Cleveland Cavaliers vs New York Knicks Prediction, Preview and Odds - 05/21/2026

Game Time: 8:00 pm ET, Thursday, May 21, 2026

Venue:  Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Cavaliers +6.5, Knicks -6.5; Over/Under:  215.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Cavaliers +6.5, Knicks -6.5; Over/Under:  215.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Cavaliers +6.5, Knicks -6.5; Over/Under:  215.5 points

Cleveland Cavaliers:  52-30 (2nd place, Central Division)

New York Knicks:  53-29 (2nd place, Atlantic Division)

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Cleveland Cavaliers:  5-5 last 10

New York Knicks:  8-2 last 10

The Cavaliers are entering the playoffs with a 52-30 record overall this season and they were 25-16 in their road games where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a loss against the New York Knicks. Donovan Mitchell led the team in points in that game with 29 while Evan Mobley and James Harden each were next on the team with 15 points. Dennis Schröder led the team in assists in that game with 5 while Evan Mobley led the team in rebounds with 14. They were 40% from the field, 32% from 3-point range, and 69.6% from the free throw line with their shots in that game. Their offense is averaging 119.5 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 115.4 PPG against them. The Cavaliers have an ATS record of 40-57 this season and their O/U record is 50-47.

The Knicks are entering the playoffs with a 53-29 record overall this season and they were 30-10 in their home games where they will be in this game. They are entering this game on an 8 game winning streak with wins coming against the Atlanta Hawks 3 times in a row, the Philadelphia 76ers 4 times in a row, and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Jalen Brunson led the team in points in that game with 38 while Mikal Bridges was next on the team with 18 points. Jalen Brunson led the team in assists in that game with 6 while Karl-Anthony Towns led the team in rebounds with 13. They were 53.8% from the field, 56.8% from 3-point range, and 72.4% from the free throw line with their shots in that game. Their offense is averaging 116.5 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 110.1 PPG against them. The Knicks have an ATS record of 52-42 this season and their O/U record is 44-50.

The current betting odds have the Cavaliers listed as a 6.5 point underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Knicks have looked good in their games this season with their 53-29 record overall which had them right near the top of the East. They have looked great on their home court too with their 30-10 home record this season. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers have looked good in their games this season with their 52-30 record overall which had them in the top half of the East. They have been a good road team too with their 25-16 road record this year. This is game 2 of a 7-game series between the 3rd seeded Knicks and the 4th seeded Cavaliers from the East for the Conference Finals of the NBA playoffs. The Knicks are entering this game with a 1-0 series lead after winning game 1 by a score of 115-104. The Knicks ended the game with a big run to make a comeback which forced OT and eventually led to them winning the game, but they didn't look great for a lot of it. They were back-and-forth with the Cavaliers in the 1st half before the Cavaliers started to pull away in the 3rd, leading by double digits going into the 4th quarter. They completely feel apart though in the 4th quarter and let the Knicks back into the game, but they did show that they can compete with the Knicks in this series and they will be looking to play better and finish the job in this one. The Cavaliers could have been leading this series with 1-0, so they are only going to be more motivated to get that game back and they know they need to win a road game to win this series. They have looked a lot better in their last 3 road games too, beating the Pistons in 2 of those, so look for the Cavaliers to be right in this game again with a chance to win it. The best way to place a bet here is on the Cavaliers to cover the spread in this game. 

Cavaliers Knicks Prediction:  Our NBA Pick for Thursday, May 21, 2026 (8:00 pm ET start time) is Cavaliers 112 Knicks 108.

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Cleveland Cavaliers: 18-30 ATS in road games. 14-23 ATS versus good 3 point shooting teams - making 36% of their attempts or more. 15-26 ATS versus poor foul drawing teams - attempting 24 free throws/game or less. 14-7 OVER revenging a road loss vs opponent.

New York Knicks: 27-14 ATS as a home favorite. 8-3 ATS in all playoff games. 12-6 ATS when playing against a good team (Win Pct. 60% to 70%). 23-17 OVER as a favorite of 3.5 to 9.5 points.

Cleveland Cavaliers:  None.

New York Knicks:  None.

“We played great basketball tonight for three quarters. Unfortunately, the fourth quarter — they dominated us in the fourth quarter.” - Kenny Atkinson after his team’s loss against the Knicks in the 1st game of this series on Tuesday. 

“Just keep fighting. Keep chipping away. We’re not going to get it back in one possession.” - Jalen Brunson after their win against the Cavaliers in game 1 of this series on Tuesday. 

PG James Harden

SG Donovan Mitchell

SF Dean Wade

PF Evan Mobley

C Jarrett Allen

PG Jalen Brunson

SG Josh Hart

SF Mikal Bridges

PF OG Anunoby

C Karl-Anthony Towns

PPG: Donovan Mitchell (27.9)

APG: James Harden (7.7)

Reb/G: Evan Mobley (9)

PPG: Jalen Brunson (26)

APG: Jalen Brunson (6.8)

Reb/G: Karl-Anthony Towns (11.9)

Coaches:

Cleveland Cavaliers: Kenny Atkinson (2nd season)

New York Knicks: Mike Brown (1st season)