Sunday night at Madison Square Garden was promised to be a celebratory day for Knicks fans, but at the end of the night most people left the arena feeling somewhat disappointed and disillusioned after the Knicks suffered a terrible loss to the struggling Cleveland Cavaliers.

The day started on an incredibly bright note, as crowds flocked to the Garden before the game to partake in the Los Knicks Fan Festival, part of the annual NBA Noche Latina (Latin Night) celebration. The league showed its appreciation towards the Knicks' Hispanic community by giving fans the chance to meet legends Walt Fraizer and John Starks, and win some free gifts. Fans also enjoyed mini-games, face painting, salsa lessons and Latin food.

The atmosphere was one of excitement and elation, and it was easy to see why. The Knicks were on an 8-game winning streak, including a vital victory over the dominant Indiana Pacers, putting them at a good position to take the eighth and final playoff spot. Even more hopeful, legendary champion coach Phil Jackson had just joined the Knicks' front office, bringing his extensive basketball knowledge to an organization that's been long criticized for making questionable decisions. Just recently, Knicks fans held a protest in front of the Garden calling for team owner James Dolan to hand over the reigns to someone more capable of restoring the organization to its former glory.

Whether or not Dolan hired Jackson in response to the criticism or not is uncertain, but it was clear that something needed to be done to save the Knicks from falling into the realm of insignificance. The 2012-13 season was the best in years, with star player Carmelo Anthony leading the squad to 54 wins and its first Eastern Conference semifinal appearance in over a decade. Coming from such success, it was disappointing to see the Knicks struggle so much this year, and reporters began to write the team off early. More alarmingly, signs seemed to point to Anthony leaving at the end of the year to pursue free agency.

Getting Phil Jackson was undoubtedly the greatest thing to happen to the organization all year. With 13 championships under his belt (2 as a Knicks player, 11 as a coach) the man is a proven winner, and if it's one thing that the Knicks need right now, its wins. Even more importantly, Jackson's arrival gives more assurance that Anthony will remain in orange and blue.

All in all, a good time to be a Knicks fan. Along with the Knicks late season resurgence, came a resurging hope in the fan base. Could the Knicks make the playoffs? Absolutely. Could the Knicks make a serious run? Sky's the limit.

Latin Post got a chance to speak with Felipe López at the Los Knicks fan event, and he seemed to have as much hope for the Knicks as ever. When asked who he thought would take the championship this year, he stayed loyal to New York.

"It's a long shot," Lopez said, being realistic. Yet, he remained hopeful that the Knicks could go all the way.

Later, López announced the Knicks' starters in Spanish as they took to the court to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers. Many were confident that team could get their ninth straight win considering the Cavs were without their star point guard, Kyrie Irving. And it was at a very opportune time -- the Atlanta Hawks, who currently hold the eighth spot in the playoffs, had lost earlier Sunday.

The game started in the Knicks' favor. The Knicks made 15 of 21 first quarter shots, including 14 points from Anthony and a 28-foot buzzer beater from J.R. Smith. In the second quarter, Pablo Prigioni made a 3-point shot before stealing the ball and passing it to smith for an alley-oop, bringing the lead to 17.

Yet, things changed at halftime. The Knicks lost momentum, while the Cavs turned to backup point guard Jarrett Jack. Raymond Felton was unable to stop Jarrett Jack on the pick-and-roll, and paid for it. Jack scored 23 points in the second half. Anthony on the other hand, went cold, failing to make a single basket in the fourth quarter.

The Cavaliers defeated the Knicks, 106-100, in front of a disbelieving crowd. Jack led the Cavs in scoring with a season high 31 points. Anthony finished with 32.

The Cavs' win may have been inspired by coach Mike Brown at halftime.

"I just challenged them. That's all. I didn't say that much," Brown said, as reported by ESPN. "The guys in the locker room, they decided to go play and they went out and got it done."

Jarett Jack attributed the entire team to their success in the second half.

"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," said Jack. "That's pretty much what it was about. I just thought guys responded. But he shouldn't have to do that. We should come out and have that mindset on our own. That falls on my shoulders -- and a lot of the veteran guys on this team. We have to do a good job of conveying that message each and every night.''

Whatever mindset the Cavs had was lost to the Knicks after halftime. Knicks coach Mike Woodson believed that the Knicks lost their fire in the second half.

"I thought we came out to start the third quarter so slow," Woodson said. "They scored the first 5 points and then we decided we wanted to play. We just didn't look right."

The Knicks locker room was fairly somber as players came to reflect on what went wrong. Some players described their second half performance as "flat." Knicks guard J.R. Smith said he thought the Cavaliers played with more hunger.

"They were more hungry in the second half," said Smith. "We let them set the tempo instead of us setting it. The situation we're in, we can't afford that. Huge opportunity lost, one we can't afford. But we can't get it back."

However, the team did not lose sight of making the playoffs. When asked if he thought the team still had a chance, Knicks' center Tyson Chandler said he did.

"Before tonight, I thought we had a chance to win it out," he said. "So I still feel that way. We've been playing great basketball as of late. We had a stomp here tonight, we have to make sure we turn it back on."

Anthony also had faith that the team could get it done.

"We gotta go play," he said. "We can't worry about how many wins it's going to take. We gotta go play."

The Knicks will get their chance at another win against a struggling team when they take on the Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday night. In the meantime, fans wait to see if the Knicks can once again find the drive to make that final playoffs push. This latest loss was a major disappointment, but regardless of what happens at the end of the season, its clear there is still much to be hopeful about for the team's future.

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