Both the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks have put together consistent regular seasons, and they took care of their opponents in the opening round of the playoffs. Now, two of the most star-studded teams in the Eastern Conference will face off to open up the second round. The truth is both of these teams are more than deserving of going through to the Eastern Conference finals this season, this series between the Knicks and Pacers has the chance to be the best postseason series. We will see this year as this could easily go all the way to seven games and the teams will likely trade off wins back-and-forth until it does.
This will be the opening game of the second round series here on Monday night at Madison Square Garden between the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks. Both teams arguably a much better team in the round dealt with the Milwaukee Bucks in six games after injuries to Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard hampered Milwaukee. Meanwhile, the New York Knicks eliminated the Philadelphia 76ers in six games as they found a way to shut down Joel Embiid and limit his production throughout the series. Now these two teams will meet in the second round of the postseason with the winner earning a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals against either the Boston Celtics or the Cleveland Cavaliers.
There will be plenty of factors throughout this series that will determine who comes out on top. But the main focus will certainly be on Jalen Brunson and Tyrese Halliburton as they face off at the point guard position throughout at least the next four games of the second round playoff series. They are two of the best guards in the NBA and this should be one of the best player matchups of the postseason. The bench players and guys like Pascal Siakam, and Josh Hart will also play a massive role throughout this series and will be crucial to the outcome. We should expect a solid back-and-forth series between the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks and it will start with the opening game of the series here on Monday night at Madison Square Garden.
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History Between These Two Teams The New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers met three times in the regular season with the Indiana Pacers coming out on top in two of those games. The first meeting of the season between these two teams was a 14 point Indiana Pacers victory at home. It was a high scoring game that ended with well over 250 points being scored between the two teams. As the Indiana Pacers came out on top 140-126.
The second time these two teams met it was still a high scoring game, although there were not as many points and the New York Knicks came out on top at Madison Square Garden by a score of 109 to 106. The third and final meeting between these two teams and the regular season was played nine days later in February and the Indiana Pacers came away with another dominant victory this time on the road in New York City. It was another relatively high scoring game between the New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers and you should certainly expect more of the same throughout this playoff series as well.
Today’s Predictions I expect this to be a close and competitive matchup between the New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers here on Monday night in New York City. As I look for these two teams to go back-and-forth throughout the early part of the game and trade buckets throughout the first half. By the time the final buzzer comes around however, I do look for the New York Knicks to get the job done here in this one and defend their court with a comfortable victory over the Indiana Pacers. As I look for New York to pull away late with a solid performance from Jalen Brunson and some free throws to ice the game in the final minute to pick up a game, one victory over the Pacers and kickoff this series by continuing to defend their home court. I expect Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam to do enough to keep Indiana in this game up until the last few minutes, but in the end, I do look for Bronson to take over and help lead New York to the victory. I am expecting another high scoring game in this contest as well like we’ve seen several times when these two teams have met this season. As like easily see this game surpassing the 200 point mark here on Monday night to kick off this series with a bang.
Tips For Betting The New York Knicks have been solid at defending their home court this season, as they have compiled a record of 29-15 at Madison Square Garden. They have been even better when they are favored to win the game at home grabbing 26 victories in 33 games. The Indiana Pacers I’ve put together a losing record as a road underdog losing 14 out of 26 games and that is something they will need to overcome if they want to be successful in this series. As they do not have the home advantage of the New York Knicks and they will need to win at least a couple games on the road if they want to advance.
The Pick: Knicks -6.5 (+100) Picks given are the opinion of the writer, not Elitepickz pros. To get picks from some of the sharpest minds in the industry, sign up here and use code AB15 for 15% off any pass!
