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Cavaliers Added To Exciting Slate Of Christmas Day Games
Oct 28, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) sets the play as New York Knicks guard Miles McBride (2) defends during the second half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images John Jones-Imagn Images

Cavaliers Added To Exciting Slate Of Christmas Day Games

Originally posted on Cleveland Cavaliers on SI
By Tommy Wild  |  Last updated Aug 8, 2025 6:20 PM ET

Being the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference a year ago comes with expectations, but it also comes with some privileges, such as taking the court in some prime time slots throughout the following season.

This is precisely the opportunity the Cleveland Cavaliers are going to receive next season, as ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Friday that the Wine and Gold will be playing on Christmas Day for the first time in seven years.

Cleveland will kick off the exciting slate of games with a matchup against their Eastern Conference rival, the New York Knicks. It will be an away game for the Cavaliers as they take on the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. 

Interestingly enough, Cleveland vs New York is the only Eastern Conference matchup that will take place. 

The other matchups will be the San Antonio Spurs vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Houston Rockets vs. the Los Angeles Lakers, the Dallas Mavericks vs. the Golden State Warriors, and the Minnesota Timberwolves vs the Denver Nuggets.

This slate of Christmas Day games should be full of excitement and great basketball, and the Cavaliers are lucky to be a part of it. 

A Cavs-Knicks showdown for a primetime game of this magnitude is perfect. There are plenty of on-court and off-court storylines that have turned this head-to-head into a compelling rivalry over the last few seasons.

The Knicks upset the Cavaliers in the first round of the 2023 Playoffs. This series was really when Jalen Brunson broke and proved to the league that he was a superstar. 

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Of course, there’s also the Donovan Mitchell narrative. The guard has admitted that he thought the Utah Jazz were going to trade him to the Knicks before the 2022 season, but the Cavaliers swept in just before training camp to land the star. Cleveland ultimately signed Mitchell to a contract extension running through the 2026-27 season with a player option for 2027-28

Last year, the Cavaliers swept the season series, winning all four matchups between the two teams. Some of Cleveland’s best offensive performances came when they were playing the Knicks. The Wine and Gold averaged 121.0 points while shooting 53 percent from the floor and 38 percent from behind the arc as a team. 

Cleveland and New York haven’t met up in the playoffs since then, but both teams are expected to be right at the top of the East next season. They could easily finish as the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds with either city coming out on top, so each of their head-to-head matchups will come with carry extra weight, and that even includes on Christmas Day.

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This article first appeared on Cleveland Cavaliers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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