The New York Knicks face a must-win situation on the road tonight against the Indiana Pacers if they want to force a Game 7 — and Jalen Brunson will be the engine that drives them.
Brunson has torched Indiana for most of the series, and there’s no reason to expect that to change in Game 6.
I’m targeting the Jalen Brunson odds once again in my free NBA picks for Saturday, May 31.
Jalen Brunson player prop picks
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Jalen Brunson best bet
Jalen Brunson Over 31.5 points (+100 at bet365)
While Jalen Brunson has been the leader of the New York Knicks all season long and throughout the postseason, his role has changed somewhat in this series with the Indiana Pacers.
Rather than generating offense for the entire team, as he did against the Celtics, Brunson is now focused on acting as the primary scorer. He’s averaging 33.0 ppg in the series and has gone reached the 30-point mark in four of five games.
Brunson has been incredibly efficient during the series, shooting the ball at 51.4% overall. He’s also getting plenty of volume, shooting the ball 21.4 times per game, and is averaging nine free throw attempts, shooting over 90% from the foul line.
Those are the kinds of numbers that will make it hard for Indiana to contain Brunson. New York is going to give him volume, and he has hit 10+ shots from the free throw line in the last two games in Indiana. I’m taking Brunson to go Over his total of 31.5 points tonight as he tries to will the Knicks into a Game 7 showdown at Madison Square Garden.
Knicks vs Pacers Game 6 betting hub
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- Knicks vs Pacers SGP for Game 6
Jalen Brunson same-game parlay
Jalen Brunson Over 31.5 points
Jalen Brunson Under 6.5 assists
Knicks +4.5
Brunson’s increased shooting volume and scoring have been impressive, but they’ve come at the expense of some of his other numbers. In particular, we’ve seen his assist totals take a dive in this series. That’s why I’m starting with the Over on Brunson’s point total for my SGP, but taking an Under to go along with it.
After averaging 8.2 assists per game against the Pistons and 7.2 assists against the Celtics, Brunson is down to 5.4 per game against Indiana. Brunson has only dished out more than five assists once so far in this series. That makes tonight’s total of 6.5 assists a tough target for Brunson. I’m taking the Under.
Along with the Brunson bets, I’m also taking the Knicks to cover the 4.5-point spread on the road to complete our SGP. While the Knicks have lost three games in this series, none of these losses have come by more than nine points, including the 3-point defeat in overtime in Game 1.
Despite what we’ve seen in this series, I still believe that if both teams play their best games, New York should have a slight edge. I’m not confident enough to take the Knicks on the road, but I like them with the 4.5 points.
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