The New York Knicks (30-43) welcome the Cleveland Cavaliers (51-21), the Eastern Conference’s best team, to Madison Square Garden. The game gets underway at 7:30 pm ET on Saturday, Mar. 26 and will air on FxO and MSG.
The Knicks beat the Bulls 106-94 on Thursday. Carmelo Anthony led all scorers on the team with 26 points on 9-for-17 shooting. The Cavaliers, meanwhile, are coming off a 104-95 loss at the hands of the Nets on Thursday. LeBron James had a game-high 30 points.
The Cavaliers have won all three matchups against the Knicks this season, including a 91-84 victory in their last matchup. Kristaps Porzingis had a double-double in the loss with 23 points and 13 rebounds.
The Knicks have gone 30-43 Straight Up (SU) and 39-33-1 Against The Spread (ATS). They have a record of 30-43 SU and 39-33-1 ATS versus the Eastern Conference. The Knicks have seen an uptick in scoring as of late, averaging 108.0 points during the last 10 games compared to their season average of 98.8 points per game. New York has been steady from the free throw line, shooting a league-high .809. Not making mistakes with the ball is a staple of New York’s offense, which averages just 12.6 turnovers per game.
On the other side, Cleveland has a SU record of 51-21 and an ATS record of 31-39-2. Against the Eastern Conference, Cleveland is 51-21 SU and 31-39-2 ATS. The Cavaliers allow just 97.9 points per game, ranking them third in the league.
Cleveland beat New York in their most recent meeting this season, bringing its SU record in the past 10 games to 7-3. The Knicks hold the advantage ATS with a record of 7-3.
Predictions: SU Winner – Cle
Notes
On average, Cleveland puts up 103.9 points per game (ranked ninth). New York ranks 11th in points allowed per game with 101.4.
Cleveland puts up an average of 101.3 points per away game (ranked 14th). New York ranks 15th in points allowed per home game with 100.5.
When allowing fewer than 100 points, the Cavaliers are 28-9 on the season. When the Knicks score fewer than 100, they are an underachieving 6-35.
When the Cavaliers give up at least 100 points to their opponent, they are 23-12. When the Knicks hit the century mark, they also have a winning record (24-8).
The Knicks have a defensive rating of 105.5 (ranked 19th), while the Cavaliers rank fourth for their offensive rating of 108.8.
Cleveland has an average field goal percentage of 46.1% (ranked 10th). New York is a subpar 3-18 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The New York Knicks average 21.0 three point attempts per game and have a losing 6-10 record when attempting at least 25 in a game. The Cleveland Cavaliers average 29.0 attempts and have a solid 36-17 record when attempting 25 or more.
New York has an assist to turnover ratio of 1.62 this season (ranked 14th). Cleveland ranks higher with an A/TO of 1.76 (ranked seventh).
The New York Knicks rebound 44.2 times per game and are ranked 12th. Ranked ninth, the Cleveland Cavaliers rebound 44.4 times per game.
New York is ranked ninth in defensive rebounds, while Cleveland ranks 10th in offensive rebounds.
On average, the Knicks force a turnover rate of 11.2%. When the Cavaliers turn over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a solid 33-15 record.
