NEW YORK (Ticker) -- The New York Knicks can move up to the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference on Tuesday night when they host LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks have won three straight and four of their last five games and will be the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs with a win over Cleveland and a loss by the New Orleans Hornets at Washington on Wednesday.
Moochie Norris scored a season-high 21 points, including a 3-pointer with 3:13 remaining as the Knicks rallied for a 101-97 triumph at New Orleans on Monday. Rookie Mike Sweetney had 16 points and nine rebounds in 28 minutes off the bench for New York, which has received 115 points from its reserves over the last two games.
Norris scored seven straight points - all on assists from Frank Williams - after Sweetney converted a three-point play with just under four minutes remaining. Williams had four points and five assists in 22 minutes, but could be left off the playoff roster to open a spot for Allan Houston. New York's starting guard, Houston, has missed the last eight games with a knee injury and will not play Wednesday.
Cleveland, which won just 17 games last season and selected James with the first pick in the draft, has posted consecutive wins following a seven-game skid which knocked it out of playoff contention.
On Monday, James scored 27 points to lead the Cavaliers to a 93-89 victory over the Bucks. The Cavaliers will miss the playoffs for the sixth straight season but finished with 23 home wins, their highest total since 1997-98. James, a co-favorite for Rookie of the Year honors with Denver's Carmelo Anthony, is averaging 21.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists.
The Cavaliers have won all three meetings with the Knicks and are trying to sweep the season series for the first time since 1991-92.
