Knicks Eye Revenge on Christmas Day

The New York Knicks are circling Dec. 25 on their calendar for their annual Christmas Day game at Madison Square Garden against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Knicks and Cavs renewed their rivalry this past season as two of the top contenders in the Eastern Conference. Now, both teams will be on one of the biggest stages in the regular season as the two battle on Christmas.

"The clash between two of the NBA's top five offenses from a season ago should provide the necessary fireworks for a juicy Christmas Day meeting. The teams also match up well, with the individual battles of Jalen Brunson versus Donovan Mitchell and Karl-Anthony Towns versus Evan Mobley taking center stage," CBS Sports contributor Colin Ward-Henninger wrote.

"The Cavs won all four matchups against the Knicks last season, helping to spur the sentiment that New York couldn't beat good teams, so there should be peak intensity for this one. This could easily wind up being the best game of the entire slate, but the fact that it's likely going to start at 9 a.m. Pacific Time has to drop it down the rankings a tick. Get out of here with your East Coast bias."

The Knicks haven't beaten the Cavs since March 2024 and the last time New York picked up a win at home against Cleveland came back in January of 2023. It's been a long time coming for the Knicks, but they will have the advantage of the Christmas crowd on their back for one of their meetings next season.

This year will mark the fifth straight year the Knicks are hosting a game on Christmas Day and the team has found a lot of recent success on Dec. 25.

In 2021, the Knicks were able to upend Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks in a rematch of their first-round playoff series from the previous season. The following year, the Knicks were upset against the division rival Philadelphia 76ers, but they bounced back in 2023 with a victory against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.

Last year, the Knicks won 117-114 against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs. Now, they hope for a similar result against the Cavs.