Final thoughts: Cavs 91, Knicks 81

The Knicks are a mess. A full blown, New York style, six car accident in the Lincoln Tunnel at rush hour type of catastrophe. They don't play defense, they barely run an offense right now and more times than not Wednesday, they looked like five parking cones the Cavs had little trouble driving around for dunks and easy baskets.

That's not to take anything away from the Cavs' effort or victory. If nothing else, the Knicks serve as the perfect example of how not to build a winner. Put it this way: One New York writer after the game admitted the Knicks were putting a whole lot of hope and faith on Baron Davis' weak back and busted knee. That's a sure recipe for trouble.

The Cavs, however, had a little bit of everything in 48 minutes. This is exactly how it's going to be for them this season. They shot well in the first quarter (52 percent), lousy in the second (35 percent) and played gritty defense in the second half, limiting the lifeless Knicks to just 36 points in the second half.

The Cavs received contributions from everybody -- all the starters had their moments, and Alonzo Gee, Samardo Samuels and Ryan Hollins did good things off the bench. The Knicks will limp on to Miami for a Friday night clash with the Heat that could look like a crime scene by the end of the night. The Cavs will keep playing gritty defense and look for a winning streak with the beatable Nets coming to town on Friday.

Turning point
The Knicks had one field goal through the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, allowing the Cavs to extend their lead to 10.

Key stat
The Cavs held the Knicks to just 36 points in the second half.

Quotable
“He’s a stat sheet stuffer. That’s the one thing about Andy. He does a little bit of everything, tonight was no different. The last two games he’s back to playing the way he’s capable of playing.” -- Byron Scott on Anderson Varejao, who had 10 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks.