Will the Knicks beat the visiting Cleveland Cavs again on Thurs after their overtime victory in Game 1?
85% of users predicted YES — the community got this one right. 34 predictions cast.
The New York Knicks defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 109-93 in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Thursday, May 22, 2026, at Madison Square Garden, extending their series lead to 2-0. The game was competitive early, but New York broke it open with an 18-0 run in the third quarter during which Cleveland went scoreless on nine consecutive possessions. Josh Hart led all scorers with a career playoff-high 26 points.
The win was the Knicks' ninth consecutive playoff victory, capping a postseason run that included earlier sweeps and now two dominant performances against the top-seeded Cavaliers. Cleveland, which had entered the series as Eastern Conference favorites after posting the NBA's best regular-season record, struggled to generate consistent offense against New York's suffocating half-court defense.
The Cavaliers attempted to adjust their offensive rotations but could not replicate the scoring bursts that carried them through the first two rounds. New York's balanced attack — Hart's scoring coupled with strong contributions throughout the lineup — proved difficult to match. The series now shifts to Cleveland for Games 3 and 4. The 85 percent of predictors who forecast a Knicks win were validated.