The New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers are back in action at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.

The pregame narrative: New York won by the thinnest of margins in Monday's opener and that has me backing Indiana to cover a double-digit spread tonight. I cashed a +325 SGP in Game 1 centred around a Tyrese Haliburton fade and Donte DiVincenzo 3-point prop and am running those plays back.

Check out the full Pacers vs. Knicks SGP picks for Game 2 of their second-round matchup on May 8.

Pacers vs. Knicks SGP picks

Parlay: Knicks -3.5 + DiVincenzo over 2.5 threes + Haliburton under 17.5 points (+320)

Pacers +10.5 (-278): The Knicks got a bit lucky on Monday night. They were down for most of the fourth quarter and turned the ball over 15 times. But some clutch shotmaking and questionable calls down the stretch saw New York secure a four-point win.

I was impressed with Indiana's game — mainly its ability to limit New York on the offensive glass.

The Knicks posted a 37.0% offensive rebounding rate during the opening round but only had eight in Game 1 (4.7 below its average to that point).

The Pacers are also a much deeper team.

Jalen Brunson is the best player on the court but was forced to play 44 minutes on Monday. Tom Thibodeau only used three bench players for a combined 27 minutes and they scored a combined three points.

One of those players was Mitchell Robinson, who suffered a season-ending injury.

Indiana got 46 points from its bench on a combined 61.7% shooting.

New York is well-conditioned but fatigue will naturally set in at points. That's when I expect the Pacers to go on a run and keep this close.

Other parlay picks

DiVincenzo over 2.5 threes (-235): DiVincenzo made it rain in the opener, cashing 5-of-9 threes including one with 40 seconds left to take a three-point lead.

That marked the second straight game where the shooting guard smashed this total.

Dating back to the regular season, DiVincenzo has played three games versus the Pacers. He's averaged 4.5 makes on 11.3 attempts, clearing this line three times.

The Pacers didn't give up much from beyond the arc during the regular season. They allowed the fewest 3-point attempts and makes but ranked 15th in opponent 3-point percentage.

Indiana allowed New York to shoot 47.8% from deep in Game 1. DiVincenzo will get his looks tonight.

Haliburton under 17.5 points (-143): After watching Haliburton's postseason play, I'm wondering why he's on the U.S. Olympic team.

Sure, the point guard averaged 20.1 points and a league-leading 10.9 assists during the regular season — but he's really struggling to perform under the bright lights.

Haliburton scored just six points on six shot attempts in Game 1. That's unacceptable for a player who's supposed to drive offence. He's now gone under this line in five of seven postseason games while shooting 42.1% from the field.

Haliburton's volume (13.0 shots/game) is a red flag. I doubt he has a hyper-efficient shooting night against a Knicks team which allowed the fourth-fewest points per game to point guards, per Fantasy Pros.

Picks as of 1:11 p.m. on 05/08/2024.