New York at Cleveland

Cleveland beat Philadelphia 119-95 on Friday and hosts the Knicks tonight on the second straight night. New York has had two days off since its 135-105 win over Chicago on Wednesday. These teams met four times in the Eastern Conference Finals in May, and the combined scores were 219, 202, 229 and 223, an average of 218.3. New York won all four. Cleveland scored 104, 93, 108 and 93, an average of 99.5. In the clincher, the Knicks outscored the Cavaliers 32-5 in second-chance points, and Cleveland turned it over 22 times. The Knicks also held Brooklyn to 90 on Monday, and the Nets managed 11 points in the fourth quarter. Oklahoma City scored 117 and 124 on Cleveland this week, and New York scored 133 and 135 in its two games against Chicago. Cleveland's own last two finals against Oklahoma City, 112 and 116 points, show an offense that does not reach 120 on its own. The Cavaliers' leading three-point shooter, Donovan Mitchell, makes 2.7 a game, 23rd in the NBA. Cleveland also has no answer for the way the Knicks take away its transition and offensive-rebound points. My play is the UNDER against a defense Cleveland could not solve in four tries.