Cavaliers win 11th straight vs Knicks

NEW YORK (AP):

Baron Davis picked up right where LeBron James left off.

It doesn't matter who suits up for the Cleveland Cavaliers - even the players with names the Knicks don't know. They simply don't lose to New York.

Davis scored 18 points in his Cavaliers debut, leading a stunning rally in the fourth quarter as Cleveland beat New York for the 11th straight time, 119-115 on Friday night.

"It's always great to win at The Garden. The Garden is special, especially playing against a team right now that's getting a lot of coverage and they were prepared to beat us bad and we didn't let that happen," Davis said. "This victory is very sweet because it's a sense of a miniature rivalry brewing here."

J.J. Hickson scored 23 and Luke Harangody also had 18, but the spark came from Davis in his first game since his trade from the Los Angeles Clippers last week. He scored 12 points in the final six-plus minutes after the Knicks had built a 12-point lead, including a three-pointer that gave Cleveland a 116-112 lead with 10.6 seconds left.

Called for a charging foul

Amare Stoudemire answered with a three for the Knicks. But after a free throw by Ramon Sessions, Carmelo Anthony, was called for a charging foul after he broke free of Anthony Parker's attempt to hold him and the last-place Cavaliers beat the Knicks for the third time this season.

"It's a tough loss. I really don't want to say it's embarrassing, but it is a tough loss ... knowing how important it is to take care of home court," said Anthony, who had to ask the name of Cleveland's Samardo Samuels, who took the crucial charge from him. "To lose to them guys tonight, it's a tough one to fathom."

Stoudemire matched a season high with 41 points and Anthony added 29, but the Knicks still haven't defeated the Cavs since December 19, 2007.

"I just think we didn't come with the proper energy that we needed in a game like this. It was a very important game for us and we didn't quite accept the challenge of beating these guys," Stoudemire said. "And this is a team that's beat us three times this year already and the motto is to beat the teams we're supposed to beat."

When James wore the wine and gold, Cleveland would beat the Knicks with talent. Even though he's gone now, the Knicks still haven't been able to solve the Cavaliers.

Cleveland were on a 10-game losing streak when they beat New York in overtime in December.

The Cavaliers then simply outworked the Knicks in the second meeting, racking up a 62-42 rebounding advantage in their 115-109 victory last Friday. This time, they snapped a two-game losing streak and showed they could be dangerous the rest of the way with Davis on the perimeter and Hickson attacking the backboards.

"I just think, again, for us it's a process of trying to get better each game," Cavs coach Byron Scott said. "Our younger guys are starting to understand what it takes to be a professional athlete in this league."