On Thursday, May 29th, the New York Knicks host the Indiana Pacers at Madison Square Garden for Game 5 of 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 Pacers vs. Knicks – Game 5
Where: Madison Square Garden in New York, New York
When: 8:00 pm ET on Thursday, May 29th
Channel: TNT / truTV / Max
Pacers vs. Knicks Odds – Game 5
(Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook and accurate as of Wednesday, May 28th at 5:30 pm ET)
Moneyline: Knicks -175, Pacers +145
Spread: Knicks -4.5 (-105), Pacers +4.5 (-115)
Total: Over 222.5 (-112), Under 222.5 (-108)
Pacers vs. Knicks Prediction – Game 5
The Knicks have proven that they’re mentally tough. There’s no denying that. New York did nothing but battle back from big deficits against Boston in the second round, and the Knicks also had a 20-point comeback against the Pacers in Game 3 of this series. They’re going to fight until the last whistle, and they’re going to feed off the energy of a packed Madison Square Garden. Is that enough? That’s the question.
The Pacers have an offensive rating of 121.1 in this series, and that would have been good for the best mark in basketball during the regular season. Tyrese Haliburton just played one of the greatest games in NBA postseason history, finishing with 32 points, 15 assists, 12 rebounds, four steals and zero turnovers in 38 minutes. It just feels like Indiana is capable of getting a quality look whenever Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns are on the floor together, and it would take a disinterested Haliburton for that to change. He’s getting better and better at reading this defense and making the right play. And there’s no reason to believe he can’t pick the Knicks apart again.
Assuming Haliburton keeps his foot on the gas, it’s just hard to picture this being a convincing win for the home team. Aaron Nesmith is doing a great job of defending Brunson, and the Pacers have been really smart about attacking him on the other end of the floor. They’re either creating easy offense or getting him into foul trouble. They’re also completely wearing him out. And if Brunson isn’t so outrageously good offensively that he’s completely making up for his awful play on the other end of the floor, New York is going to have a hard time fighting Indiana off. It’s really the same story with Towns.
It just feels like Indiana has been the much better team three games in a row, which might be a weird thing to say with the Pacers having lost Game 3. But Indiana was the better team in that game, much like New York was the better team in Game 1. And I simply can’t pass on the points with a better team, especially with that team getting stronger as the series progresses.
The Knicks are also just 4-6 both straight-up and against the spread when trailing in a series under Tom Thibodeau, and they’re also 1-3 SU and 2-2 ATS when facing elimination in that span. If that’s not enough, New York is also 3-4 both SU and ATS in Game 5s under Thibodeau. Meanwhile, Indiana is 3-1 SU in closeout games under Rick Carlisle. The team is also 9-4 SU and 8-5 ATS when leading in a playoff series under Carlisle.
Speaking of Carlisle, I’ll continue to bang on the table and say that him versus Thibodeau is a matchup that should make the Pacers a little better every game. He’s just an elite tactician. So, even if motivation is on the Knicks side here, I’ll take the preparation of the Pacers. Indiana now has a way to attack every lineup New York has, including the double-big lineup of Towns and Mitchell Robinson.
It’s just clear that the Pacers have a legitimate identity and clear approach heading into every game. Meanwhile, the Knicks are searching at the worst time. Indiana just can’t afford to come out flat, as the opponent is fighting for its season. But that seems like it’s mostly a Game 3 problem for the Pacers. They’re 11-0 in non-Game 3s this postseason.
Bet: Pacers +5 (-117)
