NBA Playoff Picks: New York Knicks vs. Indiana Pacers, Game 6

New York Knicks at Indiana Pacers
Saturday, 5/18/13, 8:00 PM EST, TV: ESPN
Opening Point Spread: Indiana -4
Current Betting Line: Indiana -5
Opening Total: 178
Current Total: 179
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker

The Indiana Pacers have dominated opponents at home during the 2013 NBA playoffs

New York avoided elimination from the 2013 NBA playoffs by picking up an 85-75 victory over Indiana as five-point home favorites in Game 5, while going UNDER the betting total of 181.5. The Knicks were led on the offensive end by forward Carmelo Anthony, who scored a game-high 28 points, while Chris Copeland added 13 off the bench. “We gotta pump each other up when we get off that plane and get ready for Saturday night,” stated Knicks coach Mike Woodson. New York is 2-4 ATS as road underdogs of 3.5 to 6 points, which is important to consider when making your NBA picks against the spread.

The Knicks have lost all four meetings with the Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse dating back to the start of the regular season, which can’t be ignored when looking over the pro basketball odds page. Anthony will have to have a huge game in hopes of pushing this best-of-seven series to a decisive final game, which is certainly possible, as he led the league in averaging 28.7 points per game.

Indiana has won all five of its home games during the postseason thus far, but the squad could be without point guard George Hill for a second consecutive contest, as he continues to deal with concussion symptoms. The Pacers are averaging 90.7 points per game, while holding foes to 88.5 points on 41.7 percent shooting. The franchise has owned a 3-2 lead in a seven-game series six times in playoff history—posting a 3-3 mark in Game 6 in that situation. Indiana is 9-3 ATS as home favorites of 3.5 to 6 points, with the OVER going 7-5 in those 12 opportunities.

The Pacers will likely rely heavily on their defense in hopes of advancing to the conference finals to take on the Miami Heat, as they held foes to 90.7 points per game, which ranked behind only the Memphis Grizzlies in that statistical category. Indiana led the NBA in defensive field goal percentage, while limiting foes to just 5.4 3-point makes per game.