing if he will ever get there.
Follow Jeff Zillgitt on Twitter @JeffZillgitt.
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