Collin Sexton scored 20 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers held off a late rally and sent the New York Knicks to their franchise-record 17th straight loss, 107-104 on Monday night.
Sexton hit two free throws with 17 seconds remaining to put Cleveland up by three. John Jenkins missed a 3-pointer from the right corner, but Dennis Smith Jr. grabbed the rebound and dribbled to the corner. He also missed a 3-pointer and Larry Nance tapped the rebound to midcourt as time ran out.
Nance and Jordan Clarkson each scored 15 points. Kevin Love had 14 points and nine rebounds in his second game since returning from foot surgery. The All-Star forward played 16 minutes, all in the first half. Love was 4 of 10 from the field, including two 3-pointers, and had nine rebounds.
Kadeem Allen scored a career-high 25 points for the Knicks. New York (10-46) has the worst record in the league, and has lost 25 of 26 and 30 of its last 32 games.
The Knicks trailed 71-54 early in the third quarter. New York got within four points several times and back-to-back 3-pointers by Luke Kornett cut the lead to 105-104 with 51 seconds left.
Kornett missed a wide-open 3-pointer with 21 seconds remaining that would have put New York on top. Sexton followed with his two free throws
Kevin Knox scored 13 points while DeAndre Jordan had 12 points and 10 rebounds for New York.