2015 NBA scores: LeBron James loves beating the Knicks in New York and 3 other things we learned

James outplayed Carmelo Anthony down the stretch to lead the Cavaliers to their eighth straight win, plus three other things we learned Friday.

by Liam Boylan-Pett

Nov 14, 2015, 1:00 PM UTC

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Madison Square Garden has always been kind to LeBron James, and Friday night was no different. James was superb against the New York Knicks, scoring 31 points and shutting down Carmelo Anthony down the stretch as the Cleveland Cavaliers won their eighth straight, 90-84.

James ended the night with 31 points, six assists and three rebounds on a night when the Cleveland offense struggled to get going -- Mo Williams and Timofey Mozgov were the only other Cavaliers to score in double figures -- at a place he's called the greatest basketball arena in the world. His performance wasn't quite up to par with his two 50-point games at MSG, but he did outplay Anthony -- who had 26 points -- to lead a lackluster Cavaliers squad to yet another win. At 8-1, Cleveland is steamrolling its way through the East even without Kyrie Irving.

Not that it was an easy win. The Cavaliers started out quickly, building up a nine-point lead in the second quarter, but then went ice cold. They ended up being outscored 30-17 in that frame as the Knicks held a seven-point lead at the half behind 22 points from Anthony.

Offenses stagnated in the second half, though, as shot weren’t falling for either team. The Cavaliers went scoreless over the final four minutes of the third. But the Knicks couldn’t take advantage as they only had a six-point lead heading into the fourth. Then, it was their turn for a scoring drought.

The Knicks didn't make field goal in the first 5:53 of the fourth quarter as the Cavaliers inched closer and closer. They trailed by four with 4:27 to play, and then James took over. He hit a bucket and got fouled by Anthony -- but missed the free throw -- to shrink the lead to two with 2:39 to play. He played great defense on Anthony, forcing a travel with 2:21 left then hit a driving layup to tie the game with 2:00 to go. After a turnover by Jose Calderon, Anthony hit a turnaround fadeaway to give the Cavaliers a lead with 1:16 to play, and they never trailed again.

Arron Aflalo hit a turnaround to tie the game, but Williams hit a jumper that gave Cleveland a lead they wouldn’t give up.

It was an ugly game offensively for both teams. The Cavaliers shot 42.3 percent from the field and a lowly 21.4 percent from behind the three-point line. The Knicks weren’t much better, hitting 36.7 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from deep.

But the Cavaliers still won, something they’re making a habit of this season. Even if it’s not pretty, James and Cleveland are taking care of business in the East, winning games they should be winning. James is in his 13th season in the league, and it’s possible he’ll miss a few games just like he did last season. By picking up victories at this point in the season, it will be fine for the Cavaliers to be without James for a stretch this winter.

James, to his credit, has been great as usual this season, even with Irving missing a big chunk of time. James has always said how much he likes playing in Madison Square Garden, but the thing is, he’s great everywhere.

3 other things we learned

The Rockets might be in trouble, and the Nuggets might ... not be? The Denver Nuggets have the Houston Rockets' number. They beat the Rockets, 107-98, on Friday for their second win over Houston this year. Danilo Gallinari led Denver with 27 points and Emmanuel Mudiay had 11 assists as the Nuggets sprinted to victory. At 5-4, the Nuggets are placing themselves in the playoff picture in this early season. They're a fun team that can score in a hurry, plus they play solid defense. They may not end up making the playoffs, but they're a threat. The Rockets, meanwhile, have played uninspired all year. They dropped to 4-5 with the loss. James Harden had 28 points, but after ripping off four straight wins after an 0-3 start, the Rockets look lackluster. They beat the Thunder and the Clippers this season -- so the talent is still there -- but with a loss to a team like the Nets, the Rockets are a wildcard.

All is well in Memphis, at least for a night. Thanks to Zach Randolph's buzzer beater, it's still not the time to panic in Memphis. Randolph's putback with 0.6 seconds remaining sealed a must-win game for the Grizzlies as they beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 101-100, to climb to 4-6. Randolph ended the night with 15 points and eight rebounds, but it was Marc Gasol's 31 points that led the Grizzlies. The Grizzlies avoided a four-game losing streak but they still haven't looked like the team that put a scare into the Golden State Warriors in last season's playoffs. Plus, things aren't going to get any easier for the Grizzlies, they have a brutal stretch of schedule ahead of them. While the win was nice, they did almost blow a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter -- Memphis still has a lot of work to do.

The Boston Celtics are as good as we thought they were. The Celtics started this season out slowly, failing to live up to the expectations of a team that made the playoffs last season. But the way they beat the Atlanta Hawks on Friday made them look capable of winning a playoff series in the East. The Celtics won 106-93, holding the high-powered Hawks at bay despite poor shooting on their own end. Boston built up a double-digit lead in the third quarter before letting the Hawks climb to within three with three minutes to play. But they pulled away again to win easily down the stretch. Isaiah Thomas went off for 23 points, 10 assists and five rebounds. At 4-4, Boston isn't one of the East's elite, but they showed they could be if they can find consistency.

Play of the night

This was the most Zach Randolph buzzer beater in the history of Zach Randolph buzzer beaters. Courtney Lee missed a good look from the corner, then Jeff Green missed a putback, then Randolph missed a putback. BUT HE WASN'T GOING TO MISS ANOTHER, hitting the next one to give the Grizzlies a much needed win.