The Knicks had, as they predicted, shrugged off the daunting task in front of them, on the road on the second night of a back-to-back. And they had added to the degree of difficulty, spotting the Cleveland Cavaliers a 15-point lead in the second half.
Now, after all of this, the Knicks had the ball with a chance to win the game in the final seconds. But Julius Randle’s desperation three-pointer fell far short and the Knicks first step on this arduous portion of the schedule began with a 95-93 loss to the Cavs at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.