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, predictions and tips
All odds courtesy of Betfair unless otherwise stated and correct at time of publish.
- Win Market: Knicks 4/6 | Pacers 5/4
- Over/under: O 5.5 games (4/7) | U 5.5 games (7/5)
New York's 4/6 series odds translate to an implied win probability of 60 percent. Sportsbooks are basically leaning toward Knicks in six, juicing up the OVER of 5.5 total games. You can also get New York at a best-priced 4/1 (with betway) if you like the No. 3 seed to pull off the gentleman sweep and win the series 4-1.
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Knicks vs. Pacers NBA series 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).
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.
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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 with betway for a generous 5/1 return. If you're worried the series will go to seven, you can go Knicks 4-3 at 4/1, Pacers 4-3 at 11/2 or just OVER 6.5 games at 37/20 all with the same firm.
TSN's Prediction: Pacers in 6
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