Knicks Have Beaten Cleveland Five Straight Times; Can the Cavaliers Break the Pattern at MSG?

The central story is how one-sided this series has been. New York has beaten Cleveland in every completed meeting, four times in last May's postseason and again on Saturday, 109-97 in Cleveland. Tonight's game at Madison Square Garden is the immediate rematch, and the question is whether the Cavaliers can change a pattern that has held across two seasons' worth of games.

The scores show how consistent it has been. The Knicks won the two postseason games in New York 115-104 and 109-93, then won in Cleveland 121-108 and 130-93. Cleveland has not scored more than 108 in any of the five games. Home court has not been a factor in either direction, since New York has won in both buildings.

Recent form gives the Knicks a modest edge. They carry three straight wins overall and three straight at home, and they were 5-4 and fifth in the Eastern Conference before their latest game. Cleveland was 5-5 and seventh before Monday, when it lost 124-112 to Charlotte, a Hornets team that had lost six straight. That makes two straight defeats for the Cavaliers, the second against a struggling opponent. Streaks only describe what has already happened, and with roughly ten games played each, this is a small sample.

Cleveland's own streak points to scoring. Its last three road games have all gone over the total, and Charlotte put up 124 on Monday. That matters because New York has scored 109 or more in each of its last five meetings with Cleveland. Both teams have recently produced enough points to keep this game from being a low-scoring grind.

Availability is the main source of uncertainty. Sam Merrill is out for Cleveland with an elbow injury. Jaylon Tyson is listed as out, though a report describes him as questionable with an ankle problem, so his status is unsettled. For New York, Josh Hart is listed out with an illness. The report refers to Tuesday's game against Milwaukee, so whether he is available tonight is worth checking closer to tip-off.

The evidence mostly points toward New York. It has won every recent meeting, plays at home and is on a three-game winning streak. Against that, the Knicks' record is only 5-4, last May's playoff games came in a different context from a November regular-season game, and the absences on both sides could shift the rotations. The head-to-head record is a strong pattern, but it rests on five games.