Cavs Insider

How the Cleveland Cavaliers Secured Revenge Against New York Knicks

The Cleveland Cavaliers welcomed the New York Knicks tonight to Rocket Arena. Both teams came into tonight winners of seven games in the month of February.
Feb 24, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) reacts after a missed shot during the second half against the New York Knicks at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Feb 24, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) reacts after a missed shot during the second half against the New York Knicks at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

With the New York Knicks invading Rocket Arena on Tuesday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers would look to rebound from their lone loss in February, coming on Sunday to the Oklahoma Thunder (133-121). Like the Cavs, the Knicks have seen success in February winners seven out of 10 games.     

The Cavaliers came out on fire tonight trailing only once which was at the 11:04 mark of the first. After that the Cavs didn’t look back with their largest lead being 9 (35-26) which was at the end of the quarter. Dean Wade ended the quarter with a three-pointer at the buzzer, which came off an assist from Donovan Mitchell.

Mitchell finished the quarter with three assists and nine points, which included a thundering one-handed cutting dunk at the  2:53 mark off a beautiful pass assist from Dennis Schroder.

The Knicks kept it close throughout the first with the majority of their points coming off quick transitions when the Cavs were unable to track back defensively. Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson both netted six points to lead the Knicks.

In the second the Cavs continued where they finished off in the first with a three-pointer by Wade coming off an assist from Jaylon Tyson at the 11:24 mark, giving Cleveland a 38-26 lead, which gave them their largest lead of the first half.

Karl-Anthony Towns would put his mark on the game scoring the games next 5 points cutting the Cavs lead to 38-31 at 8:59 of the second.  The Knicks would close the gap to within 1 when Towns pulled up from behind the arc to hit his first three-pointer of the evening.   

Cleveland would end the second quarter on an 8-4 run to pull their led 60-54 at the half. Mitchell led all scorers with 15 points and 4 assists while Jarrett Allen chipped in 12 points.  Brunson would lead the Knicks in the first half with 13 points. The Cavs controlled the boards with a 20-19 advantage .  

Second Half Mirrors the First Half

The third quarter saw the Cavaliers come out with even more determination increasing their lead to 11 (64-55) just 44 seconds into the second half. James Harden started the scoring with a step back two-point followed by Mitchell connecting on 2 of 3 free throws. A

t the 10:48 mark, Allen would grab the offensive rebound and follow it with a put back to push the Cavs lead to 66-55. At the 2:38 mark, Schroder showed why the Cavs traded for him, he and Jose Alvarado hustled for a lose ball, Schroder toss the ball off Alvarado to give the Cavs the ball. The third quarter saw the Cavaliers have leads of 9, 11, 13, 16 and 18. T

onight, was a season low for the Knicks as they only tailed 11 points in the third. The Knicks would They trailed the Cavaliers 83-65 at the conclusion of the third. For the third consecutive quarter, the Cavaliers began the scoring as Evan Mobley connected on 1-of-2 free throws to begin the fourth.  The fourth quarter saw the Knicks continue to struggle from the field and the Cavaliers put the nail in the coffin. The Cavs saw their largest lead of 20  (98-78) at the 5:48 mark. 

The Cavaliers would go on to defeat the Knicks 109-94.

Allen would finish the evening with his 17th double-double (19 points/10 rebounds) of season and 8th in the last 9 games. All five Cavs starters were in double figures with Mitchell leading all scorers with 23 points. Harden chipped in 20 points and 4 assists. The Cavs are hitting their stride at the right time. 

They will travel tomorrow to face the Milwaukee Bucks before heading to Detroit to face the Pistons.

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Michael Cracas
MICHAEL CRACAS

Michael Cracas is no stranger to the local sports scene as he broke in as the Director of Public/Media Relations for the Cleveland Crunch in the early 2000s. A graduate from Defiance College, Michael was the sports editor for the campus paper and worked in the Sports Information Office.