NEW YORK, N.Y. - A chance to gain ground in the playoff race was there, until Jarrett Jack took it away. Now the New York Knicks have 3,000 miles to think about how this game — and maybe any realistic post-season hopes they had — was lost. Jack scored a season-high 31 points Sunday night in the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-100 victory over the Knicks, who had their eight-game winning streak snapped. The Knicks wasted a chance to pull within two games of a playoff spot before leaving for a five-game Western Conference trip that starts Tuesday against the Lakers. "This was a huge opportunity lost, one we cant afford," Knicks guard J.R. Smith said. "But we cant get it back. Weve just got to go on the road, win some games and try to come back home and win." Hours after being handed a chance to get closer to the final spot in the Eastern Conference when Atlanta blew a fourth-quarter lead in Toronto, the Knicks responded with an inept final period of their own after they led by 17 points in the first half. They couldnt stop Jack and couldnt get a basket from Carmelo Anthony, who missed all five shots in the final period and finished with 32 points. New York remained three back with 12 to play. "Its tough. We shouldve won this game. We gave it away. They earned it, they beat us. We didnt play well coming down the stretch or in the second half and they did," Anthony said. "But its behind us now, theres nothing we can do about that." Jack scored 23 in the second half after coach Mike Brown challenged his team at halftime. "It was just about making a stand and each individual person making a stand and then collectively as a team us all bringing that same mindset to the table," Jack said. "Thats pretty much what it was about. I just thought guys responded." Jack finished with 10 assists for the Cavaliers, who snapped a four-game losing streak. Dion Waiters scored 22 points and Luol Deng had 13 in his return from a three-game absence with a sprained left ankle for the Cavs, who didnt miss All-Star Kyrie Irving because Jack torched the Knicks for 13 points in the fourth quarter on 6-of-7 shooting. "I just challenged them. Thats all. I didnt say that much," Brown said. "The guys in the locker room, they decided to go play and they went out and got it done." New York was missing ailing Iman Shumpert, their best perimeter defender who surely wouldve gotten a chance to defend Jack since nobody else could. The Knicks, who suddenly were back in the playoff race after looking out of it after a seven-game skid dropped them to 21-40 after a loss in Detroit on March 3, will have to bounce back on the road. The Hawks had already lost at Toronto by the time the Knicks showed up for work Sunday. Coach Mike Woodson said he was glad but didnt appear overjoyed, realizing the Knicks still have plenty to do to get to the 35 to 40 wins he think will be necessary to earn a playoff spot. "Its good that they lose, but again, its about what we do at this point," Woodson said before the game. Even getting to 35 wins will be difficult considering they still have games against Miami and Chicago, plus two apiece against Brooklyn and Toronto after their trip. New York made 15 of 21 shots (71 per cent) in the first quarter, getting 14 points from Anthony and taking a 34-27 lead when Smith made a 28-footer with 0.2 seconds left. The Knicks pushed the lead to 17 in the second when Pablo Prigioni made a 3-pointer, then stole the ball and threw an alley-oop pass that Smith slammed down to finish off a fast break and make it 51-34. But down 61-46 at halftime, Cleveland scored the first nine of the second half to get within six, and the Knicks never really got the momentum back. The Cavs used an 11-4 spurt to tie it at 90 on Jacks jumper with 7:29 remaining, then Dengs 3-pointer gave them a 93-92 edge with 5:46 to play. Anthonys free throws gave the Knicks their last lead, but Jack knocked down a jumper, Waiters made a 3-pointer and Anderson Varejao had an easy dunk after a pick-and-roll to make it 100-94 with 2:37 remaining. New York cut it to two, but Jack answered with another jumper, finishing two points shy of his career high. Smith finished with 18 points. NOTES: New York had won the previous five meetings at home. ... On Noche Latina, Spanish for Latin night, former St. Johns star Felipe Lopez announced the starting lineups in Spanish. Cheap Nike Zoom Online . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Marc-Andre Fleury, Penguins (3) - Surrendered a tough first goal against on a deflection through the body short side. Nike Zoom Womens Australia . Scrivens stopped 48 shots and captain Andrew Ference scored in overtime as the Oilers pulled off a 4-3 upset of the Anaheim Ducks on Friday. http://www.wholesalenikezoomaustralia.com/. The rookie is rewarding their faith with a stellar first season. MacKinnon had a goal and two assists, Jamie McGinn had two goals and an assist, and Colorado beat the Buffalo Sabres 7-1 on Saturday. Wholesale Nike Zoom Australia . -- The Denver Broncos are shuffling their offensive line this off-season and Orlando Franklin provided some insight into their plans Monday by tweeting that hes moving from right tackle to left guard. Nike Zoom Wholesale . - The Washington Redskins have signed free agent offensive lineman Mike McGlynn.CALGARY - The Calgary Flames have made qualifying offers to six of their restricted free agents. Defencemen Chad Billins and Mark Cundari, centres Lance Bouma and Joe Colborne, right-winger Ben Hanowski and goaltender Joni Ortio were extended qualifying offers, according to a release on the Flames website. Centre Paul Byron, left-winger T.J. Galiardi, right-winger David Eddy, defenceman James Martin and goalie Olivier Roy were not given offers. Teams give qualifying offers in order to retain negotiating rights with the player. Bouma produced five goals and 10 assists in 78 games for the Flames. Colborne posted 10 goals and 18 assists in 80 games for Calgary. Billins led Calgarys American Hockey League team in scoring by a defenceman with 10 goals and 31 assists. Cundari, who was acquired in a deal that sent Jay&nbssp;Bouwmeester to St.dddddddddddd. Louis last year, had nine goals and 14 assists in 56 AHL games. The Flames acquired Hanowski last year in the deal that send captain Jarome Iginla to Pittsburgh. Hanowski compiled 13 goals and 18 assists in 55 AHL games. Ortios record was 4-4 for the Flames and 27-8-2 in the AHL. Also, the Flames put defenceman Shane OBrien on unconditional waivers in order to buy out his contract. OBrien split the past season between the Flames and their American Hockey League affiliate. He had three assists in 45 games and was minus-8 in 45 games for Calgary. OBriens NHL salary next season would be $2.2 million. The Flames acquired the 30-year-old from Port Hope, Ont., just over a year ago in a deal that sent forward Alex Tanguay and defenceman Cory Sarich to Colorado for OBrien and right-winger David Jones. ' ' '