New York Knicks vs Cleveland Cavaliers Prediction: Will the Knicks be able to consolidate their success at home?

New York has achieved the minimum goal in the first two games of the series, beating Cleveland once on the road. Will the Knicks be able to consolidate their success at home to Madison Square Garden? Here are a few bets on the third game of one of the most interesting encounters in the first round of the playoffs.

The Knicks were excellent in their first game, winning 101:97 and regaining immediate home-court advantage. Understandably, the team was less focused in the second game and lost to the overly motivated Cavaliers, 90:107, without a chance of success. New York defended well, though, hitting almost nothing from the field - only 36.7% of their field-goal attempts. But then again, the Knicks made the minimum score in Cleveland in the opening games of the series and now have an excellent chance to advance to the next round.

After losing the first game in game two, the team confirmed the best defensive play of the season, allowing just 90 points. On the offensive side, Cleveland's Donovan Mitchell did an excellent job with 17 points and 13 assists on just two losses. Evan Mobley also had a double-double - 13 points and 13 rebounds with two blocked shots and two steals. Jarrett Allen had three blocked shots and three steals, while Darius Garland scored 32 points. Also, an injury of Isaac Okoro helped the Cavaliers. His replacement, Caris Lavert, finished with 24 points. Cleveland played a very quality game, but whatever the case, the Cavaliers will now have to beat the Knicks in Madison Square Garden to win the series.

New York and Cleveland are expected to have a very low-scoring series. The Cavaliers confirm their status as the season's best defense, and Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau is one of the best defensive specialists of our time. It's unlikely that the series' third game, like the first two, will be productive. All the more so when the score is 1:1, the third game is a crucial game for both teams. The winner gets a severe psychological and strategic advantage. So the opponents will act very carefully on the court and, consequently, will not reach the total offered by the bookmakers. As for the game's outcome, we can consider the options for the victory of the Cavaliers, who have a chance to win here just as much as in New York.