Cleveland Cavaliers vs New York Knicks Prediction, Odds and Picks for Thursday, 12/25/25

Christmas Day at Madison Square Garden go together like peanut butter and jelly. The New York Knicks and the holiday spotlight are inseparable — and bettors pay a premium every time. That premium is clearly built into this number. The Cleveland Cavaliers once upon a time were short underdogs and have steadily drifted to a bigger price despite no dramatic shift in on-court matchup quality.

Yes, Cleveland has been a gross disappointment against the spread this season, and that inefficiency weighs heavily on perception. But inefficiency is also what creates opportunity. The Knicks’ ambitions, their NBA Cup win, and living annually in the Christmas Day spotlight has inflated the number next to their name before we go any further. If Cleveland were more profitable overall and more importantly if this game were played on a random January night, Cleveland would not be catching this type of price. The Cavaliers have the tools to compete here and win, not just cover. So we’ll approach it as such. We’ll go in for the kill here and take The Land outright to become Ebenezer Scrooge.

Cavaliers vs Knicks prediction: Cavaliers +165 (ML) available at time of publishing. Playable at number.