Cavaliers vs Knicks, Game 1: Knicks win 115-104, Knicks lead series 1-0

Updated
NBA Playoffs · Eastern conference finals
Cleveland CavaliersCavaliers
Playoffs 8-7 · Away
104–115
Final/OT
Tuesday, May 19, 2026
New York KnicksKnicks
Playoffs 9-2 · Home

2026 East Conference Finals · Knicks lead 1-0

  1. G1NYK 115-104
  2. G2NYK 109-93
  3. G3NYK 121-108
  4. G4NYK 130-93

Cavaliers vs Knicks Game 1 final: the New York Knicks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 115-104 in overtime on May 19, 2026 at Madison Square Garden. Knicks lead 1-0 after Game 1.

Cavaliers vs Knicks Game Info

Date
Tuesday, May 19, 2026
Tip-off
8:00 PM ET / 5:00 PM PT
TV / Stream
Local: DAZN (Cavaliers), MSG Network (Knicks)
Arena
Madison Square Garden, New York City
Season
2025-26 NBA Season

Score by Quarter

TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4OTT
Cavaliers163235183104
Knicks2323233214115

Cavaliers vs Knicks Recap

The Knicks lead the series 1-0.

Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 38 points and 6 assists. Donovan Mitchell led the Cavaliers with 29 points.

The Knicks did the damage in the 4th quarter, winning that period by 14.

Top Performers

Cavaliers

Team Stats

CavaliersStatKnicks
36-90Field Goals42-88
40.0%FG %47.7%
16-503-Pointers10-32
32.0%3P %31.3%
16-23Free Throws21-32
69.6%FT %65.6%
38Rebounds47
11Off. Rebounds9
23Assists20
11Steals10
6Blocks2
19Turnovers17
29Fouls26
22Biggest Lead11

Four Factors

TeamEffective FG%Turnover %Off. rebound %FT rate (FTM/FGA)
Cavaliers48.9%16.0%22.4%0.178
Knicks53.4%14.3%25.0%0.239

Dean Oliver's four factors decide most games: shooting, turnovers, offensive rebounding and free throws. Better side highlighted.

Cavaliers vs Knicks Box Score

Cleveland Cavaliers
PlayerMINPTSREBASTSTLBLKTOFG3PTFT+/-
Donovan Mitchell G40295361412-234-111-1-13
James Harden G4215431165-161-84-6-6
Dean Wade FC2910530003-53-51-1+1
Jarrett Allen C3510731113-60-04-8-10
Evan Mobley F40151430336-162-81-2-6
Bench
Dennis Schröder G183051001-91-40-0+1
Max Strus GF258211032-62-62-2-11
Keon Ellis G52000020-00-02-2+6
Sam Merrill G2812121004-93-81-1-17
New York Knicks
PlayerMINPTSREBASTSTLBLKTOFG3PTFT+/-
Jalen Brunson G46385630315-291-67-10+15
Josh Hart G3013741025-111-52-2-23
Karl-Anthony Towns F40131351176-141-50-0+13
Mikal Bridges F4218512037-112-42-2+12
OG Anunoby F3413521012-91-68-10+15
Bench
Landry Shamet G179100003-43-30-0+25
Miles McBride G160210000-10-10-0+5
Mitchell Robinson CF144612001-30-02-8-8
Jose Alvarado G64100002-30-10-0-1
Jordan Clarkson G163200111-31-10-0+2

Game Flow

Knicks leadCavaliers lead
Q1Q2Q3Q4OT1
Lead changes
5
Times tied
3
Knicks largest lead
11
Cavaliers largest lead
22
Play-by-Play

Scoring plays, newest first. Score shown Cavaliers-Knicks.

