Eastern Conference finals set: Knicks to face Cavaliers starting May 24

The NBA's official playoff schedule lists the Eastern Conference finals beginning on Tuesday, May 19, with the Cleveland Cavaliers visiting the New York Knicks in Game 1. The league's East finals page also shows Game 2 on Thursday, May 21, before the series shifts to Cleveland for Games 3 and 4 on May 23 and May 25. The matchup was set after New York swept Philadelphia in the conference semifinals and Cleveland advanced by beating Detroit in seven games. The NBA has scheduled every game in the series for 8 p.m. Eastern on ESPN, with Games 5 through 7 if necessary. ### Why are the Knicks opening at home against Cleveland? The Knicks are listed as the home team for Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 on the NBA's playoff schedule. That follows the bracket the league published for the 2026 postseason, which slots New York as the No. 3 seed and Cleveland as the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. In the NBA's 2-2-1-1-1 format, the higher remaining seed gets home court in Games 1, 2, 5 and 7. New York reached the conference finals after a four-game sweep of the 76ers, according to the league's playoff schedule page. Cleveland got there on May 17 by beating Detroit 125-94 in Game 7, the NBA schedule shows. ### What are the exact dates for the series? Tuesday, May 19, is the scheduled date for Game 1 at Madison Square Garden, according to NBA.com. Thursday, May 21, is set for Game 2 in New York, followed by Game 3 on Saturday, May 23, and Game 4 on Monday, May 25, in Cleveland. Wednesday, May 27, is reserved for Game 5 in New York if needed. Friday, May 29, is the date for Game 6 in Cleveland if needed, and Sunday, May 31, is the date for Game 7 in New York if needed, the league schedule shows. ### Which players are likely to define the matchup? The NBA's East finals series page lists Jalen Brunson as New York's leading scorer entering the matchup at 27.4 points per game. The same page lists Donovan Mitchell as Cleveland's leading scorer at 25.6 points per game. Karl-Anthony Towns has been central to New York's offense during the postseason run, according to NBA.com coverage on the East finals page. For Cleveland, the path through Detroit ran through Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, with the Cavaliers surviving a seven-game semifinal after falling behind 2-0. ### How much rest does each team get before Game 1? May 12 was the date of New York's last completed game in the semifinals, a 144-114 win over Philadelphia that finished a 4-0 series sweep, according to the NBA playoff schedule. That gives the Knicks a full week between games before the conference finals opener on May 19. May 17 was the date of Cleveland's Game 7 win over Detroit, which means the Cavaliers have one day off before traveling to New York for Game 1. The compressed turnaround came after Cleveland played seven semifinal games, while New York needed four. ### How does this fit into the NBA Finals calendar? June 3 is the scheduled start of the 2026 NBA Finals, the league said on its official Finals schedule page. ABC is set to carry every Finals game, all scheduled for 8:30 p.m. Eastern. May 31 is the latest possible date for the Eastern Conference finals if the Knicks-Cavaliers series goes seven games. That would leave the East champion two full days before the Finals opener on June 3.