The Indiana Pacers look to bank another upset win in Game 2 against the New York Knicks on Friday night.
The pregame narrative: Tyrese Haliburton came up clutch and stunned the crowd at Madison Square Garden during the Pacers’ improbable fourth quarter comeback in Game 1. The Knicks need a win on home court to avoid going down 2-0 in the Eastern Conference final.
I’m targeting Haliburton and Mikal Bridges in my Pacers vs. Knicks prop picks on May 23.
Pacers vs. Knicks prop picks
Best bet: Haliburton over 29.5 points/assists (-125)
Certain players elevate in the playoffs, and it’s obvious Haliburton is one of those guys.
His lengthy list of clutch moments was topped off by this last-second shot that sent the opening game to overtime.
Haliburton finished that matchup with 31 points and 11 assists. Mind you, the game ended with 273 total points, and while I don’t expect that again, something similar should be in the works.
That’s based on the fact that the average total in Pacers/Knicks games this year is 247.5 points.
Indiana plays at a fast pace. It ranked seventh in the NBA during the regular season and is third in the playoffs.
When a team like New York is willing to match, it often leads to a high-scoring contest.
And Haliburton is playing his best ball right now, so he’s worth targeting.
Key stat: Indiana’s point guard averaged 31 points and 9.5 assists over his last two games. He is 6-5 against this line overall in the playoffs.
Game 2 prop prediction
Bridges over 8.5 rebounds/assists (-106): With the uptick in scoring comes more rebounding and assist opportunities, too.
Bridges was a beneficiary of that in Game 1, hauling in six rebounds and dishing out five assists.
Since the start of the series with the Boston Celtics, he has had at least five rebounds/assists in every game while going 4-3 against this line.
Boston provided a much tougher defensive matchup, however. The Knicks scored an average of 105.6 points during seven games in that series.
On Wednesday, we saw that the potential for offence is much higher in the East final, and I expect Bridges to keep contributing in multiple areas.
He’s 3-1 against this line vs. Indiana this year, averaging 9.5 rebounds/assists.
Pacers vs. Knicks prop picks made at 1:00 p.m. ET 05/23/2025.
Spencer is a true sports junkie. A graduate of the Sports Journalism program at Centennial College, he first joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2023. He is now a contributing writer. He loves finding the edge to bet on in all sports but has a deep passion for the NBA and UFC. Previous stops include Sportsnet.