Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Playoff series between the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks is set for Wednesday night. New York took a 1-0 series lead with a 121-117 win in the series opener, and it was a terrific battle.
Indiana came into this series with a ton of momentum after upsetting the Milwaukee Bucks in the First Round of the playoffs. The Pacers have been a much better team on their home floor, but they played well in the Game 1 loss.
New York has now won three of their last four games, and they had a terrific series win over the Philadelphia 76ers. The Knicks are the number two seed in the Eastern Conference, and they are playing like it.
The New York Knicks are 5.5-point betting favorites over the Indiana Pacers in Game 2 of the series, and the over/under is set at 219.5 total points.
Pacers Playing Fast
The Indiana Pacers led the NBA in points per game during the regular season, and they got to 117 points on Monday night. Indiana wants to push the tempo on offense in this series, and they have the talent to be tough to stop.
Center Myles Turner led the Pacers with 23 points in the series opener, but the Pacers will need to shoot better from deep to win in Game 2. Indiana is not going to change the way that they play, but they also need to show up on both ends of the floor.
The Pacers can’t allow the Knicks to score 120 points again in Game 2 as that just won’t allow them to find a way to win.
Knicks Riding on Back of Brunson
The New York Knicks have had a phenomenal season, and it has been Jalen Brunson that is leading the charge. Brunson scored 43 points in the Game 1 win, and that is the fourth straight 40-point game for the star.
The Knicks are not a team with a ton of depth, and head coach Tom Thibodeau continues to ride his players extremely hard. Josh Hard had 13 rebounds to led the Knicks in the series opener, and he has also made big offensive players.
The Knicks want to find a way to slow down the pace of this game by getting stops, but they just proved that they can win games by scoring points as well.
Knicks Take 2-0 Lead
The Indiana Pacers had a golden opportunity to pick up a win in the series opener, but they just couldn’t get enough stops late. Playing defense has been an issue all season long for the Pacers, and that is going to lead to some problems in this game.
Jalen Brunson has been on a remarkable run this postseason, and he is going to have another big game in this one. New York has a ton of momentum, and the Knicks are going to feed off of the energy from the home crowd.
Bet the New York Knicks -5.5 over the Indiana Pacers in Game 2 of this series as they are able to take a 2-0 series lead.
