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Cleveland and the Knicks battled throughout the regular season. New York had the edge in the regular season series, and then they came into Cleveland and ripped home court advantage away from the Cavaliers. We’ll see if they’ll be able to leave Cleveland with a 2-0 series lead.

These two will meet again tonight in Cleveland in an ever-important game for the Cavaliers. The Knicks bench came to play, and New York manhandled the Cavs in Game 1. We’ll see if Cleveland can toughen up, or if the Knicks can continue to physically dominate the Cavs.

We will now preview Tuesday night’s Game 2 of the best-of-seven series, and then we’ll give you our NBA betting predictions for this 4 vs. 5 matchup.

No. 4 Cavaliers vs No.5 Knicks 2023 Eastern Conference Playoffs Round 1 Game 2 | Will the Cavs Step It Up in Game 2?

New York Knicks at Cleveland Cavaliers Game Info

When: Tuesday, April 18 at 7:30 p.m. (ET)
Where: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland, OH
TV: TNT

New York Knicks

Between the return of Julius Randle, the play of Jalen Brunson, and the performance of the New York Knicks bench, it’s easy to see how the Knick won Game 1 by a score of 101-97. Brunson led the way with 27 points, while the returning Randle had 19. Hart came off the bench to score 17 for the Knicks as well.

The Knicks bench outscored Cleveland’s bench by a score of 37-14. The Knicks also outrebounded the Cavs, 51-39, including 17 offensive boards. With Cleveland having a huge front line with Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, the Knicks really had to work to get those offensive boards.

Even though Cleveland has one of the best defenses in the league, their backcourt of Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland is the weak link of their defense. The Knicks will keep looking to Brunson, Hart, and their other guards to exploit the Cavs defensive weaknesses.

Bet Knicks to Win Today
MyBookie Betting Lines for the Game

Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavs gave up a lot of assets to acquire Donovan Mitchell for situations like this. The Cavs guard played well on Friday night, leading Cleveland with 38 points. It looks like he and Brunson will be dueling throughout this series.

If Cleveland wants to win Game 2, they’ll have to play more physically, and they’ll need to get more contributions from Allen, Mobley, and their bench. If the Knicks continue to dominate the glass, the Cavs could be going home sooner than expected.

Cleveland’s interior defense has been top notch all season, and for some reason in Game 1, their bigs didn’t play well on the defensive end of the floor. They’ll need to improve in Game 2. Mobley didn’t play well, and we look for big things from him on Tuesday night.

Bet Cavaliers to Win Today
MyBookie Betting Lines for the Game

Betting Predictions

The oddsmakers have made the Cavaliers 4.5-point favorites in the Game 2 matchup. The Cavs know that they can’t afford to head to New York down 2-0. We expect Mitchell to have another big game. The Knicks bench won’t play as well in this one.

We like the Cavs to win this one and cover the spread. This is a must-win game for them, and they’re going to step it up at home. The bigs will play much better, and the Cavs defense will be improved over Game 1.