NBA Basketball
2025-05-23 - Indiana Pacers at New York Knicks
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States : NBA Basketball Playoff Eastern Conference Finals Game 2
Friday 23rd May 2025 - Scheduled 8:30pm
1:30am (British Time)
Preview
The 2025 NBA Playoffs have featured plenty of games where huge leads have been wasted and comebacks have been frequent.
Even with that in mind, the New York Knicks were stunned in Game 1 on Wednesday night when leading the Indiana Pacers by 17 Points in the Fourth Quarter and eventually being beaten in Overtime. In the last twenty-seven years, 1414 times a team has led by at least 9 points into the final minute of a Playoff Game and all of them had won, until the Indiana Pacers became the first to overcome monumental odds.
This means the fans are going to be needed to be fired up and right behind the New York Knicks as they bid to avoid falling 0-2 behind in the Eastern Conference Finals before having to head to Indiana for two games. There will be a real disappointment within the Knicks locker room, but they cannot ignore the fact that they were able to do much of what they would have wanted Offensively and can be more effective as long as Jalen Brunson can avoid foul trouble for the second game in a row.
New York have already shown plenty of resolve in this Playoff run and they can bounce back, even if the Indiana Pacers deserve a lot of respect for the way they have performed. The Pacers are forcing teams to play how they want to play and ultimately Indiana have shown off the depth to wear down those who face them.
Tyrese Haliburton made some huge shots, but was really well supported by Aaron Nesmith in the fightback and upset. Doing that for a second time in a row on the road will be challenging and teams that have lost games have tended to recover in the next game during recent Conference Finals.
This is a big spread considering the Indiana Offensive capabilities, but the Knicks have to believe they can be more consistent when trying to hold onto a big lead. Some of the players feel they lost some of the focus when looking to close out Game 1 and the situation should mean that is not going to happen again and this time the Knicks can recover and cover the spread set to level up the Eastern Conference Finals.
Prediction
Lay the points with the home favourite.
The Pick :
New York Knicks 119-110 Indiana Pacers
