by
- What: Eastern Conference Semifinals
- Who: Indiana Pacers vs. New York Knicks
- When: Friday, May 17 at 7 p.m. ET
- Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana
- How to watch: TNT and HBO Max
The pressure is officially on for the Indiana Pacers. On Tuesday night, Indiana and New York faced off at Madison Square Garden with their series all tied up at 2-2. Plenty of Pacers fans were hoping that their team would be able to come out on top, but NY dominated. Now, the pressure is on Indiana to try and keep their season alive. With that said, the Pacers are favored over the Knicks in a must-win Game 6. Will they be able to come out on top?
New York is playing with a ton of confidence and they’re feeling great after posting a 121-91 win at MSG in Game 5. Who in the world saw a 30-point win for the Knicks coming? We sure didn’t. Now, though, the Pacers are going to have to win Game 6 if they want to try and move on to the next round. If New York plays the same way they did this week, though, then it could be lights out for the Pacers and their fans.
| Pacers vs Knicks Game 6 |  |  |  |
| Pacers to win | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Knicks to win | +125 | +125 | +125 |
| Over 196 points | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Under 196 points | -110 | -110 | -110 |
“With their smaller lineup, intuitively you would think it gives us a better chance to do well on the boards. But their overall level of fight in this game was superior to what ours was. And that’s the bottom line,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “There are no excuses, but all the guys on our roster, I believe it’s the first time they’ve been in a Game 5, tied 2-2, going on the road. So you learn a lot in those situations very quickly. So this is a different circumstance, and as a playoff series, it’s going to get harder.”
According to the best-rated sportsbooks, which includes the reliable Bovada review, the Pacers are the favorites for this one, holding -110 NBA playoffs betting odds. The Knicks are the underdogs as the road team, as they’ve been set with +125 NBA betting odds. Indiana is 2-0 thus far in this series in home games, so it’s going to be tough for New York to pull away with a win. Plenty of analysts think there will be a Game 7, but we don’t think that will be the case.
Good morning, New York 🔋 pic.twitter.com/0NJuxCdCxe
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) May 15, 2024
The Knicks are our pick to win Game 6 in Indiana
While the Pacers are favored to win at home, the Knicks are our pick to win Game 6 in Indiana. Why? Well, we’ve simply got to bring up the one and only Jalen Brunson. Brunson has been electric in the postseason and more of the same was on display in Game 5. In the 30-point win for New York, Brunson was unreal, scoring a game-high 44 points. Whenever New York needed him to make a tough shot, he was there to do so.
Not only that, but Brunson has been packed by Donte DiVincenzo and Josh Hart. Divincenzo is known for drilling some timely 3-points, while Hart is a monster attacking the glass. We’ve also got to discuss Isaiah Hartenstein, as he posted an impressive 17 rebounds in the Game 5 win over Indiana. The supporting cast for Brunson has been playing at a high level and that will need to be the case on Friday night as well.
Donte DiVincenzo dunks on the Pacers then gets into it with Myles Turner pic.twitter.com/evmuNWWO6Y
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) May 15, 2024
“We still need one more win so we can’t get too excited about it,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said after the Game 5 win at Madison Square Garden. “We have to understand what we need to do, stay focused on the task at hand. If you feel good about yourself you get knocked down in this league. We’ve got to be ready to go.”
Brunson is the leader for this team and he knows that things are not going to be easy for New York in Game 6. However, he has proven that he has a clutch gene and that he has what it takes to help NY post upset wins. It will be interesting to see what happens on Friday night, but we have a feeling the Knicks will end the series with a close win.
A Boston vs. New York Series is what fans are calling for
With the way the bracket is looking, a Boston vs. New York series is what fans are calling for. The Celtics are about to wrap things up against Cleveland, while the Knicks can end things on Friday vs. Indiana. This would set up a thrilling Eastern Conference Finals showdown. Boston remains the favorite to win the NBA Finals, but might NY spoil their plans?
Whenever these two teams met in the regular season, things were quite close. Boston would be expected to take down New York and move on to the Finals, but we don’t think it would be a walk in the park for them. Boston has an incredible amount of talent, but the Knicks also love playing with their backs against the wall. If this series ends up going down, it would not be a shocker to see it go a full seven games. Soon enough, we’ll see if fans get their wish or not.
