The ghost of playoffs past made a guest appearance in the series opener of the Eastern Conference finals.
The Indiana Pacers snatched victory from the jaws of defeat and sparked plenty of PTSD for New York Knicks fans, who had witnessed this before back in the 90’s.
New York doesn’t have long to snap out of the shell shock of blowing a nine-point lead with less than a minute left before Game 2 Friday night. They need their stars to play with confidence, including big man Karl-Anthony Towns.
KAT has a packed stat line in Game 1 and my Pacers vs. Knicks predictions expect him to do the same with my best NBA picks for Friday, May 23.
Who will win Pacers vs Knicks Game 2?
There are several alternate realities in which the Knicks held on to that late lead and won Game 1. It just wasn’t ours. Books have New York installed as 5.5-point favorites for Game 2 and while Indiana is always live, a series split seems more probable considering the Knicks played well for 47 minutes before coming undone on Wednesday. New York wins Game 2.
Pacers vs Knicks prediction
My best bet: Karl-Anthony Towns Over 23.5 points (-120 at bet365)
Karl-Anthony Towns was fantastic in the ECF opener, finishing the thrilling overtime affair with 35 points – 33 of those tallies in regulation.
He scored 18 of those points in the second half and seemed more like himself versus the Indiana Pacers (he did put up 30 and 40 points versus the Pacers in the regular season), compared to his output against Boston in the conference quarterfinals. Towns averaged less than 20 points and shot just 16% from distance in that Round 2 set with the Celtics.
In Game 1, KAT went 11-for-17 from the field, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc, and added 9 of 11 free throws in 39 minutes of play. His 35-point performance blasted his closing scoring prop of 22.5 O/U out of the water and marked the fifth time in the past six postseason games he topped his points total.
He anchored a New York Knicks offense that operated smoothly for most of the game, finishing with an offensive rating of 126.2 against the Pacers after sputtering at times in the first two rounds. He averaged 50.7 and 46.0 average touches in those series but saw this metric spike to 61.0 in Game 1 of the conference finals.
The Pacers utilized Myles Turner on KAT for the most part, with Towns slicing him up for 18 points on 78% shooting over 7:36 of matchup time. They also rotated the smaller Pascal Siakam on Towns, giving up 11 points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting along with two free throws.
Early projections are sitting around KAT’s current Over/Under of 23.5 points and we’ve seen sharper shops increase the vig on the Over, indicated early opinions on Towns’ output.
Pacers vs Knicks same-game parlay
Karl-Anthony Towns Over 23.5 points
Karl-Anthony Towns 10+ rebounds
New York Knicks moneyline
Towns decimated the Pacers defense in Game 1 and is starting to find his scoring touch after an up-and-down postseason.
Projections for Game 2 call for as many as 13.7 rebounds from KAT. He had 12 boards on 19.0 chances in the opener.
The Knicks may not cover against the pesky Pacers but they should win after outplaying Indiana for all but a costly minute in Game 1.
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Pacers vs Knicks odds
Pacers vs Knicks live odds
Pacers vs Knicks opening odds
- Spread: Indiana +5.5 (-110) | New York -5.5 (-110)
- Moneyline: Indiana +200 | New York -245
- Over/Under: Over 226.5 (-110) | Under 226.5 (-110)
Odds courtesy of bet365
Pacers vs Knicks spread and Over/Under analysis
- In the wake of Game 1’s heart-wrenching loss, bookies opened the Knicks as high as 6-point favorites and that has since slimmed to -5.5.
- The Over/Under for Game 2 hit the board at 227 and dropped to 226.5 O/U with some early interest in the Under.
- According to Covers Consensus, 66% of picks are taking the points with the underdog Pacers while 71% of total picks are banking on the Over.
Pacers vs Knicks trend
The New York Knicks are 4-0 SU and ATS coming off a loss in the playoffs. New York was 22-9 SU and 17-14 ATS off a defeat in the regular season. Find more NBA betting trends for Pacers vs. Knicks.
How to watch Pacers vs Knicks
| Location | Madison Square Garden, New York, NY |
| Date | Friday, 5-23-2025 |
| Tip-off | 8:00 p.m. ET |
| TV | TNT |
Pacers vs Knicks latest injuries
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
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