Somehow, someway, the Knicks and Pacers have made the Eastern Conference Finals after knocking out the powerhouse Celtics and Cavs. Upset central! Now, New York has home-court advantage against an age-old rival, in a battle that showcases clutch stars Jalen Brunson and Tyrese Haliburton.
The storylines are plentiful in this series. This marks the ninth time that New York and Indiana will have met in the playoffs since 1993. The Pacers eliminated an injury-ravaged Knicks squad in a seven-game second-round series last year. History and recency!? Sign us up.
Let's take a look at the NBA championship odds for Knicks vs. Pacers in the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals, then make our official predictions, best bets and top props for the series.
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Knicks vs. Pacers Eastern Conference Finals betting odds
All odds courtesy of BetMGM, an authorized gaming operator of the NBA.
- Moneyline: Knicks -155 | Pacers +130
- Spread: Knicks -1.5 (+150) | Pacers +1.5 (-185)
- Over/under: O 5.5 games (-200) | U 5.5 games (+165)
New York's -155 series odds translate to an implied win probability of nearly 61 percent. Sportsbooks are basically leaning toward Knicks in six, juicing up the moneyline and the OVER of 5.5 total games. You can also get New York -2.5 games at +300 if you like the No. 3 seed to pull off the gentleman sweep.
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Knicks vs. Pacers Eastern Conference Finals betting prediction
The Knicks and Pacers have been two of the better defensive teams in this postseason, and both teams have clutch players with Tyrese Haliburton aka "Playoff Hali" repping Indy and Clutch Player of the Year Jalen Brunson aka the "Brunson Burner" leading the charge for New York.
It's deja vu all over again, as Yogi Berra would say. These franchises have been fierce rivals since the early '90s, and they match up with one another very well. Both like to run but also get stops. Both move the ball really well and find good open looks. Both block shots and crash the boards. Both have outstanding coaches in Indy's Rick Carlisle and New York's Tom Thibodeau.
What New York lacks in overall talent, it more than makes up for with toughness, physicality and pure hustle. The Knicks went just 15-23 against teams over .500 this season, but they proceeded to get past the feisty young Pistons and then erased three large deficits to prevail over Boston (including two of 20-plus points in Game 1 and 2 at TD Garden).
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Still, New York's lack of depth and Thibs' tendency to overexert his core rotation both give us pause. The veteran head coach didn't even want to pull his starters in the semifinals clincher against Boston, even with a 30-point lead and mere minutes remaining in the series. If he plays his starting five for 35-40 minutes each game against the run-and-gun Pacers, it could have cataclysmic results for the Knickerbockers.
The Pacers could also look for ways to contain Brunson and force others to beat them. Indy has Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith — two above-average on-ball defenders — who could tag-team the effort of slowing down the Clutch Player of the Year. Then, the question becomes which Knick can step up.
Karl-Anthony Towns played aggressively in the Game 6 clincher vs. Boston — can he rise to the challenge against Myles Turner? Will fellow offseason acquisition Mikal Bridges turn it on? Can OG Anunoby prove to be the x-factor? There are a lot of questions if the Knicks can't get their typical production from Brunson, and there are a lot of reasons to think Indy will turn this series into a track meet and cross the finish line first.
You have a couple of options as a bettor, but the one we can't get away from is Pacers in six. You can get Indy 4-2 on BetMGM's "Correct Series Result" tab for a generous +500 return. Or, you could bet Rick Carlisle's squad -1.5 at +225, and win whether the Pacers win in four, five or six games. If you're worried it will go to seven, you can go Knicks 4-3 at +350, Pacers 4-3 at +600 or just OVER 6.5 games at +200.
Prediction: Pacers in 6 (+500)
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Knicks vs. Pacers Eastern Conference Finals MVP prediction
Tyrese Haliburton (+175)
NBA players voted Hali the most overrated star in the NBA, and everyone likes to make fun of his awkward-looking set shot. But "Playoff Hali" is an inevitability in big-game situations, as the young point guard has proven time and again that he's a stone-cold assassin. If you have Indy winning, you almost have to go with its floor general to be the primary culprit.
The ball goes through Haliburton all game long. He runs the offense, pushes the pace, settles things down when needed, and, of course, takes the clutch shots. He has now led the Pacers to an NBA Cup Finals (previously called the In-Season Tournament) and two consecutive Eastern Conference Finals. If Indy wins this series and clinches a Finals berth, Hali would probably win this award regardless of stat averages simply because of all that he's done over the past two years.
But the stats will probably be there, too. Haliburton is arguably the best passing point-man in the league, and he's -300 to lead this series in assists. He also proved in the Game 5 clincher over the Cavs that he can light it up across the board, amassing 31 points, eight assists, six rebounds, a steal and a block. He had a 19-point, 9-board effort in Game 2 and a 22-point, 13-dime showing in Game 1. When Indy wins, he's usually the main catalyst — and he's easily the team MVP.
Knicks vs. Pacers Eastern Conference Finals top prop bet
Josh Hart to record 6+ rebounds in every game (-110)
How fun is this prop!? You can find it under "Series - Player Specials" on BetMGM's Pacers-Knicks series betting page. Hart is the top rebounding guard in the NBA and he eats minutes in big games, so you know you're getting your money's worth with this one.
Hart averaged 9.6 rebounds per game during the regular season, and he has reached 6-plus boards in all 12 of the Knicks' playoff games so far this year. He hasn't finished with under six rebounds since an April 2nd blowout loss in Cleveland, about two weeks before the regular season ended.
"Josh Barkley" averaged exactly 10 rebounds per game against Indiana this season, and he has actually pulled down double-digit boards in each of his past 10 games against the Pacers. He should destroy this target goal every game unless he gets injured, which is always a possibility but a risk we're willing to take for a player prop yielding this much value.