Belt game 4,611 · March 2, 1997
New York Knicks take the belt
New York Knicks beat Cleveland Cavaliers 90–82 at home to start reign 2,033 of the NBA belt, the 156th for the franchise.
Cleveland Cavaliers had held it since February 27, 1997, with 1 defense over 3 days.
New York Knicks held it for 9 days and 4 defenses, then lost it to Dallas Mavericks on March 11, 1997.
2,033Reign number
156Team's reign
4Defenses
9Days held
Box score
New York Knicks
| Player | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG | 3P | FT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allan Houston | 35 | 28 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 11-16 | 3-3 | 3-4 |
| Patrick Ewing | 39 | 18 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8-14 | 0-0 | 2-6 |
| Larry Johnson | 36 | 17 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 7-10 | 0-0 | 3-7 |
| John Starks | 22 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4-11 | 1-2 | 2-4 |
| Charlie Ward | 36 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2-5 | 2-4 | 2-2 |
| Charles Oakley | 41 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1-3 | 0-1 | 2-2 |
| John Wallace | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 2-2 |
| Scott Brooks | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 0-0 |
| Walter McCarty | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Buck Williams | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-2 |
| Herb Williams | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Chris Childs | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
Cleveland Cavaliers
| Player | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG | 3P | FT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bobby Phills | 37 | 24 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10-16 | 3-3 | 1-2 |
| Danny Ferry | 36 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6-10 | 1-3 | 1-1 |
| Terrell Brandon | 33 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3-14 | 0-3 | 8-10 |
| Vitaly Potapenko | 20 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6-13 | 0-0 | 1-3 |
| Chris Mills | 39 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 3-7 | 1-2 | 1-1 |
| Tyrone Hill | 36 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2-5 | 0-0 | 2-4 |
| Bob Sura | 27 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1-3 | 0-1 | 1-2 |
| Mark West | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Antonio Lang | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Shawnelle Scott | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Donny Marshall | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-2 | 0-1 | 0-0 |
| Reggie Geary | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
Player box scores: Historical NBA Data and Player Box Scores by Eoin Moore (CC0).