On Saturday, May 31st, the New York Knicks will be in Gainbridge Fieldhouse for a big Game 6 against the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. Keep reading for odds, predictions and best bets for this exciting showdown, but make sure you also check out the VSiN NBA Playoffs Betting Hub for the rest of our written content. We have a ton of people breaking down the action in the postseason. We’re also talking ball regularly on our live programming, so now is a great time to be a VSiN subscriber.
How To Watch Knicks vs. Pacers – Game 6
Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana
When: 8:00 pm ET on Saturday, May 31st
Channel: TNT / truTV / Max
Knicks vs. Pacers Odds – Game 6
(Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook and accurate as of Friday, May 30th at 6:00 pm ET)
Moneyline: Pacers -175, Knicks +145
Spread: Pacers -4 (-108), Knicks +4 (-112)
Total: Over 219 (-110), Under 219 (-110)
Knicks vs. Pacers Prediction – Game 6
This season, the Pacers are 12-4 straight-up and 11-5 against the spread as home underdogs of 6 or less. They’re also 15-3 SU as favorites of 3.5 to 9.5 points, and they’re 8-4 SU when looking for revenge off a road loss against an opponent. Meanwhile, the Knicks are 3-5 SU and 2-6 ATS when coming off a game in which they gave up 100 or fewer points. They’re also 2-9 SU and 3-8 ATS as an underdog of 3.5 to 9.5 points. That said, there’s some strong trends that favor Indiana here.
Of course, the Pacers are going to be under some pressure heading into Game 6. They don’t want to have to go into Madison Square Garden for a Game 7 after having led the series 3-1. However, I’d push back on anybody that says Indiana is under more pressure than New York. The Pacers have won two games at MSG in this series, and they’re two losses away from elimination. The Knicks can’t lose another game.
It’s just hard to see Indiana struggling offensively again. Tyrese Haliburton finished Game 5 with eight points and six assists on 2 for 7 shooting from the floor and 0 for 2 shooting from 3 last game. I don’t see him turning in another dud like that in Game 6. Haliburton averaged 20.4 points and 10.0 assists per game at home this season, and he did that on 50.0%-41.5%-86.2% shooting splits. On the road, he averaged 16.7 points and 8.6 assists on 43.8%-34.9%-83.8% shooting splits. He’s just more comfortable at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, and he’ll be more aggressive because of that. The last time we saw him in this building, he had 32 points, 15 dimes, 12 boards and four steals on 11 for 23 shooting from the floor and 5 for 12 shooting from 3. He’s capable of completely picking apart this Knicks defense. And, as a whole, Indiana should shoot a lot better from 3 than it did in Game 5.
New York does deserve credit for picking up Haliburton and Indiana closer to half court last game. But Rick Carlisle is too good of a coach not to figure that out. If the Knicks bring pressure again, the Pacers will find a way to break it. And it’s only a matter of time before they’re picking on the weak defense of Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns again.
It’s also hard to imagine New York continuing to find success by ignoring Andrew Nembhard. He’s not the most explosive player in the world, but he’s a capable shotmaker and a capable playmaker. Against an unorganized defense, he’ll eventually get his and start helping Haliburton out. And if he doesn’t, Carlisle will turn to Bennedict Mathurin, who is averaging 21.5 points per game over the last two games. He’s suddenly looking confident scoring against this opponent.
Indiana just has to hope that Aaron Nesmith is capable of doing more in Game 6. Nesmith is an awesome on-ball defender and a reliable 3-point shooter. If his ankle is bothering him, the Pacers will be more vulnerable than ever. And he was just 1 for 8 from the floor and 1 for 5 from 3 in Game 5, and he was only able to play 16 minutes. Something isn’t right, which is a shame considering how good he looked in Game 4. But Indiana’s doctors will go to work and try to get him right.
In the name of transparency, I will note that I’m not personally playing anything here. I had Over 5.5 games in this series, and I also had a future on the Pacers to win the Eastern Conference at 44-1 — which I hedged with a play on the Knicks to win the series. So, I’m done putting anything on the Eastern Conference Finals. However, if I had to take something, I’d play Indiana on the moneyline. I think the juice is worth not having to sweat out the 4-point spread. This should be -170 or so, meaning -165 really shouldn’t be out there.
Lean: Pacers ML (-165)