1st Quarter 20 scoring plays
  • 0:34KnicksJordan Clarkson +316-23
  • 0:48CavaliersSam Merrill +116-20
  • 0:48CavaliersSam Merrill +215-20
  • 2:44KnicksMitchell Robinson +213-20
  • 3:11KnicksJalen Brunson +213-18
  • 3:33KnicksMikal Bridges +213-16
  • 3:46KnicksJalen Brunson +213-14
  • 4:18KnicksMikal Bridges +213-12
  • 4:33KnicksJalen Brunson +113-10
  • 4:33KnicksJalen Brunson +113-9
  • 4:53CavaliersDennis Schröder +313-8
  • 5:38KnicksJosh Hart +210-8
  • 6:01KnicksJalen Brunson +210-6
  • 8:08CavaliersDonovan Mitchell +210-4
  • 8:22KnicksJalen Brunson +28-4
  • 8:44CavaliersDonovan Mitchell +28-2
  • 9:24CavaliersDonovan Mitchell +36-2
  • 10:01KnicksMikal Bridges +23-2
  • 10:41CavaliersEvan Mobley +13-0
  • 11:10CavaliersJames Harden +22-0
2nd Quarter 28 scoring plays
  • 0:03CavaliersDonovan Mitchell +348-46
  • 0:17KnicksJalen Brunson +245-46
  • 0:32CavaliersJarrett Allen +145-44
  • 1:08CavaliersMax Strus +344-44
  • 1:26KnicksJosh Hart +141-44
  • 1:26KnicksJosh Hart +141-43
  • 2:01CavaliersDonovan Mitchell +141-42
  • 2:01CavaliersDonovan Mitchell +340-42
  • 2:12KnicksMikal Bridges +237-42
  • 3:16KnicksJosh Hart +237-40
  • 3:32CavaliersJarrett Allen +137-38
  • 3:32CavaliersJarrett Allen +136-38
  • 4:26CavaliersJames Harden +335-38
  • 4:50CavaliersSam Merrill +332-38
  • 5:10CavaliersKeon Ellis +129-38
  • 5:10CavaliersKeon Ellis +128-38
  • 5:24KnicksOG Anunoby +327-38
  • 6:12KnicksJalen Brunson +227-35
  • 6:49CavaliersJames Harden +227-33
  • 7:56KnicksJose Alvarado +225-33
  • 8:15CavaliersDean Wade +325-31
  • 8:55KnicksJosh Hart +222-31
  • 9:05CavaliersEvan Mobley +222-29
  • 9:25KnicksJosh Hart +220-29
  • 9:52KnicksKarl-Anthony Towns +220-27
  • 10:06CavaliersEvan Mobley +220-25
  • 10:23KnicksJose Alvarado +218-25
  • 11:17CavaliersDonovan Mitchell +218-23
3rd Quarter 32 scoring plays
  • 0:12KnicksJalen Brunson +183-69
  • 0:57KnicksJalen Brunson +183-68
  • 1:09CavaliersDonovan Mitchell +283-67
  • 1:21KnicksMitchell Robinson +181-67
  • 1:28CavaliersMax Strus +181-66
  • 1:28CavaliersMax Strus +180-66
  • 1:52KnicksJalen Brunson +279-66
  • 2:10CavaliersDonovan Mitchell +279-64
  • 3:02KnicksMitchell Robinson +177-64
  • 3:05CavaliersSam Merrill +377-63
  • 3:18KnicksJalen Brunson +174-63
  • 3:18KnicksJalen Brunson +174-62
  • 3:26CavaliersEvan Mobley +274-61
  • 3:44KnicksMikal Bridges +172-61
  • 3:44KnicksMikal Bridges +172-60
  • 3:55CavaliersJames Harden +272-59
  • 4:34CavaliersJarrett Allen +270-59
  • 4:52KnicksJalen Brunson +168-59
  • 5:03CavaliersJarrett Allen +268-58
  • 5:25KnicksKarl-Anthony Towns +266-58
  • 5:38CavaliersSam Merrill +366-56
  • 5:57KnicksMikal Bridges +263-56
  • 7:08CavaliersEvan Mobley +263-54
  • 7:24CavaliersDonovan Mitchell +261-54
  • 7:43KnicksJosh Hart +359-54
  • 8:05CavaliersDonovan Mitchell +259-51
  • 8:19CavaliersJarrett Allen +157-51
  • 8:59CavaliersDean Wade +356-51
  • 9:07KnicksKarl-Anthony Towns +253-51
  • 9:30CavaliersEvan Mobley +353-49
  • 10:53KnicksKarl-Anthony Towns +350-49
  • 11:25CavaliersDonovan Mitchell +250-46
4th Quarter 24 scoring plays
  • 0:20KnicksJalen Brunson +2101-101
  • 0:32CavaliersJames Harden +2101-99
  • 0:45KnicksLandry Shamet +399-99
  • 1:14KnicksMikal Bridges +399-96
  • 1:51CavaliersJarrett Allen +299-93
  • 2:38KnicksMikal Bridges +397-93
  • 2:54KnicksOG Anunoby +197-90
  • 3:09CavaliersEvan Mobley +397-89
  • 3:30KnicksJalen Brunson +394-89
  • 4:03KnicksJalen Brunson +294-86
  • 4:47KnicksJalen Brunson +294-84
  • 5:24KnicksJalen Brunson +294-82
  • 5:36CavaliersJames Harden +194-80
  • 5:44KnicksJalen Brunson +293-80
  • 6:25KnicksKarl-Anthony Towns +293-78
  • 6:58KnicksLandry Shamet +393-76
  • 7:39KnicksJalen Brunson +293-73
  • 7:52CavaliersJames Harden +193-71
  • 8:19CavaliersDonovan Mitchell +392-71
  • 8:39CavaliersDean Wade +189-71
  • 8:39CavaliersDean Wade +388-71
  • 9:17KnicksKarl-Anthony Towns +285-71
  • 11:09CavaliersJames Harden +185-69
  • 11:09CavaliersJames Harden +184-69
Overtime 11 scoring plays
  • 0:30KnicksOG Anunoby +1104-115
  • 0:30KnicksOG Anunoby +1104-114
  • 0:40KnicksOG Anunoby +1104-113
  • 0:40KnicksOG Anunoby +1104-112
  • 1:19KnicksOG Anunoby +1104-111
  • 1:45CavaliersMax Strus +3104-110
  • 1:49KnicksLandry Shamet +3101-110
  • 2:56KnicksOG Anunoby +2101-107
  • 4:03KnicksJalen Brunson +2101-105
  • 4:45KnicksOG Anunoby +1101-103
  • 4:45KnicksOG Anunoby +1101-102

