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Revenge doesn’t always come swiftly. Sometimes, it lingers, simmering beneath the surface, waiting for the right moment to erupt.
For the Cleveland Cavaliers, Friday night was that moment.
Under the searing spotlight of national television, in front of a raucous sold-out crowd inside the newly christened Rocket Arena, they didn’t just beat the New York Knicks—they dismantled them. A 142-105 rout. A merciless display of dominance. A reminder that this is a different Cavaliers team, forged in the fire of playoff failure.
This wasn’t just another late-February matchup. It was personal.
Because when the Knicks come to town, the air is different. The tension is heavier. The stakes feel higher.
The 2023 NBA Playoffs first-round collapse still lingers in the minds of Cleveland’s players, fans, and coaches alike. Every game against New York is another chapter in a rivalry that feels increasingly bitter, and increasingly charged.
“They remember,” Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson said before tipoff when asked about the team’s playoff meltdown at the hands of the Knicks. “I know our players remember. They talk about it.”
So do the fans.
Rocket Arena has been a fortress all season, a place where opponents struggle to breathe amid the relentless energy of the Cleveland faithful. But when the Knicks come to town? The hostility reaches another level.
The sold-out crowd didn’t just boo—it roared, drowning New York’s players in venom. Every Knick introduction was met with the kind of vitriol typically reserved for Cleveland’s most loathed villains.
For the fans, it wasn’t just noise, it was payback. However, for the Cavaliers themselves, it was a chance to show how this team has grown since their 2023 meltdown.
A Different Cavaliers Team, A Different Message
The emotions from 2023 haven’t faded, but the teams have evolved. Friday night was another reminder of just how far the Cavaliers have come.
Hardened by failure. Sharpened by criticism. Transformed into an Eastern Conference powerhouse.
That wasn’t the case against New York. The first playoff run for this young core was a disaster. The Knicks didn’t just eliminate them—they exposed them.
Cleveland looked overwhelmed, outmuscled, and unprepared for the intensity of postseason basketball. That loss didn’t just send them home early. It created a narrative.
Are the Cavaliers built for the playoffs?
Are they too soft? Too inexperienced? Just another regular-season team?
Those questions have hung over this group for nearly two years, fueling everything they’ve done since. And while they may view that loss through a different lens now, they know they can’t change history.
But they can use it.
“I’m appreciative of it,” Donovan Mitchell said, reflecting on the playoff loss. “I think for myself, for us as a group, we needed that. You don’t see us get to this point if we don’t, quite frankly, get embarrassed by New York. Those experiences are humbling. Those experiences are needed.”
Mitchell didn’t speak with bitterness. There was no talk of revenge, no desperation to settle a score. Just an understanding that the pain of that series shaped them.
And on Friday night, they showed just how much they’ve grown.
This win was never about revenge for Donovan Mitchell
This win against the Knicks was never about settling a score. Sure, the Cavaliers may never truly erase the sting of losing to the Knicks in the playoffs. But revenge? That was never the point.
The 2023 series wasn’t about New York being unbeatable. It was about Cleveland not being ready.
The Knicks didn’t have more talent—they had more experience. More poise. They took advantage of a young Cavaliers team that didn’t yet understand what it took to win in the postseason.
But that loss wasn’t an ending. It was a beginning. A lesson in what it takes to become a contender.
Now, the true test lies ahead. Not in February. Not in one dominant regular-season win.
But in proving that the lessons learned don’t just make them better now. They make them built for June.
“I don’t want to say that [the series is still bothering us]. Because I’m appreciative of it,” Mitchell said. “You don’t see the hunger in Darius Garland. You don’t see the chip on his shoulder. Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, myself, Isaac Okoro, Dean Wade—if we don’t, quite frankly, get embarrassed by New York, you know?”
The rivalry isn’t over. If anything, it’s just heating up.
And if the playoffs bring another Cleveland-New York showdown, one thing is certain.
The Cavaliers won’t just remember.
They’ll be ready.
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