Who will come away victorious in a heavyweight bout between the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks, and their elite defenses? Check out our Cavaliers vs. Knicks prediction based on the best NBA odds.
After a narrow loss to the Knicks in Game 1, the Cavaliers stormed back to take Game 2 in a blowout victory. Cleveland was able to limit Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle, and the Knicks shot just 36.7% in the second affair.
The Cavs won the rebounding battle in that victory, and Darius Garland (32 points) and Caris LeVert (24 points) shouldered the load on offense as Donovan Mitchell scored only 17.
The Knicks are short favorites at home, but can Cleveland steal a win on the road?
Here is our best Cavaliers vs. Knicks prediction (odds via DraftKings; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
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Cavaliers vs. Knicks prediction
This is anyone's game, and though New York has home-court advantage, it wouldn't be shocking if Cleveland pulled off the upset on the road.
The total has gone down from 216 in Game 1 to 214 in Game 2 and all the way down to 211 in Game 3. That's a dangerously low mark, but neither of the first two games in the series has hit even 200 combined points. It's tempting to bet the Over based on that downward line movement, but we can get juicy plus-money odds on a Donovan Mitchell player prop instead.
Mitchell finished with just 17 points in Game 2 after erupting for 38 in Game 1, but he's not prone to low-scoring efforts. He averaged a career-high 28.3 points and 3.6 triples this season and failed to reach the 20-point threshold only 16 times.
In six total meetings with the Knicks (regular season and playoffs), Mitchell has averaged 30.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 8.5 assists. He handed out at least five dimes in every game, hit at least four triples in four of them, and scored at least 25 points three times.
On the season, Mitchell scored at least 27 points in 38 of 68 games, finished with five assists in 33 games, and hit at least four triples in 31 contests. We can expect him to bounce back in the scoring department in a crucial Game 3 to help guide his team to a victory on the road.
Mitchell's individual props for this game are set at 29.5 for points, 5.5 for assists, and 3.5 for triples, so betting this one as a same-game parlay increases our payout and lowers two of those totals.
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Cavaliers vs. Knicks best odds
| DraftKings | FanDuel | BetMGM | Caesars | PointsBet |
| Mitchell SGP | Mitchell SGP | Mitchell SGP | Mitchell SGP | Mitchell SGP |
| +170 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Each of our best sports betting apps offers same-game parlay capabilities, but only DraftKings allows us to pick assist and rebound totals that aren't in increments of two.
All of our other best sports betting sites require us to pick assist totals of four-plus or six-plus, which is why we're using DraftKings.
Also, not all of our best sportsbooks allow us to go as low as 26.5 points on Mitchell's scoring prop, so we've curated this parlay to give the best combination of potential payout and probability.
Cavaliers vs. Knicks odds
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Cavaliers vs. Knicks odds analysis
The Knicks opened as short home favorites, and the 1.5-point spread hasn't changed. Bettors strongly favor the Knicks to cover, as 64% of wagers have been placed on that outcome. New York has won and covered in four of six matchups against Cleveland this season, including a 1-1 mark in the playoffs. The Knicks are 12-15-2 against the spread as home favorites and 17-12 straight-up in that situation. The Cavs have covered in just 6 of 16 games as the road 'dogs and two of their last seven overall.
The first two games of this series totaled 198 and 197 points, respectively, so it's no surprise bettors have wagered 52% of bets on the Under. The total opened at 213.5, but it's come down to as low as 211 at some books.
New York has hit the Over in 20 of 29 games as a home favorite this season, and the team has gone Over in four of its last five at home overall. Cleveland hit the Over in eight of 16 games as the road dog this season.
It's worth noting that the Knicks allow marginally more points at home than they do on the road, and the Cavs allow over four more points per game on the road than at home.
Cavaliers vs. Knicks game info
Date: Friday, April 21, 8:30 p.m. ET
TV: ABC
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Cavaliers-Knicks pick made 04/21/2023 at 11:25 a.m. ET.
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