The New York Knicks face elimination tonight at Madison Square Garden as they host the Indiana Pacers, trailing 3-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals.
With plenty of NBA picks to wet your whistle on tonight's contest, my Pacers vs. Knicks first-basket picks look to a Pacers big to get the party started on Thursday, May 29.
Check out our Pacers vs. Knicks predictions for more in-depth analysis ahead of game time.
Pacers vs Knicks first basket picks
Click on each name to jump to the full analysis
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Indiana Pacers
First basket pick: Myles Turner (+1000 at bet365)
The Indiana Pacers are playing some incredible basketball during this deep playoff run. Sure, they have been aided by some amazing (and unlikely) comebacks, but the collective unit has shown us time and time again that they deserve to be one win away from the NBA Finals.
Most of the praise will go to Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam, but Myles Turner's quiet contributions are what have me believing he's a perfect longshot to knock down tonight's first basket.
If the Knicks want to slow down this Pacers side, they'll need to commit to slowing down Siakam and getting the ball out of Haliburton's hands quickly.
Nothing says beating a quick trap or double team better than the Pacers expecting that game plan and posting Turner up early to keep the defense honest.
With Turner in the block against Karl-Anthony Towns, I like my chances at these juicy odds.
New York Knicks
First basket pick: Karl-Anthony Towns (+500 at bet365)
Moving over to the New York Knicks side of things, they've won the tip in three of the first four games.
They've opened the scoring in all three games they won the tip, with Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby (2x) doing the deed.
If the Knicks win the tip, I look for them to establish a presence in the paint early, and that goes through Karl-Anthony Towns.
Towns is currently questionable for tonight's contest, but in a must-win game, I like his chances to suit up.
KAT has been a thorn in the Pacers' side all series, notching 24+ points in three of the first four games.
With all the attention focused on Brunson, the Knicks could find Towns in a pick-and-roll early, which should exploit a matchup advantage at the top of the key.
Pacers vs Knicks first basket odds
- Jalen Brunson (+400)
- Karl-Anthony Towns (+500)
- Mikal Bridgers (+600)
- OG Anunoby (+800)
- Pascal Siakam (+800)
- Myles Turner (+1000)
Odds courtesy of bet365
