The NBA's 2025 Christmas day slate opened with an instant classic between the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden.
Despite an early lead, the Cavaliers fell short 126-124 in the Big Apple.
Early in the season, the Cavs created many Scrooges among the fan base with abysmal losses to lesser teams. Ahead of Christmas, Cleveland had just bounced back from a three-game losing streak to teams with sub-.500 records. Upon Sam Merrill's return from injury and Darius Garland's improved speed, the Cavaliers were suddenly looking like one of the best teams in the league again.
Against the Knicks, the Cavs opened the game on fire. By the end of the first period, Cleveland held a 38-23 lead and were embarrassing the Knicks at home. Cleveland's offense flowed freely, swinging the ball around the perimeter and attacking the rim on every open lane.
The Knicks were not to be ignored, though, storming back to hold a 60-58 lead at halftime, scoring 38 points in the second quarter. Entering the game, New York led the NBA in second-quarter points, averaging 30.9 in the second period. Cleveland, conversely, sits 26th in the league with just 22.6 points per second quarter.
The back-and-forth runs of the game created an nail-biting thriller down to the wire. In the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers built another run to inflate their lead to 17 points, led by jaw-dropping highlights and constant effort plays from Cavs wing Jaylon Tyson.
Even with the loss, the Cavs gifted fans with an iconic Garland-to-Mitchell alley oop from halfcourt which may be as beautiful as anything wrapped under the tree this morning.
GARLAND TO MITCHELL HALFCOURT LOB 🔥 pic.twitter.com/hKhPR6B7DO
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) December 25, 2025
A late-game substitution for the Knicks swung the game in their favor as Tyler Kolek took over, scoring endlessly from deep and making every effort play New York needed.
In the final minutes, Jalen Brunson's elite shooting and the clutch mentality of the Knicks overwhelmed the Cavaliers. Brunson finished the afternoon game with 34 points (tied with Mitchell for a game high), four assists, two steals and six three-pointers.
New York reminded the Cavaliers to defend the perimeter and stay poised
The Cavaliers had the game in their hands, leading by double-digits with less than eight minutes left in regulation.
Unfortunately, as New York surged back, Cleveland looked panicked and unprepared for a final run. Kolek was left open from deep multiple times, and the Cavaliers allowed the Knicks far too many offensive rebounds and extra possessions.
Cleveland's towering frontcourt of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen controlled the boards throughout most of the match, but the final period was a polar opposite. Eventually, Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson subbed Allen out and inserted Dean Wade for his perimeter defense, but Cleveland's wings and guards could not help Mobley maintain rebounding dominance.
The Cavaliers lost their poise, running around like Santa's elves on Christmas Eve to finish the last-minute gift requests for all the kids who joined the nice list at the buzzer.
Cleveland is turning a new leaf as the calendar turns, but the Knicks provided a much-needed reminder that the Cavaliers are still flawed. Rebounding and hustle continues to be the Achilles heel of one of the league's most talented rosters.
Atkinson's fourth-quarter rotations were weird
Tyson's absence in the fourth quarter left the Cavs' rebounding short-handed, and while Sam Merrill's offense and shooting has often been a savior in late games, his shooting went cold. Wade was the Cavs' best defensive option to stop Brunson, but Merrill's struggles were unanswered by his teammates.
Despite the two big men of Mobley and Allen, the Cavaliers' worst trait is being out-rebounded. Allen looked sorely unprepared for the final quarter, a trend that has led to him rarely seeing the court in closing moments. Even with a minutes restriction in his first game back from injury, Mobley outperformed his frontcourt counterpart, playing more minutes, scoring more points and collecting more rebounds while coming off the bench for the first time in his career.
Atkinson made the right choice to bench Allen. His extra size in the post did not translate to extra rebounds or better defense, but Atkinson's answer was half-baked. With Merrill's poor offensive production, Wade was not enough of a fix. Tysons' third-quarter brilliance as a scorer but also as a defender and rebounder shifted all momentum in Cleveland's favor.
The stubborn choice to leave Merrill on the court when other players had performed noticeably better was a head-scratching move that might have cost the Cavs the game. The Knicks' late-game run came primarily off extra possessions created by hard-nosed offensive rebounding. Merrill struggled to shift the tides, but all that the Cavs needed were the things Tyson had provided just one quarter earlier.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are reminding the NBA they are not a team to forget when discussing postseason contenders, but they were equally reminded that they are still searching for solutions to bigger problems surrounding the team.