Pacers Whine as Knicks Grind Heading to Game 3
Knicks vs Pacers Betting Preview: New York Continues to Overcome Injuries
The New York Knicks did their job at home, rushing out to a 2-0 lead over the Indiana Pacers in the second round of the playoffs. While both games were incredibly competitive, the Knicks found a way in both despite multiple NBA injuries to some of their star players in Game 2.
That’s been the theme for the Knicks this season. New York lost Julius Randle early in the second half. They didn’t have Mitchell Robinson for most of the second half and likely won’t see him again in the postseason.
Meanwhile, Jalen Brunson hurt his foot last night and missed a quarter of the game, and OG Anunoby didn’t finish the fourth quarter because of a hamstring injury.
They’ve lost a lot of high-quality NBA stats in the box score. Yet, the Knicks just find a way. Every single time.
However, the Knicks will travel to Indiana to face the Pacers in Game 3 of the series. With Indiana home and many injury concerns with the Knicks, the Pacers are 7.5-point favorites in Game 3. Meanwhile, the total has jumped to 223 after the first two games went over with totals below this number.
Take a look at our Knicks vs Pacers betting preview for Game 3 of this epic second-round series.
Knicks vs Pacers 
Records: New York Knicks (56-34), Indiana Pacers (51-40)
Day/Time:
Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
Streaming: ESPN
Knicks vs Pacers Betting Trends
To begin the series, the Knicks have won both second-round matchups against the Pacers. They’re sitting comfortably at 2-0 and only need two more wins to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Over the last ten games, including the playoffs, the Knicks are 7-3 against the Pacers outright. They’ve also covered six of the last ten games and hit the over in six of those ten games.
The Pacers were only home in three of those ten games. Since December 2022, they have gone 1-2 at home against the Knicks.
Indiana Files 78 Complaints To NBA League Office
While the officiating hasn’t been terrific from the NBA, the Pacers are going crazy. After falling 2-0 to the Knicks in the series, the Pacers have sent 78 different clips to the league office to review where they felt the officials made the wrong call.
Talk about being petty.
While officials made some mistakes, they’re not robots. They won’t be perfect. They’ve made bad calls on both sides of the ball. They’re not trying to screw any NBA team from winning games. They just make calls as they see it.
According to our Knicks vs Pacers betting preview, the Pacers should focus more on game planning than complaining in Game 3.
Brunson & Anunoby’s Status Heading To Game 3
Jalen Brunson left Game 2 in the first quarter after a sore foot. He eventually returned in the second half and put together an incredible second half to help lead the Knicks to victory. He’ll likely suit up against the Pacers in Game 3.
On the other hand, OG Anunoby had 28 points while Brunson was out. But he injured his hamstring in the second half and didn’t finish the game once he came out. His injury is probably more concerning.
While Brunson is banged up, Anunoby is more questionable. Meanwhile, Mitchell Robinson and Bojan Bogdanovic have already been ruled out for the rest of the playoffs, and Julius Randle has been out for months and won’t return.
Yet, the Knicks continue to find ways to win. It’s remarkable.
The winner of this series will play the winner of the Celtics-Cavaliers series when looking at the updated NBA playoff brackets.
The Blame Game Won’t Win
The Pacers were embarrassed by their second-half finish against the Knicks in Game 2. They allowed the Knicks back into the game and allowed them to toy around on the glass, just like in Game 1.
In addition, the Pacers made some interesting personnel decisions down the stretch. They never brought TJ McConnell back into the game in the final seven minutes.
When he’s been on the floor, the Pacers have a +21.9 net rating. When he’s off the floor, Indiana has a -31.7 net rating. While he was having another big game, the Pacers failed to keep him in and then wanted to blame the refs.
Sometimes, you have to go off script. The rotations are acceptable in the NBA regular season, but in the playoffs, you want to close with the guys who give you the best chance to win.
Beyond that, the Pacers were horrible on the defensive end for the second consecutive game. This time, the Pacers allowed 140.7 points per 100 possessions and an effective field goal percentage of 65.1%.
This all happened while Jalen Brunson was out in the second quarter and OG Anunoby was out in the fourth quarter.
It never mattered because the Knicks added 43.2% of offensive rebounds and shot lights out to score a playoff-high 130 points.
On the other hand, the Pacers shot well, too. Tyrese Haliburton came alive for 34 points after shooting 11-for-19 from the field. But we’ve seen Haliburton be inconsistent time and time again. In the first game, he finished with six points. In this one, he scored 34 points. True leaders ultimately don’t go hot and cold every game.
Realistically, the Pacers likely would’ve lost by far more without Haliburton. Myles Turner and Pascal Siakam combined for 20 points, and the Pacers still scored 134.4 points per 100 possessions.
They’re deep, but they’re not playing nearly as consistently as the Knicks.
Indiana has limited turnovers to no more than 10% in each of the first two NBA games against the Knicks. They also added 36% of offensive rebounds but didn’t see the foul line much. That’s normal for the Pacers. They don’t get to the foul line often. However, the Knicks must do a better job on the defensive glass.
Losing Anunoby will not help the situation, but ultimately, that’s the one area where they’ll really need to improve defensively in Game 3.
It’s likely the Knicks will go colder shooting the ball in Indiana. But as long as the Knicks dominate the glass and play more connected than the Pacers, they’ll be a tough matchup for the Pacers throughout the series.
After looking at the NBA betting lines, let’s back the Knicks at +7.5 (-112) in this Game 3 matchup.
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