Next for the Knicks

NBA Finals: Spurs vs Knicks · Knicks win 4-1

Spurs vs Knicks series ›

Knicks vs Cavaliers: Series So Far

GameDateMatchupResultTop scorer
Game 1May 19Cavaliers @ KnicksKnicks 115-104Jalen Brunson 38
Game 2May 21Cavaliers @ KnicksKnicks 109-93Josh Hart 26
Game 3May 23Knicks @ CavaliersKnicks 121-108Jalen Brunson 30
Game 4May 25Knicks @ CavaliersKnicks 130-93Donovan Mitchell 31

Full series page ›

Series Leaders

Knicks

Cavaliers

Per-game averages in this series, top three scorers per team.

That covers Cavaliers vs Knicks: score, leaders and box score above. Next: Cavaliers host the Nets Oct 24; Knicks host the Spurs Jun 16.

Cavaliers vs Knicks FAQs

Who won Cavaliers vs Knicks Game 1?

The New York Knicks won 115-104 on May 19, 2026. Knicks lead 1-0 after Game 1.

What is the Cavaliers vs Knicks series score?

Knicks lead 1-0 in the 2026 East Conference Finals.

Who was the top scorer in Cavaliers vs Knicks?

Donovan Mitchell scored 29 for the Cavaliers. Jalen Brunson scored 38 for the Knicks.