New York Knicks vs Cleveland Cavaliers Prediction, Preview and Odds - 05/23/2026

Game Time: 8:00 pm ET, Saturday, May 23, 2026

Venue:  Rocket Arena, Cleveland, OH

Where to Watch:  ABC

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Knicks +2.5, Cavaliers -2.5; Over/Under:  213.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Knicks +2.5, Cavaliers -2.5; Over/Under:  213.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Knicks +2.5, Cavaliers -2.5; Over/Under:  213.5 points

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

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

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New York Knicks:  9-1 last 10

Cleveland Cavaliers:  5-5 last 10

The Knicks are entering the playoffs with a 53-29 record overall this season and they were 22-19 in their road games where they will be in this game. They are entering this game on a 9 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 twice in a row. Josh Hart led the team in points in that game with 26 while Mikal Bridges and Jalen Brunson each were next on the team with 19 points. Jalen Brunson led the team in assists in that game with 14 while Karl-Anthony Towns led the team in rebounds with 13. They were 51.8% from the field, 36.1% from 3-point range, and 57.1% 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 53-42 this season and their O/U record is 44-51.

The Cavaliers are entering the playoffs with a 52-30 record overall this season and they were 27-14 in their home games where they will be in this game. They are entering this game on a 2 game losing streak with losses coming against the New York Knicks twice in a row. Donovan Mitchell led the team in points in that game with 26 while James Harden was next on the team with 18 points. Dean Wade, Evan Mobley, Dennis Schröder, and Max Strus each led the team in assists in that game with 3 while Jarrett Allen led the team in rebounds with 10. They were 38.8% from the field, 25.7% from 3-point range, and 68.8% 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 40-58 this season and their O/U record is 50-48.

The current betting odds have the Cavaliers listed as a 2.5 point favorite 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 been a good road team too with their 22-19 road record this year. 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 looked great on their home court too with their 27-14 home record this season. This is game 3 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 2-0 series lead after winning game 2 by a score of 109-93. The Knicks have been rolling in their games lately, coming off a sweep of the 76ers in the last round and they have a ton of momentum on their side with 9 wins in a row now. They have been blowing teams out by double digits in a majority of these wins too, but the Cavaliers didn't look terrible in the first 2 games and they had the Knicks in that 1st game too. The Cavaliers were up by over 20 points in game 1 and eventually blew the lead in the 4th quarter, going on to lose in OT, but they showed that they have the talent to go toe-to-toe with the Knicks. They haven't looked nearly as good in their road games in the playoffs either and those were tough games for them since they did play in back-to-back series' that went 7 games. They have looked a lot better at home though and they definitely don't want to go down 3-0 in the series since no NBA team has ever come back to win down 3-0 in a series, so they are going to throw everything they have at this game and bring their best effort to get one back in the series. The Knicks have been rolling for a while now, but they aren't going to pull off another series sweep here and they have had a lot more trouble in road games this season compared to playing at home. Look for the Cavaliers to step up and get one back in this series at home. The best way to place a bet here is on the Cavaliers to cover the spread in this game. 

Knicks Cavaliers Prediction:  Our NBA Pick for Saturday, May 23, 2026 (8:00 pm ET start time) is Cavaliers 117 Knicks 111.

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New York Knicks: 18-7 ATS after successfully covering the spread in 3 or more consecutive games. 9-3 ATS in all playoff games. 13-6 ATS when playing against a good team (Win Pct. 60% to 70%). 8-3 UNDER as a road underdog of 6 points or less.

Cleveland Cavaliers: 8-16 ATS against Atlantic division opponents. 14-24 ATS versus good 3 point shooting teams - making 36% of their attempts or more. 15-27 ATS versus poor foul drawing teams - attempting 24 free throws/game or less. 4-1 UNDER at home when the line is +3 to -3.

New York Knicks:  None.

Cleveland Cavaliers:  None.

“Just a whale of a game from Josh.” - Mike Brown after his team’s win against the Cavaliers in the 2nd game of this series on Thursday. 

“Nothing to hang our head about. They protected home court, and we’ve seen this before so we’re going to go to Game 3.” - Donovan Mitchell after their loss against the Knicks in game 2 of this series on Thursday. 

PG Jalen Brunson

SG Josh Hart

SF Mikal Bridges

PF OG Anunoby

C Karl-Anthony Towns

PG James Harden

SG Donovan Mitchell

SF Dean Wade

PF Evan Mobley

C Jarrett Allen

PPG: Jalen Brunson (26)

APG: Jalen Brunson (6.8)

Reb/G: Karl-Anthony Towns (11.9)

PPG: Donovan Mitchell (27.9)

APG: James Harden (7.7)

Reb/G: Evan Mobley (9)

Coaches:

New York Knicks: Mike Brown (1st season)

Cleveland Cavaliers: Kenny Atkinson (2nd season)