The Indiana Pacers beat the New York Knicks 138-135 in a thrilling Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals at Madison Square Garden. Although the Knicks led by 14 points with under three minutes to play, the Pacers showed their resiliency and delivered an all-time comeback. Tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET, the Knicks will look to even the series before it heads to Indiana.
Even though the Knicks need a victory in Game 2, Tyrese Haliburton will have something to say about that. This postseason, when the moments have gotten the brightest, Haliburton has elevated his play each time. He has scored 31 points in his last two playoff games. Here is my favorite prop bet for Haliburton against the Knicks tonight.
Tyrese Haliburton over 20.5 Points (-110)
Jalen Brunson has been excellent this postseason and totaled 43 points in Game 1, but Haliburton stole the show at the Garden. Even though Haliburton’s scoring has been inconsistent this postseason, he is heating up and seems to be on an all-time run. Getting Haliburton to score over 20.5 points at -110 on DraftKings Sportsbook is an excellent play considering his recent scoring performances.
Haliburton has hit this scoring mark in five of 11 games in the postseason. But the series against the Cleveland Cavaliers was weird because he only played 30 minutes in Game 3 and 26 minutes in Game 4. That was because each game wasn’t close, with Cleveland winning Game 3 by 22 points and Indiana having a 20-point victory in Game 4. In the five games that Haliburton has played at least 36 minutes, he has scored 21-plus points in four of them.
But this isn’t anything new for the Pacers and Haliburton, as they have had plenty of success against the Knicks in the past. Haliburton scored over 20.5 points in three of his last five games against the Knicks in New York. He has also scored 34, 26, and 31 points in his last three playoff games in Madison Square Garden. During the Pacers’ previous two games, Haliburton’s field goal attempts have increased, and if they want to take a 2-0 series lead, that will need to continue.
