The New York Knicks erased a 22-point deficit in Game 1 and won in OT, 115-104. Jalen Brunson put the Knicks on his back and scored 38 points in the game and 17 of them coming in the fourth quarter and OT.

Cleveland only had one day off and was at a major rest disadvantage entering Game 1, so the 11-point loss was a tough for the Cavaliers. Cleveland shot 40% from the field, 32% from three, was out rebounded 47-38, and turned the ball over 21 times. Donovan Mitchell was the only Cavalier to score more than 15 points as he dropped 29 and Evan Mobley led the game with 14 rebounds, while James Harden struggled with double the turnovers (6) compared to assists (3).

New York won its eight-straight game and made one of the most historic comebacks of all time. Entering the fourth quarter, the Knicks were 4-of-23 from three (17.3%), and were out-played for three quarters. New York also left plenty at the free-throw line, going 21-of-32 (66%), but in the end, it didn't matter as the Knicks pulled through. Brunson dropped a game-high 38 points, while Karl-Anthony Towns led the Knicks with 13 rebounds. Landry Shamet was one of the heroes of Game 1 going a perfect 3-for-3 from deep and playing the final stretch in the fourth quarter and OT.

Let’s take a closer look at tonight’s matchup and take into consideration lineups, injuries, and other factors affecting the line and total.

We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch tipoff, odds courtesy of DraftKings recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.

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Game Details and How to Watch Live: Cavaliers vs. Knicks

• Date: Thursday, May 21, 2026
• Time: 8:10 PM EST
• Site: Madison Square Garden
• City: New York, NY
• Network/Streaming: ESPN

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Game Odds: Cavaliers vs. Knicks

The latest odds as of Wednesday courtesy of DraftKings:

• Moneyline: New York Knicks (-225), Cleveland Cavaliers (+185)
• Spread: Knicks -6.5
• Total: 215.5 points

This game opened Knicks -6.5 with the Total set at 216.5.

Be sure to check out DraftKings for all the latest game odds & player props for every matchup this week on the NBA schedule!

Expected Starting Lineups: Cavaliers vs. KnicksCleveland Cavaliers

• PG James Harden
• SG Donovan Mitchell
• SF Dean Wade
• PF Evan Mobley
• C Jarrett Allen

New York Knicks

• PG Jalen Brunson
• SG Josh Hart
• SF Mikal Bridges
• PF OG Anunoby
• C Karl-Anthony Towns

Injury Report: Knicks vs. CavaliersCleveland Cavaliers

• None

New York Knicks

• None

Important stats, trends and insights: Cavaliers vs. Knicks

• New York is 52-42 ATS and an NBA-best 31-15 ATS as a home favorite
• New York is 50-44 to the Under and 24-22 at home
• New York is 24-22 to the Under at home and 16-16 to the Over as a home favorite
• Cleveland has the second worst ATS record at 39-57
• Cleveland is 10-8 ATS as a road underdog and 8-10 on the ML
• Cleveland is 28-21 to the Over on the road
• Cleveland is 48-49 to the Under on the season

Rotoworld Best Bet

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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NBA calendar based on data points like recent performance, head-to-head player matchups, trends information and projected game totals.

Once the model is finished running, we put its projections next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.

Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Thursday’s Cavaliers and Knicks’ game:

• Moneyline: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Knicks’ Moneyline
• Spread: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Knicks -6.5 ATS
• Total: Rotoworld Bet is leaning towards a play on the Game Total UNDER 215.5

Want even more NBA best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert NBA Predictions page from NBC Sports for money line, spread and over/under picks for every game on today’s calendar!

If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our NBA Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!

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