The game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks will take place at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on April 15 at 6:00 PM ET.
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The Cleveland Cavaliers will welcome the New York Knicks to the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse for an NBA game on Saturday. The Cleveland Cavaliers lost 95-106 in their last game over the Hornets. All-Star Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland were not in uniform for the fourth-seeded Cavaliers, who will have home-court advantage in their first-round series with the New York Knicks. Sam Merrill scored 17 points and Danny Green and Raul Neto each had 13.
Cleveland blew an 11-point lead to complete the regular season 51-31, qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since reaching the 2018 NBA Finals. It had the sixth-best home record in the league at 31-10. “I’m confident and believe when we’re at our best, we’re a tough out for anybody,” Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “But it’s going to be a test for us because a lot of our guys are going into their first playoffs.”
Evan Mobley had six points and five rebounds, and Jarrett Allen had four points and six boards for the Cavaliers. They played 12 minutes apiece, none after the first quarter. “The NBA season is physically exhausting, so it’s good to take some time to be mentally refreshed,” Bickerstaff said. “We were able to see what some of our other guys can do to support the guys that are going to play heavy minutes in the playoffs.”
The New York Knicks on the other hand lost 105-134 against the 76ers in their last game. With neither team having anything of significance to play for, the current iteration of the Knicks and Pacers authored a performance that was in no way reminiscent of their 1990s predecessors’ battles. Entering the fourth quarter, New York led 107-100. Indiana then went on a 13-5 run over the first three minutes to take a 113-112 lead. Following a timeout, the Pacers extended the advantage to 117-112.
New York closed to within two on Toppin’s step-back 3, but Indiana ended the game by out-scoring the Knicks 24-21. The spurt was highlighted by Mathurin’s breakaway dunk. “Definitely haven’t guarded the way we wanted to,” Quickly said. “But we feel like that’s what we hang our hat on. We have to get back to that. Especially with the matchup coming; that has to be our main focus.”
One of the themes for Tom Thibodeau in the 2022-23 season has been incremental improvement, which is what he has seen from his team. “When you look at where we ended up or where we are right now, it’s been a quantum leap but sometimes you don’t recognize that as you go through it,” Thibodeau said. “We’re a well-balanced team.”
Cleveland Cavaliers: Dean Wade, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, Ricky Rubio, Cedi Osman
New York Knicks: RJ Barrett, Obi Toppin, Mitchell Robinson, Immanuel Quickley, Quentin Grimes
Cleveland Cavaliers: Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Isaac Okoro, Caris LeVert, Dylan Windler
New York Knicks: Duane Washington Jr., Julius Randle, Isaiah Roby
The game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks will take place at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on Saturday, April 15 at 6:00 PM ET.
The match between the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks will be telecast live on Bally Sports Ohio, Fox Sports Ohio, ESPN.
| Country | Channel | Date and Time |
| United States | Bally Sports Ohio, Fox Sports Ohio, ESPN. | April 15 (6:00 PM ET) |
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