The Knicks are looking to keep their season alive at Madison Square Garden as they trail the Pacers 3-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals. This is a breakdown of the public betting splits and the most popular player prop bets for the highly anticipated matchup.
New York is a four-point favorite over Indiana on DraftKings Sportsbook, with a total of 223.5 points.
Betting Splits
The Knicks are fighting for their season in Game 5 against the Pacers. The Pacers won both of the first two games in New York, including their historic Game 1 comeback victory. The Knicks looked to make it a series after winning Game 3 in Indiana, but couldn’t carry that momentum into Game 4. They will now try to extend the series on their home court Thursday night. The public is heavily on Indiana to close out the series in Game 5 with 61% of moneyline bets and 61% of the handle on the Pacers to win. It has lost faith in New York heading into this game and expects Indiana to close it out.
The public is also all over Indiana to cover the four-point spread. However, there is a massive difference between the bet percentage and handle percentage when it comes to the spread. Despite getting only 34% of the bets, the Knicks are getting 74% of the handle as four-point favorites. That means that bigger bettors are coming in heavily on the Knicks to cover the short spread. While the public is following what they have seen through the first four games, bigger bettors are taking the contrarian approach and betting on the Knicks to cover the spread at home.
When it comes to the total, both the public and bigger bettors alike are on the over with 75% of the bets and 79% of the handle on over 223.5. Two of the four games have gone over this total so far, hitting 251 and 273. It is somewhat telling that the only game the Knicks have won in this series was by far the lowest-scoring game of the series. They may try to slow the pace and make this a half-court game, giving them a larger advantage over the Pacers, who have dominated in transition so far this series.
Most Popular Player Props
Here are the most popular player prop bets on DraftKings Sportsbook for this matchup:
- Karl-Anthony Towns o21.5 Points (-115)
- Andrew Nembhard u4.5 Assists (-135)
- Jalen Brunson 30+ Points (-140)
- Tyrese Haliburton Triple-Double: Yes (+1300)
- Jalen Brunson First Points Scorer (+370)
Karl-Anthony Towns’ points prop over is the most bet-on prop for Game 5. Towns is listed as questionable for this game with a knee contusion, but it would be shocking if he actually didn’t play in an elimination game. Towns should be on the floor and playing significant minutes despite the injury. He has cleared this number in three of four games in this series, so bettors are counting on him to be healthy and score 22 or more points once again.
Bettors are relying on Andrew Nembhard to have under 4.5 assists. He has gone under this number in all four games in this series so far. He has back-to-back terrible shooting games as well, causing his minutes to diminish in Game 4. Nembhard could be seeing less court time in Game 5, making this a smart bet on his under. The other Pacer on this list is Tyrese Haliburton. Bettors are backing Haliburton to keep up his great form in this series and turn in a triple-double to close out the Knicks. Haliburton just had a triple-double in Game 4, but it is a tough feat to put together back-to-back triple-doubles. Haliburton does have double-digit assists in three of four games this series, but getting the rebounds will be a tough task.
Jalen Brunson is always one of the most bet-on players in the prop market. Brunson has struggled to shoot the ball from beyond the arc in this series, but has still scored 30 or more points in three out of four games so far. Brunson averaged 39.5 points per game in the first two games in New York in this series. If he can replicate a performance like that, the Knicks will have a good chance to win, and he will soar over this prop. Bettors are relying on Brunson to score the first points of the game as well. In an elimination game, Brunson will want the ball in his hands as much as possible, giving him as good of a chance as anybody to register the game’s first points.
