The New York Knicks overcame the bad news of Jeremy Lin's knee injury and persevered over the struggling Cleveland Cavaliers with a 91-75 win at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.
The Knicks, already without Amar'e Stoudemire and clinging to the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, learned earlier on Saturday that Lin would miss at least six weeks with a torn meniscus in his knee.
Reserve J.R. Smith came off the bench and scored 12 of his game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter to finally allow the Knicks to pull away from the pesky Cavaliers, who kept the game within reach through the first three quarters before falling to their seventh consecutive loss.
Carmelo Anthony added 19 points for New York (27-26) and Tyson Chandler scored 14 points and had 12 rebounds. The Cavaliers, who were without Kyrie Irving, were led by Antawn Jamison's 13 points.
(Reporting by Mike Mouat in Windsor, Ontario, editing by Nick Mulvenney. To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
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