Cavaliers vs. Knicks live updates: 2026 NBA playoffs Game 2 start time, picks and predictions

Two games, in the exact same stage of the NBA playoffs, in the exact same arena, featuring the exact same home team. Two eerily similar finishes.

Two opposite outcomes.

In Game 1 of the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals, it was the Indiana Pacers who wiped out a 14-point New York Knicks lead in the final 3:14 of the fourth quarter, eventually winning in overtime. A pivotal moment was a Tyrese Haliburton game-tying 3-pointer that took a very fortunate bounce late in the fourth quarter.

In Game 1 of the 2026 Eastern Conference Finals, it was the Knicks’ turn — Jalen Brunson led the charge to erase a 22-point deficit with 7:22 left, sending the game to overtime where the Knicks pulled away in a 115-104 victory. A pivotal moment was a Landry Shamet game-tying 3-pointer that took a very fortunate bounce late in the fourth quarter.

The question then is, what happens now? The Knicks never truly recovered from that loss last year despite having home-court advantage. The Pacers led the series the rest of the way and won in six games.

Now, the Cavaliers have to somehow recover from this punch to the gut on the road to avoid going back Cleveland down 2-0.