Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Pacers and Knicks was tremendous theater that went down to the wire with the Knicks prevailing behind yet another amazing outing from Jalen Brunson. Game 2 is back at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night, with New York favored to take a 2-0 lead.

Indiana Pacers vs. New York Knicks 2024 NBA Playoffs Game 2 Info

MONDAY'S FINAL SCORES

Jalen Brunson becomes the first player EVER with 40+ PTS and 5+ AST in 4 straight playoff games as the @nyknicks win a Game 1 thriller! Game 2 is Wednesday at 8pm/et on TNT.

Josh Hart: 24 PTS, 13 REB, 8 AST, 3 STL
Donte DiVincenzo: 25 PTS, 2 BLK pic.twitter.com/kezVbOdqwu

— NBA (@NBA) May 7, 2024

• When: Wednesday, May 8th, 2024, 8:00 PM ET
• Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
• TV: TNT
• Radio: 107.5 FM The Fan (Pacers) // WFAN Sports Radio 101.9 FM (Knicks)
• Stream: NBA League Pass
• NBA Odds: Pacers (+5) // Knicks (-5)

Why bet on the Indiana Pacers?

The Pacers definitely need more from Haliburton to win the series, as he posted his lowest point total of the postseason thus far with those six points, failing to reach double digits for the second time in seven playoff contests. Turner had 23 points but just two boards. Turner bounced back well after a pair of low-scoring outings in the final two games of the first-round series, posting his fourth game of the postseason with at least 20 points. Indiana will hope for a similar performance from Turner offensively in Game 2, and he may need to improve his presence on the glass.

Indiana’s bench outscored New York’s second unit 46-3 in the game, led by T.J. McConnell’s 18 points and Obi Toppin’s 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting. The Pacers also got a breakout game from Isaiah Jackson. The third-year center was only in the playoff rotation for Games 5 and 6 against the Bucks, but was highly productive in his first game against New York, registering eight points on 4-of-6 shooting, five rebounds, and three blocks in 13 minutes off the bench.

The most blatant call was an offensive foul on Pacers center Myles Turner with 12.1 seconds left as he was setting a screen for Tyrese Haliburton and Indiana down a point. That’s without even mentioning the admitted missed call by the referees on a kicked ball that led to a potential five- or six-point swing in a tie game in the final minute.

Asked about Turner’s foul, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said, “I don’t want to talk about the officiating. We’re not expecting to get calls in here. It would be nice if they laid off that one, but they didn’t. So that’s just the way it goes. I mean, we challenged it, they reviewed it, they had a bunch of people in New Jersey that agreed with ’em.”

Overall, the Pacers shot 52.3 percent and the Knicks made 52.3 percent of their shots. New York won the rebounding margin 40-32. Indiana went 15-for-19 from the free throw line, and New York finished 22-for-26. The Pacers were outscored 20-18 in fastbreak points. That’s a stunning stat. Indiana also dropped Game 1 of its previous series with Milwaukee.

Why bet on the New York Knicks?

The Knicks were definitely the beneficiaries of two very questionable calls in Game 1 that went against Indiana as New York rallied for a 121-117 victory. The Knicks were in danger of losing Game 1 for much of the evening, had to climb out of a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter and trailed by two with 90 seconds left.

Jalen Brunson was spectacular again for New York with 43 points, six rebounds and six assists, his fourth straight game with at least 40 points. Brunson has become the fourth player to score 40 or more points in four consecutive postseason games, the first since Michael Jordan in the 1993 NBA Finals. Lakers Hall of Famer Jerry West holds the record with six consecutive games of 40 or more points, set during the 1965 postseason. Bernard King had four straight for the Knicks in 1984 and Jordan did it en route to his third straight championship.

Brunson finished the first-round series against Philadelphia with games of 47, 40 and 41 points. He was the leading scorer in the first round with 35.5 points per game. He soundly outplayed fellow All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton, the NBA’s assists leader, who finished with six points and eight assists after being listed as questionable with back spasms.

Donte DiVincenzo had 25 points, including a clutch late 3-pointer among his team-high five makes from deep. He made five of New York’s 11 3-pointers, combining with fellow Villanova alums Brunson and Josh Hart to score 92 of the team’s 121 points. DiVincenzo, who also recorded a team-high pair of blocks, posted his highest point total of the postseason and has tallied 20 or more points in two straight outings. He has found success from deep of late, connecting on five threes in back-to-back games.

Hart was everywhere with 24 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists. He again played all 48 minutes. OG Anunoby played 42 minutes in Monday’s win and had 13 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals. Anunoby did not produce a prolific stat line, but finished one rebound shy of a double-double and was also responsible for a team-high three steals. Anunoby has his hands full defensively with former Raptors teammate Pascal Siakam, but he made a few critical plays off the ball down the stretch.

Pacers vs. Knicks Betting Trends

• Indiana is 4-2 ATS in the last 6 games.
• Pacers are 10-5 SU in its last 15 games.
• The total went over in 5 of Indiana’s last 6 games.
• New York is 3-6 ATS in the last 9 games.
• Knicks are 10-2 SU in its last 12 games.
• The total went over in 16 of New York’s last 19 games.

Pacers vs. Knicks 2024 NBA Playoffs Game 2 Prediction

Indiana takes the win on Wednesday night to tie the series.

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