NBA Basketball
2026-03-13 - New York Knicks at Indiana Pacers
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States : NBA Basketball
Friday 13th March 2026 - Scheduled 7:30pm
11:30pm (British Time)
Preview
There is a long rivalry between these two Eastern Conference teams and the battle in the Conference Finals in 2025 was the latest.
While there is no love lost between them, 2026 has shaped up very differently for the Indiana Pacers (15-51) who prop up a Conference they represented really well in the NBA Finals in June 2025. They are on a back to back, so likely to be short-handed for this one, and the Pacers have lost eleven in a row and closing in on a thirteen game losing run that hit them hard earlier this season.
Indiana fans will arrive looking to at least play spoiler for the New York Knicks (42-25) who are the current Number 3 Seed in the Eastern Conference and under some pressure to win a NBA Championship. Anything less is going to lead to off-season changes and the Knicks have been trending towards an appearance in the NBA Finals in the last couple of years, but understanding the top of the East is loaded with top contenders.
The NBA Cup win earlier this season will have given New York some confidence for what they can achieve in May and June, but recent form has been inconsistent to say the least.
However, some of that is down to the fact that the Knicks have been working through a tough portion of the schedule. This game on Friday is part of a much 'easier' part of the remaining regular season and the Knicks may be able to pull away for a relatively comfortable win on Friday.
New York will be heading back home after this final stop on a five road game run, and this game will decide whether it was a successful trip or not.
The Offensive firepower being produced in recent games should be enough for the Knicks to exploit the problems Indiana have been having on the Defensive side of the court.
There is still work for New York to do if they are going to have a strong post-season run and that is mainly on their own Defensive schemes having moved Head Coaches in the off-season. Tom Thibodeau was much more focused on the Defensive side of the court compared with his replacement Mike Brown, but the Knicks have shown enough Defensively to contain what could be a tired Pacers team.
When they met last month, the Indiana Pacers pushed New York much harder than was anticipated, but that should focus the Knicks here.
Prediction
Lay the points with the road favourite in this game.
The Pick :
Indiana Pacers 108-124 New York Knicks
