Will Knicks take 3-0 series lead over Pacers? Our Game 3 betting analysis, prediction
Down 10 at halftime and superstar Jalen Brunson's return in doubt after missing the entire second quarter, Game 2 looked lost for the Knicks.
And then it wasn't.
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Thanks to a heroic comeback from Brunson and company in the second half, the Knicks now find themselves up 2-0 over the Indiana Pacers in the second round following a 130-121 victory in Game 2 at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night.
After scoring just five points in the first half, Brunson added 24 in the final 24 minutes. The difference was the third quarter, with New York outscoring Indiana, 36-18, and heading into the fourth quarter up 99-91 despite trailing, 73-63 at the half.
The Knicks now have their second straight 2-0 series lead this postseason and will look to take their first 3-0 advantage since the 2012-13 playoffs when they did so against the Boston Celtics.
With Brunson currently listed as questionable on the injury report, it's been confirmed that OG Anunoby -- who was easily having his best game of the postseason (28 points, 10-of-19 from the field and four three-pointers) in Game 2 -- will be out for Game 3 with a hamstring injury he suffered during the team's dominant stretch in the third quarter.
Will the shorthanded Knicks be able put a stranglehold on this series? Or can the Pacers get back into it with the series shifting to Indiana on tonight?
Here are the betting odds, and our preview and prediction for Game 3 of Knicks vs. Pacers:
NY Knicks vs Pacers spread: Knicks +7 (-108), Pacers -6.5 (-108)
Down Anunoby for Game 3 and Julius Randle and Bojan Bogdanovic for the rest of the postseason, the Knicks head into Game 3 the biggest underdogs they've been all playoffs.
Even though Brunson was able to return in Game 2 and will likely play through the pain in Game 3, the injuries might reaching a boiling point for New York.
Between Pacers' All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton finding a rhythm in Game 2 (34 points, nine assists and seven three-pointers) after a tough Game 1 (six points on six shots), Indiana getting home court and the Knicks likely having an even shorter bench, it's hard to bet against the Pacers in this spot.
Indiana finally gets its first victory of the series and covers the spread in a must-win game on its home court.
If you're also on the Pacers, bet them now as 6.5-point favorites at-115 (Bet $115 to win $100) on BetMGM as all other sportsbooks in New Jersey have already moved this number to 7 in some places.
Prediction: Pacers -6.5 (-115)
NY Knicks vs Pacers total: Over 222.5 points (-105), Under 223 points (-110)
With totals of 238 points in Game 1 and 251 in Game 2, the line for the total in this series continues to increase, and now up to the highest it's been of the series at 223 points.
Even with the Knicks dealing with injuries, it's hard to bet against the over here.
These two teams have lit up the scoreboard in Games 1 and 2, with neither scoring fewer than 117 points so far.
An dating back to last season, seven of the last eight meetings have eclipsed this number.
Maybe this is the time an under hits, given the Knicks' shorthanded rotation, but I would wait to see it happen first before I bet against a high-scoring affair between these two teams.
Caesars Sportsbook has the best available number at 222.5 points with a price of -105 (Bet $105 to win $100) on Friday morning.
Prediction: Over 222.5 points (-105)
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NY Knicks vs. Pacers moneyline: Knicks +250 (Bet $100 to win $250), Pacers -275 (Bet $275 to win $100)
Understandably, the Knicks are sizable underdogs going into Friday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
This is the biggest New York has been an underdog this entire postseason (5.5-point underdogs in Game 3 in Philadelphia), now without three key pieces to their rotation.
The Pacers have been right there in the first two games of this series but failed to close out when they needed to at MSG.
Now back at home in front of 18,000-plus fans, this is a golden opportunity for Indiana, playing in its first home game in the second round in a decade.
The last time these two met in the Hoosier State, the Pacers had the dominant third quarter and ended up with a 140-126 victory on Dec. 30.
That game featured a healthy Randle at the time (28 points and 12 rebounds) and Donte DiVincenzo couldn't be stopped (38 points, shot 71.4 percent from the field and made seven three-pointers), and the team still lost by double digits.
Ironically, it also happened to be the same day the Knicks acquired Anunoby from the Toronto Raptors in exchange for R.J. Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and a 2024 second-round pick.
While 266 points is likely out of the realm of possibility, I'm wagering on Indiana to get in the win column in a big way here against a shorthanded Knicks squad Friday night.
The shortest price to get the Pacers' on the moneyline as a heavy favorite is at -275 at BetRivers in N.J.