NBA Best Bets and Bold Predictions: Pacers vs. Knicks

Indiana is an underdog at Madison Square Garden against a New York team that’s won eight in a row.

The New York Knicks ended January on an eight-game winning streak and are looking to add to that tally Thursday night with the Indiana Pacers in town as the calendar flips to February.

Coach Tom Thibodeau’s team has risen to third place in the East after posting an NBA-best 14–2 record in January. The Knicks (31–17) have won their last four games by double digits and their last two victories were without Julius Randle (shoulder), who’s expected to miss a few weeks. OG Anunoby’s arrival has helped elevate New York’s play on both sides of the ball, though Anunoby (shoulder) is questionable against the league’s No. 1 offense.

The Pacers (27–21) kept up with the top-seeded Boston Celtics in a tight road loss earlier this week in Tyrese Haliburton’s return from injury. Indiana’s All-Star point guard is questionable (hamstring) and Bennedict Mathurin (toe) and Jalen Smith (back) are as well.

Indiana beat the Knicks 140–126 in the first of three meetings this season in late December. Donte DiVincenzo led all scorers with a career-high 38 points, but that wasn’t enough to overcome the offensive clinic orchestrated by Haliburton, who finished with 22 points and 23 assists to tie a franchise record.

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Indiana Pacers vs. New York Knicks Odds

Spread: Pacers +3.5 (-118) | Knicks -3.5 (-110)
Moneyline: IND (+125) | NYK (-154)
Total: 235.5 — Over (-118) | Under (-110)
Game Info: Thursday, Feb. 1 | 7:30 p.m. ET

Donte DiVincenzo had a career-high 38 points the last time the Knicks faced Indiana :: Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports

As has been the case for much of the year, the Pacers defense let them down Tuesday against the Celtics. They hung 124 points on one of the NBA’s best defenses but allowed 129 as Boston shot 54/47/82 as a team. Haliburton played just 22 minutes in his first game action in nearly two weeks and though he double-doubled (13 points, 10 assists), he shot just 5–16 from the field.

Aaron Nesmith had quite the night against his former team as he led Indiana with 26 points and 12 boards. He also lit up New York for seven made threes the last time these teams played. Indiana rained down 23 three-pointers in that game, but for the season the Knicks’ outside shooting is on par with that of the league’s highest-scoring offense.

Losing Randle, the team’s second-leading scorer and top rebounder, is a blow to the offense but it was no issue in a 113–92 road win over the Charlotte Hornets on Monday or a 118–103 victory against the Utah Jazz on Tuesday. Jalen Brunson scored a game-high 33 points in the second leg of that back-to-back, which kicked off a six-game homestand at Madison Square Garden that concludes with a game against the Pacers next Saturday.

New York is 17–5 at home on the year and 14–7–1 against the spread, which is tied for the third-best home record in the league. The Knicks are also 7–1 against the spread and 5–1 at home during their current winning streak. Indiana fell to 11–12 straight up as the away team with the loss to Boston, though they did cover to improve to 12–9–1 against the spread.

Madison Square Garden has been a tough place for opponents to play all year and New York will defend home court and even up the season series with the Pacers behind the play of both Brunson and DiVincenzo.

Best Bet: Knicks -3.5 (-110)

Bold Prediction: Donte DiVincenzo Scores 25+ Points

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