Jack gets hot hand, Cavs cool off streaking Knicks

“Jack was really big for us, not just the 31 points but the 10 assists,” Cavs coach Mike Brown said. “He took the shots and made the passes at the right time.”

“We had a hell of a talking to by our coach at halftime,” Jack (left) said.“It lit a fire under us and our guys came out and responded.”

Los Angeles Jarrett Jack caught fire late and the Cleveland Cavaliers slowed down the red-hot New York Knicks’ playoff push.

Jack dropped in 23 of his season-high 31 points in the second half and dished out 10 assists, as the visiting Cavs stormed from 15 down on Sunday to end the Knicks’ eight-game winning streak 106-100.

Dion Waiters added 22 points, Luol Deng had 13 for the Cavaliers (27-44) who shot a sizzling 61 per cent from the floor to stop a four-game slide.

“In the first half everything was so easy for them,” Deng explained. “They’ve been playing well but we came out and played hard. Everything just got going and guys made some big shots.”

After trailing 61-46 at the break, the Cavs received a spirited locker room speech from Brown and got back in the game, outscoring their hosts, 60-39 on an uncanny 23-of-30 field goal shooting.

“I didn’t say much, I just challenged them,” Brown said. “The guys decided to play and got it done. Their intensity level got a whole lot better.”

Behind by nine early in the fourth quarter, Jack scored 13 points including a 20-foot jumper to give the Cavs a 102-96 advantage with 1 minute 45 seconds remaining.

The Knicks closed within 102-100 on a JR Smith jumper and two free throws by Carmelo Anthony with 42.2 seconds to play.

But Jack connected on a 12-foot pull-up jumper over Raymond Felton with 24.7 ticks to go. After Anthony was whistled for an offensive foul, Matthew Dellavedova delivered two free throws with 13.4 seconds left to wrap up the win.

Anthony netted 32 points, Smith added 18 for the Knicks (29-41), who blew a golden opportunity to pull within two games of Atlanta for the eighth and final spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Other results

Elsewhere, Kyle Lowry scored 13 of his 25 points in the decisive 36-15 final quarter, and the Toronto Raptors clipped the visiting Atlanta Hawks 96-86 to stop a modest two-game slide.

Markieff Morris came off the bench to score 25 points, Eric Bledsoe added 21, including the go-ahead fast-break layup with 38 seconds remaining and the Phoenix Suns stormed from 22 down in the first half to burn the T-Wolves 127-120.

Kenneth Faried had 20 points, Aaron Brooks sank four straight free throws in the final 12 seconds, and the Denver Nuggets edged the travel-weary Washington Wizards 105-102 for their fifth straight home win.

DeMarcus Cousins had 32 points with 12 rebounds, Isaiah Thomas scored 30, and the host Sacramento Kings handed the league-worst Milwaukee Bucks their seventh straight loss 124-107.

Joe Johnson scored 22 points, including the tying layup that forced overtime and the go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:30 left in the extra session, as the visiting Brooklyn Nets edged the Dallas Mavericks 107-104 for their fourth straight win.

Jordan Hill had a career-high 28 points with 13 rebounds, Nick Young scored 26, and the playoff-eliminated LA Lakers overcame the second-half absence of Spanish star Pau Gasol because of dizziness and nausea to hand the visiting Orlando Magic their ninth straight loss 103-94.