CAVALIERS

Cavaliers treat fans with rout of Knicks in season opener

Michael Singer
USA TODAY
LeBron James (23) dunks in the first half during the Cavaliers' win against the Knicks.

CLEVELAND ― Tuesday may have marked the official start of the 2016-17 NBA campaign, but for the Cavaliers, it offered one more reason to bask in last season’s NBA championship.

It was ring night in Cleveland, the first time this city had celebrated a champion in 52 years. It was also Game 1 of the World Series, which only added to the frenzied, surreal downtown spirit.

And the Cavaliers met the moment, just as they did last postseason.

Led by LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, the Cavs treated their fans to much the same of what spurred their championship run last year in handing the New York Knicks a 117-88 opening night defeat.

James, who addressed the crowd pregame and reminded fans it’s “Cleveland against the world,” recorded his 43rd career regular season triple-double. He finished with 19 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds perhaps buoyed by the championship excitement.

James spoke to reporters earlier on Tuesday and claimed he didn’t plan on addressing the crowd. Still, his pre-game comments, which included a nod to the Indians, were heartfelt.

“I’ve never had to prepare for anything like that,” James said. “I just kind of go off the cuff, go off my heart.”

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The Knicks are as big a wild card as there is in the NBA, but they showed genuine promise between 17 points from new addition Derrick Rose and 19 points from Carmelo Anthony. The latter finally has a supporting cast that can ease the burden on making the postseason. Still, the 18 turnovers spoke to the work new coach Jeff Hornacek has in implementing his version of the triangle offense.

But Tuesday, with such a rare night at hand, was about Cleveland flexing its strengths. Aside from James, Irving was tremendous, just as he was last postseason.

Irving routinely kept his defender off-balance and showed off his devastating handles most notably in the third quarter when the Cavs pulled away. Cleveland outscored the Knicks 34-19 in that frame, and Irving had 19 of them, including several dazzling finishes in traffic. He finished with a game-high 29.

If it wasn’t Irving it was Love, who the Cavs kept alert and engaged with an emphasis on interior passing. They needed it after shooting just 4 of 21 from the three-point line in the first half.

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By halftime, much of the crowd’s attention had turned to the Indians game, where the Cavs’ production staff continued to flash highlights from across the street. Those were accompanied by in-game messages from Cleveland sports luminaries like former Browns running back Jim Brown and Indians manager Terry Francona.

As Cavs coach Ty Lue said pregame, it feels like the town’s professional sports teams are all in it together.

“I think it definitely helps to get the monkey off the back for the city and for the Browns and for the Indians,” Lue said. “Now we can hold our head up as champions.”

There also seemed to be another theme around the Cavs Tuesday, and it’s that they won’t be content simply with one title.

“If one championship is enough for you, then you shouldn’t be here,” Lue added.

That might’ve been the memo from Cavs owner Dan Gilbert because he said essentially the same thing during the team’s ring ceremony.

“There’s only one thing left to do,” Gilbert said. “Repeat.”

PHOTOS: Best photos from opening night