NBA Odds & Picks: Saturday (Knicks vs. Pacers)
The National Basketball Association (NBA) has single game on the slate, as the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers meet in Game 6 their Eastern Conference Finals best-of-seven series Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET, and it can be viewed or streamed on TNT/truTV/Max.
Let’s keep building that bankroll for the stretch run with our best NBA bets for Saturday, May 31.
Saturday’s Best NBA Picks
NBA odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook | All picks are for 1 unit
New York Knicks (+146) at Indiana Pacers (-174) | O/U 219 (-110/-110)
The Knicks had their backs to the wall, as they faced a 3-1 series deficit heading into Game 5 against the Pacers at Madison Square Garden on Thursday. New York picked up a 111-94 win as 4.5-point favorites to force the series back to Indianapolis, extending their season at least one more game.
The Pacers shot just 40.5% (30-of-74) from the field, while going 33.3% (10-of-30) from behind the 3-point line, and 82.8% (24-of-29) from the free-throw line. It was a sloppy game for Indiana, too, as they turned it over 20 times, while posting a minus-5 margin in the rebounding department.
Indiana’s Bennedict Mathurin erupted for 23 points off the bench, while adding nine rebounds, 2-of-4 from downtown, and 9-of-9 from the free-throw line, as his performance was a huge surprise. From Game 4 of the Cleveland series, through the first three games of this series, Mathurin had 15 total points in five games. However, he went for 20 points in 12 minutes in Game 4, and 23 points in Game 5, giving him 21.5 points per game (PPG).
Pacers’ Pascal Siakam was good for 15 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals in 34 minutes. Game 4 hero Aaron Nesmith crashed back to Earth with a 1-of-8 shooting night, including 1-of-5 from downtown, going for only three points.
For the Knicks, they were 49.4% (44-of-89) from the field, while hitting 27.6% (8-of-29) from downtown. The Knicks left a lot of points on the floor, going just 68.2% (15-of-22) from the free-throw line, but it didn’t hurt them in the comfortable win.
Karl-Anthony Towns was good for 24 points with 13 rebounds and three assists, while Jalen Brunson bagged 32 points with five rebounds, five assists and four 3-pointers. Josh Hart came off the bench with 12 points and 10 rebounds for the double-double, while adding four assists and two steals.
The Knicks have fought back for wins in two of the past three games, while going 2-1 ATS in the span. I know it sounds weird, but let’s roll with the Knicks to force a decisive Game 7 at Madison Square Garden. You know the NBA TV executives are dying for that to happen, as an NBA Finals with the television markets of Indianapolis and Oklahoma City pales in comparison to the New York City Metropolitan market.
We’ll also go low on the total, as the Under has cashed in three of the past four outings.
We’ll play a couple of player props again, too. Let’s go with Siakam (-162) – To Record 6+ Rebounds in Game 6. He hit the mark in Game 5, and he is averaging 5.0 RPG in the series, while going for six or more rebounds in five of 10 playoffs games. If you were to play Siakam’s rebounds with Siakam (-650) – To Score 15+ Points to enhance your Same-Game Parlay. Playing the two Siakam props, the Knicks and the Under nets (+655).
Picks: Knicks Moneyline (+146) & Under 219 Points (-110)
Player Props: Pascal Siakam 6+ Rebounds (-162)