Venue & Tipoff
Arena: Madison Square Garden, 4 Pennsylvania Plaza, New York, NY 10001
Tipoff: 7:00 p.m. ET
Broadcast: ESPN, MSG Network
Injury Report
Cavaliers:
Darius Garland (toe) – Out
De’Andre Hunter (knee) – Questionable
Sam Merrill (undisclosed) – Questionable
Knicks:
Karl-Anthony Towns (quadriceps) – Questionable
O.G. Anunoby (ankle) – Questionable
Josh Hart (back) – Out
Mitchell Robinson (ankle management) – Out
Player Matchups
Backcourt Battle: Jalen Brunson vs. Donovan Mitchell – two elite scoring guards who dictate tempo.
Frontcourt Clash: Karl-Anthony Towns (if active) vs. Evan Mobley – stretch big vs. defensive anchor.
Wings: Mikal Bridges & OG Anunoby vs. Isaac Okoro & De’Andre Hunter – perimeter defense and spacing will be decisive.
Team Records & Recent Form
Cavaliers (2024–25): 64–18, 41–11 in East play. Averaged 121.9 PPG (NBA-best).
Knicks (2024–25): 51–31, 34–18 in East play. Averaged 115.8 PPG, strong home record (27–14).
Recent Meetings (2024–25): Cleveland dominated, winning 3 of 4, including a 142–105 blowout in February.
Series History
Last 5 matchups: Cavaliers 4–1.
Knicks’ last win: March 2024 (107–98).
MSG has been a tough venue historically, but Cleveland’s offense has traveled well.
Betting Trends:
Knicks 40–41–1 ATS last season; 56% of home games went Over.
Cavaliers 47–33–2 ATS; 50 of 82 games went Over.
Combined scoring last season: 237.7 PPG, well above this total.
Game Odds
Cleveland Cavaliers – 1.5
New York Knicks 227.5
Odds Courtesy of Sports Odds Direct as of Tuesday, October 21, 2025
