Tip-off: Thursday, 8:05 p.m. ET
Line: Cleveland -7.5, Total: 197

The Cavaliers look to win their fifth straight game when they head to Madison Square Garden on Thursday night to take on the slumping Knicks.

Cleveland is coming off a 111-108 road victory over Milwaukee on Tuesday for its fourth consecutive victory (3-1 ATS). Meanwhile, New York lost 98-93 at home against the Nets on Tuesday to mark its fifth straight defeat (2-3 ATS) and 14th loss in the past 16 contests (4-12 ATS). These teams met earlier in the season on Oct. 30, when the Knicks picked up a shocking 95-90 victory as 13-point road underdogs. Over the past three seasons, New York is 6-2 SU (5-3 ATS) in this series. Prior to a 106-100 loss for the Knicks as 10-point home favorites on March 23, the team had won five straight meetings (4-1 ATS) when hosting the Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden. Although it’s a small sample size, New York is 0-9 ATS after playing two consecutive games as an underdog under Derek Fisher. Cleveland, meanwhile, is 7-17 ATS after a combined score of 215 points or more over the past two seasons. However, the Cavs are also 25-12 ATS when playing four or less games in 10 days over the past three seasons. SG J.R. Smith (illness) is probable to suit up for the Knicks in this one, while Cleveland PG Matthew Dellavedova is questionable with a knee injury.

Can the Knicks keep the final score respectable versus the surging Cavs? For the answer, connect to The Platinum Sheet for all the Expert picks throughout the entire 2014-15 season. StatFox Forecaster has a 62% ATS record (53-33) in featured games this season. StatFox Gary has a 58% ATS record (15-11) in NBA Best Bets this season, while StatFox Brian is 5-1 ATS in NBA Best Bets since Nov. 23.

Cleveland has strung together four wins in a row and is doing so with some superb offensive play. The Cavaliers have scored at least 106 points in each of their past four games and they have shot at least 51% from the field in all of them. One of the biggest reasons this team is playing well is that C Kevin Love (17.9 PPG, 9.5 RPG) is becoming more comfortable in the offense, averaging 22.2 PPG and 8.0 RPG over the past five contests. He is knocking down shots in the flow of the offense and he should be in for a big game against a Knicks team that is below average when it comes to defending the power forward position. SF LeBron James (24.9 PPG, 7.4 APG, 5.4 RPG) is this team’s primary playmaker now, averaging 23.6 PPG and an outstanding 9.2 APG over the past five contests. James has flourished at Madison Square Garden in his career, averaging 29.6 PPG (50% FG, 42% threes), 7.1 RPG, 6.6 APG and 2.3 SPG in his 18 visits to Manhattan. James is still scoring at a high rate, but he is also running the team’s offense to perfection, which is crucial on a team with a point guard that has a score-first mentality. PG Kyrie Irving (21.5 PPG, 4.9 APG, 1.6 SPG) has been able to focus on his scoring with James doing most of the playmaking on this team. Irving is averaging 26.0 PPG over the past two games and he should be in for a big Thursday night, as he’ll be matched up with a very bad defender in Jose Calderon.

The Knicks have been a disaster this season and a lot of it has to do with their inability to score. New York is averaging just 93.4 PPG (27th in NBA) and they’ve scored over 100 points as a team just four times this season. SF Carmelo Anthony (23.5 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 3.3 APG) has been doing his part as a scorer this season, but he has not had much help. Anthony is averaging 25.5 PPG, 8.5 RPG and 4.0 APG in the two games since he returned from back spasms, and will need to hold his own in a matchup with LeBron James on Thursday. Another player who has really done well offensively for New York is PF Amar’e Stoudemire (12.8 PPG, 7.9 RPG). Stoudemire has scored at least 17 points in each of the past three games, and will now be matched up against Kevin Love. He should be in for a monster game offensively, but he’ll have to come ready to defend or Love will really hurt the Knicks in this one. PG Jose Calderon (10.7 PPG, 4.3 APG, 4.5 RPG) had 19 points and seven assists in Tuesday's loss to the Nets. Calderon is still knocking off some rust after being injured early in the season, but he must defend at a much higher level if he is really going to make a difference on this team. SG Iman Shumpert (10.8 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 3.2 APG) had been playing the best basketball of his career early in the season, but he is averaging just 7.8 PPG (29.6% FG) over the past five contests. The Knicks desperately need their best defender to find his stroke, as he is a huge difference maker when he is playing with confidence on the offensive end of the court.