Knicks Look to Keep Win Streak Alive Against the Cavaliers, Nets Seek Victory vs. the Mavericks

On Sunday, the New York Knicks (29-40) will continue their quest for the playoffs when they take on the Cleveland Cavaliers (26-44). They will also seek to extend their win streak to nine, which represents their longest one of 13 since last year’s season.

The Knicks will need to play better than they did on Friday against the lowly Philadelphia 76ers, winning 93-92 after giving up a 15-point advantage. They will also keep their eyes on the Atlanta Hawks, which lead them by three games in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt. On Sunday, the Hawks will play the Toronto Raptors.

Carmelo Anthony

Knowing what’s on the line, Carmelo Anthony said via the Associated Press, “We’ve got to keep doing what we do. We’ve got to focus on us. Right now, we’re winning basketball games. We’ve got to continue doing that.”

As for Cleveland, it’s trying to avoid a fifth straight loss on Sunday while also trying to make a postseason run. They sit 6 1/2 games behind the Hawks.

On Saturday, the Cavaliers lost to the Houston Rockets, 118-111, for their 11th loss over 15 games. Part of this came as the Cavaliers had to overcome a 22-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter. Unfortunately a 32-17 scoring advantage fell short to get it done.

But there’s more problems for this team as the injury bug has hit them. Its leading scorer and All-Star, Kyrie Irving, will be out for the next two weeks thanks to a strained left biceps tendon. His loss will be felt as he’s averaged 30.8 points over the six previous games versus the Knicks including his team-leading 30.3 points in this season’s three games; this included two games as losses.

Joining Irving on the bench Sunday will be Luol Deng and C.J. Miles, who have ankle injuries.

For the Knicks, they’ll again look to Anthony for a good game against Cleveland, who scored 26 points in the Knicks March 8 107-97 win over Cleveland. He has averaged 28.8 points with 50.6 percent shooting over the last four matchups while teammate Amare Stoudemire added 17 points and 12 rebounds in the March 8 win.

The Knicks play well against the Cavaliers at home, winning five straight ones and on Sunday, they’ll make it a sixth consecutive one (-9.5, 199 o/u). The Knicks have 150/1 odds to win the 2014 NBA Championship.

In other games, the Brooklyn Nets (36-31) will take on the Dallas Mavericks (42-28) on Sunday. The Nets have a three-game win streak going and also have their eyes on the playoffs as they sit in the fifth spot, 1 1/2 games behind the Chicago Bulls (39-31). However, they’ve been playing without one of their veterans, Kevin Garnett, who has been out since March 1 with a back injury.

Mason Plumlee

Fortunately the next man up, Mason Plumlee, has been playing well with his 8.3 point average (68.5 percent shooting) and 5.6 rebounds over the team’s 9-2 March record. But in the team’s recent win streak, he’s been playing even better as he’s scored 14.3 points per game.

Nets coach Jason Kidd said of the young player via the Associated Press, “(Mason’s) growing each time he takes the floor, the more minutes he gets the better he gets. Being a rookie, he’s going to make some mistakes but the way he can finish around the rim with the guys that are passing the balls, it’s fun to watch. Mason is a big part of our success right now.”

Meanwhile, Dallas is also looking toward the postseason as it sits in the Western Conference’s seventh spot. It is 2-1 for its current eight-game homestand. On Friday, in the 122-106 win over  the Denver Nuggets, Monta Ellis had 26 points (14 in the fourth quarter) while Dirk Nowitzki contributed 21.

On Sunday, the Mavericks will continue their good play at home (-4.5, 205 o/u).