The Eastern Conference Finals are getting underway at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night between the Knicks and the Pacers.
This is a look into who will be the leading scorer of Game 1 and the best bets to make for that market on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Knicks vs. Pacers Game 1 Leading Scorer Odds
The Knicks are 4.5-point favorites against the Pacers, with an o/u of 223.5 on DraftKings Sportsbook. Here are the odds on which player will lead the game in scoring.
It should be an incredible series between the Knicks and Pacers with a spot in the NBA Finals on the line. These two teams went seven games in the postseason last year, and both teams are improved from where they were last year. If both teams stay healthy, this could go all the way to seven games once again. Indiana has a very well-rounded team, but Jalen Brunson is the clear superstar of this series. Brunson was in the top eight in the NBA this season in both points and assists per game. He has also put up historic numbers so far this postseason. Brunson was the inaugural NBA Clutch Player of the Year, and he has kept that going through the postseason. He broke Kobe Bryant’s record for the most fourth-quarter points scored through the first ten points of a single postseason.
Brunson is -120 at DraftKings Sportsbook to lead Game 1 in scoring. His teammate, Karl-Anthony Towns, is second on the odds list. It is then a steep drop-off in the odds to Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam for the Pacers. The Pacers’ scoring is typically more spread out than the Knicks. However, there have been games where other Knicks have risen to the occasion so far this postseason. So far in these playoffs, Brunson has led the game in scoring in seven out of 12 games. He led four out of six games in scoring against the Pistons and three out of six games against the Celtics. Last season in this series, Brunson led the game in scoring in three out of seven games, despite being injured for part of that series. Brunson exploded for two games with 40+ points in that series, including in Game 1.
Brunson is the safe bet when it comes to a leading scorer. He has been incredible all season long for New York, and each of the last two postseasons. However, if you wanted to make a longshot bet, there are two ideal candidates. The first is Tyrese Haliburton at 10/1. Haliburton is the leader of the Pacers, but he is not always the top scorer. However, he is liable to explode in a game where he is hot from beyond the arc. In the clinching game against the Cavaliers in their last series, Haliburton went for 31 points, leading his team in scoring. He also had two 30+ point games in the series against the Knicks last year.
The other player who presents good value with these odds is OG Anunoby. Anunoby has been a boom or bust player this postseason. He has a few games where he has been a non-factor on offense, but he also has a few games where he has exploded, typically when he catches fire from beyond the arc. In Game 1 of the series against the Celtics, Anunoby was the joint-top scorer along with Jalen Brunson, scoring 29 points in that game. In the Game 6 clincher against Boston, he was once again the joint-top scorer with Brunson, scoring 23 points. So he was tied for the leading scorer in 2/6 games last series, making his 15/1 odds a great price for this bet.
