NBA · Regular season, NBA Cup game

New York Knicks vs Cleveland Cavaliers: Preview and Stats

Thursday 26 November 2026, 00:30 UTC Madison Square Garden, New York

Our picks

Our picks for New York Knicks vs Cleveland Cavaliers come out after the official NBA injury report, at most 48 hours before tip-off, and at the latest Wednesday 25 November 2026, 21:30 UTC (3 hours before tip-off).

We are waiting for the result of a team's previous game.

Our NBA model track record for this matchup

Our winner picks on these teams

New York Knicks 8 of 11 right (73%)
Cleveland Cavaliers 7 of 12 right (58%)

Settled NBA winner picks since 20 Oct 2026.

Game details

Stage: NBA, Regular season, NBA Cup game
Tip-off: Thursday 26 November 2026, 00:30 UTC
Arena: Madison Square Garden
City: New York
Since last match: New York Knicks: Indiana Pacers Cleveland Cavaliers: Chicago Bulls

Missing production & availability impact

Share of last 10 games' offensive creation (PTS + AST) and minutes sidelined.

New York Knicks

Official NBA injury report not yet filed for this matchup.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Official NBA injury report not yet filed for this matchup.

Official NBA injury report

New York Knicks

Official NBA injury report not yet filed for this matchup.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Official NBA injury report not yet filed for this matchup.

Expected 8-man core rotation

Projected starters and key bench from recent usage and the official injury report.

New York Knicks

Projected Starters

G Jalen Brunson

33.3 MPG 26.5 PPG 2.9 RPG 5.4 APG
G-F OG Anunoby

32.9 MPG 17.1 PPG 5.4 RPG 2.6 APG
F-C Karl-Anthony Towns

32.1 MPG 21.1 PPG 13.7 RPG 3.8 APG
G Josh Hart

31.1 MPG 7.4 PPG 6.9 RPG 3.9 APG
G Landry Shamet

26.0 MPG 10.1 PPG 1.6 RPG 1.9 APG

Key Bench

G-F Mikal Bridges

23.5 MPG 6.1 PPG 3.2 RPG 2.2 APG
G Miles McBride

19.4 MPG 8.4 PPG 1.6 RPG 1.2 APG
C Andre Drummond

12.4 MPG 3.5 PPG 7.5 RPG 1.1 APG

Cleveland Cavaliers

Projected Starters

G James Harden

32.5 MPG 17.2 PPG 4.4 RPG 5.5 APG
G Donovan Mitchell

32.4 MPG 22.0 PPG 4.5 RPG 5.9 APG
C Evan Mobley

31.6 MPG 16.5 PPG 7.0 RPG 3.7 APG
G Peyton Watson

27.1 MPG 11.4 PPG 5.2 RPG 2.8 APG
C Jarrett Allen

24.6 MPG 11.8 PPG 8.5 RPG 1.8 APG

Key Bench

G Meleek Thomas

22.9 MPG 13.1 PPG 2.8 RPG 1.2 APG
G Sam Merrill

23.3 MPG 8.1 PPG 3.4 RPG 1.7 APG
G-F Mario Hezonja

18.9 MPG 7.5 PPG 5.7 RPG 1.5 APG

OptimaGoal power & pace ratings

Full NBA power ratings

Neutral-court net point rating and 48-minute tempo rank across all 30 NBA franchises.

New York Knicks

#7 of 30

Net rating +4.6 30d: -2.7

Pace: -4.6 (#30 of 30)

Cleveland Cavaliers

#11 of 30

Net rating +1.5 30d: -3.0

Pace: -1.5 (#15 of 30)

OptimaGoal tactical & efficiency profile (0–100)

Original 0–100 indices built from each team's last 10 played games before tip-off.

New York Knicks

Net 73

Shot quality (TS%) 43

3PT volume & accuracy 62

Ball security & passing 44

Rebounding control 74

Defensive disruption 57

ORtg 114.4 · DRtg 106.1 · Net +8.3 · TS 56.8%

Cleveland Cavaliers

Net 58

Shot quality (TS%) 53

3PT volume & accuracy 66

Ball security & passing 70

Rebounding control 47

Defensive disruption 55

ORtg 115.3 · DRtg 112.4 · Net +2.9 · TS 58.2%

New York Knicks · Record vs point differential Stronger profile than W-L (bounce candidate) 6W actual vs 7.8W expected (11 GP)

Cleveland Cavaliers · Record vs point differential W-L record aligned with point differential 6W actual vs 6.7W expected (12 GP)

Halftime splits & clutch profile

Game-state outcomes and half-by-half scoring share over the last 15 games.

New York Knicks

Win rate when leading at HT 6/9 (67%)

Comeback wins when trailing at HT 3/6 (50%)

Scoring split (1H vs 2H)

1H: 55.0 (50.6%) 2H: 53.7 (49.4%)

Clutch (≤5 pts / OT): 3-3 10+ pt margins: 5-0

Cleveland Cavaliers

Win rate when leading at HT 4/5 (80%)

Comeback wins when trailing at HT 2/10 (20%)

Scoring split (1H vs 2H)

1H: 55.5 (49.3%) 2H: 57.2 (50.7%)

Clutch (≤5 pts / OT): 2-2 10+ pt margins: 3-5

Pace & total-points trends

Scoring environment and threshold hit counts across the last 10 games.

