New York Knicks vs Indiana Pacers Prediction & Betting Tips - NBA

Prediction published on 18/05/2024, 01:01  by Kennedy Kechula | Modified on 18/05/2024 at 12:15 in NBA Predictions

The New York Knicks will be home for a decisive game seven against the Indiana Pacers in their Eastern Conference playoff semi-final. After six games, the series is tied at 3-3 and the winner here will progress to the conference finals meeting with the Boston Celtics. The Knicks are yet to lose to the Pacers at home in this series. There should be extra motivation as they seek to reach the conference finals for the first time since 2000. Tom Thibodeau’s men could have wrapped up this series in game six as they were ahead 3-2. They had won game five by 30 points and had the momentum but were undone 116-103. They were outrebounded 47-35 and dominated from inside the arc with the Pacers shooting 61% to their 47%. The shorthanded Knicks also suffered another injury with Josh Hart leaving the game in the fourth quarter. New York have already had to do without Bojan Bogdanovic, Julius Randle, O.G. Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson and cannot afford more injury setbacks.

The Pacers are also on the verge of ending a long hiatus from the third round. Not since reaching back-to-back conference finals in 2013 and 2014 have the Pacers advanced this far in the playoffs. They are now just one win away from ending a 10-year wait. However, Rick Carlisle’s men will have to do something they have found extremely hard to do in these playoffs to progress - win on the road. The Pacers have played six road games so far in the postseason and have lost five times. They have lost all three away matches against the Knicks in this series. The last time they were in New York, they lost by 30 points. Inconsistency from their stars has been a major concern for the Pacers, especially Tyrese Haliburton. The guard is the team’s second-leading scorer and has had 35 and 34-point games against the Knicks in this series. He has also scored just six points in a contest and the last two games has put up a combined 28 points.