After their massive 20-point comeback win over the weekend, the Knicks will take on the Pacers in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday. New York looks to carry over momentum and notch the series at 2-2, while Indy hopes to tame the beast and get back to business (10:00 a.m. AEST).
The Sporting News will dive into the NBA betting odds for this conference title showdown, then preview the action and deliver our best bets, top player props, and final score prediction.
Can Karl-Anthony Towns and the Knicks build off the breakout second-half performance they mounted in Game 3? Or, will Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers bounce back and take a commanding 3-1 lead?
Here's our betting preview for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Knicks and Pacers, including the odds, our spread and over/under picks and the top player props.
Knicks vs. Pacers Game 4: Head-to-head, line, over/under
All odds and props via bookmaker Sportsbet
- Head-to-head: Pacers ($1.72) | Knicks ($2.18)
- Line: Pacers -2.5 ($1.92) | Knicks +2.5 ($1.88)
- Over/under: O 220.5 ($1.90) | U 220.5 ($1.90)
Knicks vs. Pacers Game 4 best bets and final score prediction
If you're betting on the Knicks to win a second-straight game, you might as well pair their $2.18 head-to-head with Karl-Anthony Towns 20+ points and 10+ rebounds. That three-leg multi yields $3.40 odds, on a stat line that likely needs to happen in order for New York to emerge victorious.
When KAT has been aggressive during this postseason, the Knicks have succeeded. All season long, we thought Jalen Brunson — the Clutch Player of the Year himself — was the most important player on Tom Thibodeau's team. Maybe it was Towns all along. When he's scored 20 points and hauled in eight rebounds during these playoffs, the Knicks have gone 7-2. He scored 20 and hauled in eight in the fourth quarter of Game 3, finishing with 24 and 15 on the night.
Indiana ran track meets through Games 1 and 2 at Madison Square Garden. And, Thibs proceeded to run his core rotation into the ground. The haymakers had been delivered, and many declared New York dead in the water and Indy the runaway favourite to TKO its ways into the Finals. It was KAT who swung back in Game 3, putting his squad on his back in the process.
KAT's aggressive, assertive play — both inside the paint and outside the arc — put newfound pressure on the Pacers' defense. Myles Turner almost fouled out. Aaron Nesmith also battled foul trouble. Pascal Siakam finished a game-low -21. Outside of Nesmith's seven rebounds, no other Pacer had more than four. New York kept on coming until the final whistle, and it had extra life because of KAT's play — and because Thibs played nine different Knicks, not six or seven.
Call us crazy, but we think that last game — and, more importantly, that last quarter — might end up being New York's "blueprint game" of this series. If the Knicks can stay physical, keep rolling with KAT as their go-to scorer, and let their offense establish and maintain a rhythm, they can carry over that fourth-quarter momentum and punch Indy in the mouth again on Wednesday. Enjoy the scrap.
FINAL SCORE PREDICTION: Knicks 112, Pacers 107 — New York wins straight up ($2.18), while the score finishes UNDER the projected total of 220.5 ($1.90).
Knicks vs. Pacers Game 4 top player prop bet
Karl-Anthony Towns, F/C, Knicks: OVER 32.5 points + rebounds ($1.80 with Sportsbet)
We already mentioned we liked KAT to put up 20 points and 10 rebounds ($2.00 as a mini-multi), but here's another Towns prop we like. The Knicks are 6-2 during this playoff run when the All-Star combines for at least 34 points + rebounds, and he had 39 in Game 3 and 47 in Game 1! This feels like a projection that should be closer to 36.5, so we'll gladly take the bait at $2.00.