NYK

CLE

Points scored / game 111.3 116.6

Points allowed / game 103.2 113.7

Average game total 214.5 230.3

Average 1st-half total 106.6 112.3

Possessions / 48 min 97.3 100.1

Games with 220+ pts 3/10 8/10

Games with 230+ pts 2/10 5/10

Games with 240+ pts 2/10 3/10

Scored 115+ pts 3/10 6/10

Schedule density & travel spot

Rest days, multi-game compression and current home/road stretch entering tip-off.

New York Knicks

2 days rest

1 in 4 nights 1 in 6 nights Homestand · Game 3

Cleveland Cavaliers

1 day rest

1 in 4 nights 1 in 6 nights Road trip · Game 3

Primary offensive threats

Available rotation leaders by scoring and shot share over the last 10 games.

New York Knicks

#1 Jalen Brunson G 23.8% pts share

26.5 PPG · 2.9 RPG · 5.4 APG · 2.8 3PM 23.7% FGA
#2 Karl-Anthony Towns F-C 19.0% pts share

21.1 PPG · 13.7 RPG · 3.8 APG · 1.8 3PM 15.9% FGA
#3 OG Anunoby G-F 15.4% pts share

17.1 PPG · 5.4 RPG · 2.6 APG · 2.3 3PM 13.3% FGA

Cleveland Cavaliers

#1 Donovan Mitchell G 18.9% pts share

22.0 PPG · 4.5 RPG · 5.9 APG · 2.8 3PM 17.8% FGA
#2 James Harden G 14.8% pts share

17.2 PPG · 4.4 RPG · 5.5 APG · 2.8 3PM 14.0% FGA
#3 Evan Mobley C 14.2% pts share

16.5 PPG · 7.0 RPG · 3.7 APG · 2.0 3PM 12.4% FGA

Last five games

New York Knicks

L 107-115 vs Cleveland Cavaliers (H) 12 Nov
W 117-85 vs Milwaukee Bucks (H) 11 Nov
W 109-97 at Cleveland Cavaliers (A) 8 Nov
W 135-105 vs Chicago Bulls (H) 5 Nov
W 103-90 vs Brooklyn Nets (H) 3 Nov

Cleveland Cavaliers

W 115-107 at New York Knicks (A) 12 Nov
L 112-124 at Charlotte Hornets (A) 10 Nov
L 97-109 vs New York Knicks (H) 8 Nov
W 119-95 vs Philadelphia 76ers (H) 7 Nov
L 116-124 at Oklahoma City Thunder (A) 5 Nov

Most recent first, all games of the season, overtime included.

Last 10 head-to-head meetings

NYK · 7W CLE · 3W

Avg total pts: 219.4 NYK avg: 113.2 CLE avg: 106.2 225+ pt games: 3/10 NYK at home: 4-2

11 Nov 2026 NYK 107‑115 CLE
7 Nov 2026 CLE 97‑109 NYK
25 May 2026 CLE 93‑130 NYK
23 May 2026 CLE 108‑121 NYK
21 May 2026 NYK 109‑93 CLE
19 May 2026 NYK 115‑104 (OT) CLE
24 Feb 2026 CLE 109‑94 NYK
25 Dec 2025 NYK 126‑124 CLE
22 Oct 2025 NYK 119‑111 CLE
11 Apr 2025 NYK 102‑108 CLE

Season profile comparison

NYK

CLE

Record 6-5 6-6

At home 4-3 4-2

On the road 2-2 2-4

Conference 5 of 15, Eastern Conference 6 of 15, Eastern Conference

Streak – –

Days of rest 2 1

Our team rating #6 of 30 #11 of 30

Pace #30 of 30 #15 of 30

Eastern Conference standings

Full NBA standings

#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	L10	Streak
1	Boston Celtics	10	2	.833	–	5-0	5-2	9-1	W5
2	Philadelphia 76ers	10	3	.769	0.5	5-2	5-1	7-3	W1
3	Detroit Pistons	8	3	.727	1.5	3-2	5-1	7-3	W2
4	Atlanta Hawks	7	5	.583	3.0	3-3	4-2	5-5	L1
5	New York Knicks	6	5	.545	3.5	4-3	2-2	6-4	L1
6	Cleveland Cavaliers	6	6	.500	4.0	4-2	2-4	5-5	W1
7	Miami Heat	5	6	.455	4.5	1-3	4-3	5-5	W2
8	Toronto Raptors	5	7	.417	5.0	2-3	3-4	3-7	L3
9	Orlando Magic	4	7	.364	5.5	0-4	4-3	4-6	W2
10	Charlotte Hornets	4	8	.333	6.0	3-4	1-4	3-7	L1
11	Indiana Pacers	4	8	.333	6.0	1-4	3-4	3-7	W1
12	Washington Wizards	4	9	.308	6.5	2-3	2-6	2-8	L6
13	Brooklyn Nets	3	8	.273	6.5	1-3	2-5	3-7	W1
14	Chicago Bulls	1	9	.100	8.0	0-4	1-5	1-9	L8
15	Milwaukee Bucks	1	11	.083	9.0	1-6	0-5	1-9	L8

Solid cut lines mark Top 6 (direct Play-offs) and Top 10 (Play-in Tournament).

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