Takeaways from the game Feb. 24 at Rocket Arena between the Cavaliers and Knicks: Quicker than you can say, “The playoffs are coming!” the Cavaliers moved into a tie for fourth place with the Knicks in the NBA East by hammering them, 109-94, after losing to the Knicks twice at Madison Square Gar den before the calendar flipped to January. The Cavaliers and Knicks have identical 37-22 records. The Knicks rode into the arena on a two-game winning streak. The Cavs rebounded from a 121-113 loss to the Thunder in Oklahoma City on Feb. 22 and have won seven of their last eight and 13 of their last 15 games. Jarrett Allen "is playing out of his mind," #Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said Tuesday night after Allen 19 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to help the Cavs beat the #Knicks, 109-94. pic.twitter.com/GOTv03jZiR — Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) February 25, 2026 This is a different Cavaliers team than the one that fell, 126-124, on Christmas Day in MSG. That difference was on display in one 60-second segment of the third quarter. Knicks guard Jalen Brunson had the ball about 15 feet from the hoop, Dennis Schroder pestering him like a fly buzzing in his face. Brunson tried to fake out Schroder. Schroder didn’t fall for it. Brunson finally took a shot and missed. Fifty seconds later, James Harden ran to an open spot to the right of the arc and Schroder fed him with a long pass. Harden drained the running 3-pointer for his 17th point of the game. The assist was the fourth for Schroder. Schroder and Harden were acquired in separate trades the first week in February — Schroder and Keon Ellis from the Kings for De’Andre Hunter and Harden from the Clippers for Darius Garland. Harden finished with 20 points and four assists. He has 56 assists in seven games with the Cavaliers since the trade. Schroder played 21 minutes, scored three points and had five assists. • Jarrett Allen had a game to forget when the Cavs and Knicks met on Christmas Day. Knicks center Mitchell Robinson pushed him around, especially in the fourth quarter. Robinson played just 4:46 of the fourth quarter and still managed to grab eight rebounds. Four were offensive rebounds. Allen played 6:47 of the fourth quarter and had zero defensive rebounds. “You can’t give this team extra shots,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said after the two-point loss. “I think it starts with mentality. I know everybody is going to say, ‘Physicality, physicality.’ I think it’s your mental focus. There’s a difference.” Jarrett Allen dunks in front of Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns during the first half Feb. 24. (Sue Ogrocki - The Associated Press) Allen has been mentally and physically focused for the last month. He scored 19 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in 29 minutes in the Feb. 24 game. Robinson played 19 minutes off the bench and still managed 15 rebounds — eight of them off the offensive glass. “He (Allen) just caught this wave, this momentum,” Atkinson said. “He’s playing out of his mind. He’s playing great basketball. I think that stretch with Evan (Mobley) out, his usage went way up. I think that started to give him confidence. He started taking risks out there.” Atkinson was referring to Mobley missing seven straight games between Jan. 28 and Feb. 11 with a calf injury. Harden and Allen clicked from the time Harden made his Cavaliers’ debut Feb. 7 against the Kings in Sacramento. Allen scored 29, 22, 21,15, 26, 11 and 19 points since the trade. ...read more read less