Knicks bow in front of the champions, lose 88-117

The season opener couldn’t have started on a worse pace for the Knicks. The Cavaliers held the ceremony where they got their championship rings just before of the tip of the game, and while the rest of the team [New York] retreated to the locker rooms, Joakim Noah chose to shoot free throws.

Derrick Rose and Kristaps Porzingis gave New York an early 4-0 lead but it was Cleveland who controlled the first quarter finishing up by 10 points. In the second quarter the Knicks tried to bounce back and cut the lead to just 3 points, but after halftime there was a single team on the court that counted. Led by Lebron James, who finished with a triple double (19 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds), the Cavaliers outscored the Knicks 43-69 in the second half.

“Just hurts. I hate losing. I’ve got to replay a lot of this in my head. Tonight left a bad taste in our mouths.”

 – Derrick Rose

Rose, who returned with the team following a 16 days absence due to his trial, scored 17 points in 30 minutes, shooting 7-17 from the field. He also had 4 turnovers and just 1 assists.

Noah went scoreless in 20 minutes of playtime (shooting just once) and grabbed 6 rebounds.

Courtney Lee was also scoreless as the starting SG, went 0-5 from the field, had 3 rebounds and 2 turnovers. He blew a dunk and finished with a low -19 contribution index. After a quiet preseason he has yet to impress.

Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks with 19 points while Porzingis finished with 16 and 7 rebounds.

No bench player finished in double figures except for Cleveland’s Richard Jefferson (13 points) and while the starters were outscored 52-79, the Knicks’ second unit did almost as well as the Cavaliers’, 36-38.

The Knicks will open at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night, when they host Memphis Grizzlies