Knicks Flat In Stoudemire’s Return, Fall In Cleveland

A night after officially clinching a playoff berth, due to a Milwaukee loss, the New York Knicks came out flat in Cleveland and despite the return of Amar'e Stoudemire, lost 98-90 to the Cavaliers.

The defeat basically ends any chance New York had to overtake the Magic for the sixth playoff spot in the East - Orlando is 3 1/2 games ahead of the Knicks, meaning they would need to lose their remaining four games and the Knicks would need to win their final three.

Stoudemire, who missed the last 13 games with a bulging disk in his back, and Steve Novak each tallied 15 points for New York, with Carmelo Anthony scoring just a dozen on 13 shot attempts.

The Cavs' Kyrie Irving had a 21-point night to lead all scorers, while Manny Harris added 19 and 12 boards. Cleveland out rebounded New York 52-32.

The Knicks (33-30) hold a 1/2 game lead over the Sixers for the seventh playoff spot in the East heading into Atlanta (38-25) on Sunday afternoon.