CLEVELAND — Let us just hope the Knicks play better with LeBron James than against him.
If that day ever comes.
James was in no mood to hear about the Knicks’ mega-cap space last night after the Cavaliers humiliated the Knicks 124-93 at Quicken Loans Arena.
The Cavs got up by 49 points in the third quarter as the post-trade-deadline Knicks sunk to a new level defensively in their last tango against King James before he becomes a free agent July 1.
James scored 22 points, playing just 31 minutes and sitting the fourth quarter. He also had seven assists, seven rebounds and scored often on easy layups on the fastbreak. The Cavs paraded to the hoop and shot 57 percent, scoring 66 points in the paint.
Mike D’Antoni’s undersized, defenseless Knicks (20-39) dropped a season-worst 19 games under .500. The Knicks have lost 10 of their last 11 games and are 1-5 since the cap-clearing deals that ripped away any semblance of a defensive presence. Last night made Knicks fans miss the Nate Robinson/Jared Jeffries era.
Though James would not address his free agency directly, he gave an interesting response to a query on whether he can see playing for a club that doesn’t care about defense.
No, he can’t.
“For me, I’m a winner, I just want to win,” James said. “I’ve yet to play for a team that doesn’t like defense in my career. But it’s not about team. It’s individuals first. Individuals have to take and want the responsibility to guard the guy in front of him.”
When a New York columnist asked if the Knicks’ trades that opened up two maximum salary slots will directly affect his decision, James clung to his no-free-agent-talk policy. For sure, after destroying the Knicks, it didn’t seem appropriate to talk of joining them.
“I don’t know if you have been around, but I stopped answering free agent questions a long time ago,” James said. “I’ll move on to the next.”
James dismissed the Knicks just as easily. The Cavs (47-14), who got the news Shaquille O’Neal is out until the playoffs due to surgery on his thumb, went up 74-48 at halftime. Then it got worse.
Cleveland outscored the disinterested Knicks 27-11 in the third quarter to take a 101-59 lead into the fourth. The front line of J.J. Hickson and Antawn Jamison each hit for 17 points.
“They outclassed us, outmatched us, outplayed us, and we kind of gave up in the third quarter,” D’Antoni said.
In each of their three losses to Cleveland, the Knicks were blown out by halftime, falling behind by 23 points Nov. 6 at the Garden and 20 points last month here before last night’s walkover.
James tried to be diplomatic about what’s left on the roster. In fairness, the Knicks were missing their best perimeter defender, Wilson Chandler (personal reasons).
“I think it’s the same team after the trades,” James said. “They got guys who can shoot the ball well, move the ball really well. When they’re making threes, they’re very hard to guard. They got players who can still play.”
Tracy McGrady showed little pop. He scored just six points with five assists and three turnovers in 25 minutes and was rested in the fourth quarter.
The Knicks’ other newcomers, Eddie House (1 of 8) and Sergio Rodriguez (3 of 9), combined to shoot 4 of 17.
And David Lee, who actually may be on the roster if James comes, had one of his worst outings, scoring 10 points (4 of 12). It was his lowest point total in three months.
James’ best basket didn’t count. James took an alley-oop feed in midair from Delonte West, catching it low, and rammed the ball in on a swinging reverse dunk. The officials nullified the hoop because West got fouled before the alley-oop pass.
“It is up there, it counts, one of the best ones I’ve had,” James cracked. “Most plays don’t make SportsCenter that don’t count, but I can see that one making it.”