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Obi Toppin wasn’t sitting on the bench humming the tune, “Put me in, coach.”
About the only real drama offered down the stretch Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden was whether an injured Toppin would be able to talk himself back into game with just two points needed to set a new career high. Toppin succeeded in both facets as he played the final five minutes, shook off a noticeable limp to get back to the free-throw line and reached 20 points for the first time in his two-year NBA career.
But the Knicks still got pummeled in their first game since elimination from playoff contention.
Too short-handed without Julius Randle, Miles McBride and others to win a shootout, the Knicks did not have enough answers on defense, never led and never made it a one-possession game in the second half of a 119-101 loss to the Cavaliers in front of a sold-out crowd of 19,812.
“We didn’t come out with the edge and competitiveness that you need to win an NBA game,” guard Immanuel Quickley said after scoring 17.
Making his sixth start of the season and fourth in the past 11 games, Toppin had 18 points with 2:31 to go in the third quarter when he rolled to the basket and initiated a hard collision with Kevin Love. The 2020 first-round pick was called for the foul and stayed down for several seconds tending to his left ankle — not thinking about setting a career-high.
“I don’t know about none of that,” Toppin said. “I just go into every game the same: Try to play as hard as I can do whatever the team needs me to do to try and get a W.”
Toppin labored through five more combined possessions with an obvious limp before he subbed out. He was still limping when he returned, with the Knicks trailing 115-96, to finish 9-for-9 at the line and 5-for-10 from the floor.
“My adrenaline was going,” Toppin said, claiming he will play Sunday against the Magic. “I felt good when I got back out there. Nothing serious.”
The score was tied seven times in the first half, but Moses Brown’s dunk with less than two seconds remaining capped a closing 10-4 run that extended the Cavaliers’ lead to 68-60. The Knicks actually were fortunate not to be in a bigger hole after defensive lapses allowed for 56.8 percent shooting from the floor, including 53.3 percent (8-for-15) from 3.
“I think our starters are capable of playing a lot better than we did,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “We were lethargic, and if you don’t play with an edge — you can deal with the missed shots, but defensively we can’t win like that.”
It was an off game for RJ Barrett, who came in averaging 25.1 points over 18 games since the All-Star break. He scored 12 on 4-for-18 shooting, including a handful of misses around the hoop.
“We want him to attack the rim,’” Thibodeau said. “We think it’s one of the things that he does well, and then when you get in there, you have to read, ‘OK, what are they doing? How many defenders are in the lane?’ ”
The Cavaliers extended an eight-point halftime lead to 15 by the end of the third quarter by making 14 of 22 shots.
Darius Garland’s 24 points paced seven double-figure scorers for the Cavaliers. He added 13 assists as the Cavs maintained a safe lead over the Nets, Hornets and Hawks for the all-important No. 7 seed (one win needed in two home games) in the Eastern Conference’s play-in tournament.
Thibodeau said Toppin was cleared to return by the trainers — not a coach or player decision — and “moved fine at the end” of the game. Perhaps he was thinking of Toppin’s ball-between-the-legs running dunk after the whistle stopped action at one point. Toppin’s career-best game was the only highlight between the whistles, too.
“We lost today,” Toppin said, “so it doesn’t really mean anything to me right now.”
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