{"id":118357,"date":"2026-05-21T19:38:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T18:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/?p=118357"},"modified":"2026-05-21T19:42:47","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T18:42:47","slug":"nba-picks-knicks-betting-favourites-to-take-hold-of-series-versus-cavs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/basketball\/nba\/nba-picks-knicks-betting-favourites-to-take-hold-of-series-versus-cavs\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA Picks: Knicks Betting Favourites To Take Hold of Series Versus Cavs"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":117460,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[769],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-118357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"acf":{"brief_description":"Can Jalen Brunson come anywhere close to his epic 38-point performance in Game 1, leading the Knicks to an overtime win?","auto_update_sportal365":true,"property_type":["","run_ads","","","",""],"main_image":117461,"main_image_description":"Thursday NBA betting picks from Betway","authors":false,"custom_author":"Mark Keast","type":"news","properties":{"ads_enabled":true,"adult_content":false,"important":false,"live":false},"live_url":"","type_of_redirect":"permanent","body":[{"acf_fc_layout":"editor_block","content":"<p>Jalen Brunson was the story in Game 1 of the NBA Conference Finals series between the New York Knicks and the Cleveland Cavaliers Tuesday night, with the Knicks winning in overtime 115-104.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\">Brunson had 38 points, while Donovan Mitchell countered with 29 points for the Cavs. Brunson is averaging 28.4 points over the last ten games. Mitchell is averaging 27.9 points, and 4.5 rebounds, for Cleveland.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\">Going into Game 2 tonight, that\u2019s the story: Can the Cavaliers find a way to contain Brunson, after their terrible collapse in Game 1, up 93-71 with 7:52 to play in regulation time, with the Knicks forcing OT.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\">Over the past 10 games, the Knicks are 8-2, averaging 120.6 points, 44.9 rebounds, 26.0 assists, 8.8 steals and 4.2 blocks per game while shooting 51.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 101.2 points per game.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\">Over that same period, the Cavaliers are 5-5, averaging 109.0 points, 42.7 rebounds, 22.8 assists, 8.0 steals and 5.7 blocks per game while shooting 45.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 108.1 points.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\">No injuries to report for either side.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\"><strong>Cleveland Cavaliers (52-30, 26-16 away) at New York Knicks (53-29, 30-10 home), 8 p.m. EST, Madison Square <\/strong><span class=\"pen\" style=\"color: rgb(21, 21, 22);\"><strong>Garden, New York<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\"><span class=\"pen\" style=\"color: rgb(21, 21, 22);\"><strong>Best-of-7 series, Knicks lead 1-0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\"><span class=\"pen\" style=\"color: rgb(21, 21, 22);\"><strong>In <\/strong><\/span><a target=\"_self\" class=\"editor-link\" href=\"https:\/\/betway.com\/g\/en\/sports\/grp\/basketball\/usa\/nba\"><span class=\"pen\" style=\"color: rgb(21, 21, 22);\"><strong>NBA betting<\/strong><\/span><\/a><span class=\"pen\" style=\"color: rgb(21, 21, 22);\"><strong>, at Betway, the New York Knicks are -200 on the Moneyline, the Cleveland Cavaliers +175. The Knicks are -5.5 on the Spread (-110), the Cavaliers +5.5 (-110). The Over\/Under is 215.5 (O -105, U -115).<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\"><span class=\"pen\" style=\"color: rgb(21, 21, 22);\"><strong>Cavaliers ATS +5.5 (-110)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\"><span class=\"pen\" style=\"color: rgb(21, 21, 22);\">This is a better option if you bet more on the conservative side, which I do.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\"><span class=\"pen\" style=\"color: rgb(21, 21, 22);\">I am favouring the Knicks to win, with eight-straight playoff games under their belt now, and the edge that comes with the Madison Square Garden crowd.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\"><span class=\"pen\" style=\"color: rgb(21, 21, 22);\">But not at that Moneyline number, which makes Cleveland against the spread the stronger move.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\"><span class=\"pen\" style=\"color: rgb(21, 21, 22);\">I think they make it closer tonight than Game 1 of the series seemed to suggest.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\"><span class=\"pen\" style=\"color: rgb(21, 21, 22);\"><strong>Over 215.5 (-105)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\"><span class=\"pen\" style=\"color: rgb(21, 21, 22);\">The Under would have cashed in Game 1 if the Knicks hadn\u2019t forced overtime with their last-minute comeback.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\"><span class=\"pen\" style=\"color: rgb(21, 21, 22);\">However, even with Cleveland\u2019s late-game collapse the two teams still combined for 219 points.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\"><span class=\"pen\" style=\"color: rgb(21, 21, 22);\">Two high-flying offences, pace higher than expected, with both teams\u2019 generating quality perimeter looks, all point to tonight\u2019s game hitting the Over.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\"><span class=\"pen\" style=\"color: rgb(21, 21, 22);\"><strong>Jalen Brunson To Get 25+ Points (-200)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\"><span class=\"pen\" style=\"color: rgb(21, 21, 22);\">Brunson dominated Game 1, dropping 38, and will get a ton of looks tonight. It\u2019s early, but, all respect to Mitchell, it\u2019s looking like Brunson will play out as the dominant player in the series right now.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\"><span class=\"pen\" style=\"color: rgb(21, 21, 22);\">That Points and Assists Over 33.5 prop for Brunson (-130) also has some appeal, watching him go nuclear in Game 1. Brunson finished with six assists to go with his 38 points in Game 1.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\"><span class=\"pen\" style=\"color: rgb(21, 21, 22);\"><strong>Jarrett Allen Points and Rebounds Over 19.5 (-120)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\"><span class=\"pen\" style=\"color: rgb(21, 21, 22);\">The Cavaliers are going to lean on him inside with Evan Mobley to counter Karl-Anthony Towns and control the glass, after they got out-rebounded in Game 1.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\"><span class=\"pen\" style=\"color: rgb(21, 21, 22);\">Allen has been a reliable double-double threat, especially on the road.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: start;\"><span class=\"pen\" style=\"color: rgb(21, 21, 22);\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n"}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118357"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118357\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":118359,"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118357\/revisions\/118359"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.betway.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}