Who will take the lead in the Eastern Conference Finals?
Which New York Knicks vs. Indiana Pacers tip is best for the start of the Eastern Conference Finals? The matchup is already a huge surprise. Indy prevailed in five games against the best team in the Eastern Conference regular season from Cleveland, and the Knicks knocked the record-breaking and reigning champions from Boston out of the postseason with a 4-2 series win.
However, both franchises benefited from injuries to their opponents, as in the case of the Celtics with their top forward Jayson Tatum. Now, though, both teams want to seize the moment and book their place in the 2025 NBA Finals next month.
The visitors have never won the NBA title, and the hosts are also due for a win from a time perspective. The Big Apple has been waiting for its next triumph since 1973! For Game 1 between the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers, the prediction is now for more than 10.5 points by Bennedict Mathurin for the visiting Carlisle team.
New York Knicks – Statistics & current form
The Knicks will be particularly motivated against the Pacers, as they have several scores to settle with their opponents. New York was knocked out of the playoffs in the Eastern Conference semifinals by Indiana last season, and it was the third series in a row that ended badly for the hosts.
To ensure things go better this time around, the Knicks are putting their faith in Josh Hart, among others. The shooting guard has a soft spot for the upcoming opponent. The 30-year-old has recorded a double-double in points and rebounds in each of his three regular season games against the Pacers.
Brunson and KAT are also looking forward to facing the Pacers
Coach Tom Thibodeau can also count on his other guard, Jalen Brunson. The former Maverick played in two of the three regular season games against the Pacers, averaging an impressive 29.5 points.
Karl-Anthony Towns also performed strongly in this matchup during the regular season, averaging 30.3 points in his three appearances, which was almost six points above his season average. Furthermore, the games were generally high-scoring affairs.
Against this backdrop, the odds for more than 223.5 points in Game 1 between the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers look particularly promising. This threshold was only surpassed in one of the three meetings in the regular season, and then only very narrowly with 221 points.
In contrast, the average score was no less than 239 points. Betting odds for predictions are available at Bet365 and can be conveniently placed via the British bookmaker’s sports betting app!
Indiana Pacers – Statistics & current form
The Pacers have done it again! For the second time in a row, the franchise from “Circle City” is in the Eastern Conference finals. However, the visitors will be reluctant to remember the last final, as they lost 0-4 in a sweep against the eventual champions from Boston.
Now coach Rick Carlisle, who won the NBA title in 2011 with the Dallas Mavericks, will be relying heavily on Tyrese Halliburton. The guard has the most assists per game in the current NBA postseason, once again proving his exceptional quality as a playmaker. Center Myles Turner is also in good form, once again recording the most blocks per game in the 2025 playoffs.
Indiana is looking good going forward
What’s more, the Pacers are living up to their name from an offensive perspective. Indy averages 117.7 points, a figure surpassed in the postseason only by the already eliminated Cleveland team by around two points.
The efficiency of the visitors’ offense is also evident in the fact that the Pacers alone have a field goal percentage of 50.1 percent in the 2025 NBA playoffs. In light of the visitors’ offensive strength, betting odds of more than 109.5 points for the visitors are also recommended for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers.
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New York Knicks – Indiana Pacers Head-to-head comparison / H2H record
The Madison Square Garden franchise won the last head-to-head matchup in February of this year in Indianapolis. This gave the Knicks a 2-1 record in the regular season.
In addition, the home record in this matchup has been very satisfactory from the hosts’ point of view in the recent past. Four of the last five home games against the Pacers ended in victory for the East Coast basketball team.
However, the only defeat in this review was all the more painful because it was Game Seven of last year’s Eastern Conference semifinals, which saw the Knicks bury their title dreams. For the upcoming edition of the duel between the Knicks and Pacers, however, the odds once again favor the home team to win.
New York Knicks – Indiana Pacers Tip
The Knicks are in the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 25 years, and back then, the finals ended in defeat against their upcoming opponents. The visitors, for their part, have reached the Eastern Conference finals for the second time in a row, defeating the hosts in last year’s semifinals.
In light of these results, the home team will be particularly motivated to avoid further fueling their status as the visitors’ bogey team. However, in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers, the prediction is for at least 11 points from Bennedict Mathurin for the visitors.
The guard still has room for improvement in the current playoffs and, among other things, earned himself an unhelpful ejection for a foul in the penultimate game of the previous series against Cleveland, which meant he only spent one minute on the court, but there is still no doubt about the 22-year-old’s fundamental quality.
On top of that, he has the Knicks’ number: in the three games during the regular season, he delivered the best scoring performance on his team in two of them!
