The NBA Belt · rivalry

Cleveland Cavaliers vs. New York Knicks

16Belt meetings

5Cavaliers wins

11Knicks wins

9Title changes

Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks have met 16 times with the NBA belt on the line, from December 18, 1976 to November 11, 2026. The belt changed hands in 9 of those games. New York Knicks lead the belt series 11–5.

Belt game	Date	Result
2,640	Dec 18, 1976	New York Knicks beat Cleveland Cavaliers 115–113	Title change
2,955	Mar 25, 1980	New York Knicks beat Cleveland Cavaliers 128–115	Title change
3,037	Feb 12, 1981	New York Knicks beat Cleveland Cavaliers 122–111	Defense
3,755	Mar 29, 1988	Cleveland Cavaliers beat New York Knicks 108–103	Title change
3,800	Jan 7, 1989	Cleveland Cavaliers beat New York Knicks 104–96	Defense
4,304	Mar 12, 1994	New York Knicks beat Cleveland Cavaliers 96–86	Defense
4,598	Jan 29, 1997	New York Knicks beat Cleveland Cavaliers 75–65	Title change
4,611	Mar 2, 1997	New York Knicks beat Cleveland Cavaliers 90–82	Title change
6,303	Mar 23, 2014	Cleveland Cavaliers beat New York Knicks 106–100	Title change
6,522	Oct 25, 2016	Cleveland Cavaliers beat New York Knicks 117–88	Defense
7,521	May 19, 2026	New York Knicks beat Cleveland Cavaliers 115–104 (OT) Playoffs	Title change
7,522	May 21, 2026	New York Knicks beat Cleveland Cavaliers 109–93 Playoffs	Defense
7,523	May 23, 2026	New York Knicks beat Cleveland Cavaliers 121–108 Playoffs	Defense
7,524	May 25, 2026	New York Knicks beat Cleveland Cavaliers 130–93 Playoffs	Defense
7,541	Nov 7, 2026	New York Knicks beat Cleveland Cavaliers 109–97	Title change
7,543	Nov 11, 2026	Cleveland Cavaliers beat New York Knicks 115–107	Title change

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Cleveland Cavaliers vs. New York Knicks

Know the second a belt changes hands