NEW YORK (60 - 33) at INDIANA (56 - 36) - 5/18/2013, 8:05 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
INDIANA is 8-8 against the spread versus NEW YORK over the last 3 seasons
INDIANA is 8-8 straight up against NEW YORK over the last 3 seasons
10 of 16 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
NEW YORK vs. INDIANA
New York is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Indiana
New York is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Indiana
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Indiana's last 6 games when playing New York
Indiana is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against New York
New York at Indiana
New York: 22-12 ATS off a win by 10+ points
Indiana: 1-9 ATS off 3+ games allowing 90 points or less
Knicks at Pacers: What Bettors Need to Know
By Covers.com
New York Knicks at Indiana Pacers (-5, 177.5)
Pacers lead best-of-seven series 3-2.
For all the love that Paul George has gotten during the postseason, it is becoming apparent that George Hill might actually be the most important player for the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers hope to have their point guard back when they host the New York Knicks in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Saturday. Hill sat out Game 5 with a concussion and the Indiana offense noticeably suffered without its director.
Hill spent Game 5 in a darkened training room after taking an elbow from Knicks center Tyson Chandler in the previous game. He will need to pass the NBA’s concussion protocol in order to return to the lineup, and that could take some time. Meanwhile New York will try to keep the magic it found at home going in Indiana, where the Pacers have yet to lose in the postseason. The Knicks have been in a shooting slump during the entire series but came through on the defensive end by limiting Indiana to 36.2 percent shooting and holding their own on the boards.
ABOUT THE KNICKS: Carmelo Anthony failed to record a field goal in the fourth quarter during Game 3 or 4 at Indiana but came through late in Game 5 with four straight points that helped put the game away. The star forward went 10-for-28 from the field in Game 5 and is shooting 41.3 percent in the series. “We wasn’t ready to go home yet,” Anthony said. “We wanted to protect our homecourt. We let one slip away here on our homecourt (in Game 1) that put us in the position we’re in right now. But we’re just taking it one day at a time. We have faith, we believe, and we feel confident about this one.” Anthony got some much-needed scoring help from the bench, where both Chris Copeland and J.R. Smith scored 13 points. Smith struggled again to 4-for-11 from the field but Copeland hit a trio of 3-pointers in 19 minutes - his most playing time of the series.
ABOUT THE PACERS: Indiana is 7-0 in the postseason when Hill scores 14 or more points and 0-4 when he scores fewer. The 27-year-old guard reportedly suffered the concussion in the first half of Game 4 but still went on to score 14 points in the third quarter of that game en route to a game-high 26. But symptoms began to crop up the next day, and the Pacers and the NBA won’t take any chances. “He’s gotta pass the NBA protocol concussion test,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. D.J. Augustin started in Hill’s place in Game 5 and scored 12 points but did not have an assist in 39 minutes. George absorbed more of the ball handling responsibilities, in addition to being counted on for scoring production and taking the main defensive assignment on Anthony. “We gotta approach Game 6 as a desperation game,” George said. The All-Star forward scored a team-high 23 points in Game 5 but went 10-for-36 in Games 3 and 4 in Indiana.
TRENDS:
* Knicks are 1-5 ATS in their last six games following an ATS win.
* Pacers are 5-0 ATS in their last five home games.
* Home team is 4-0 ATS in the last four meetings.
* Over is 11-2 in Pacers’ last 13 games following a loss.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Pop star Rihanna suggested on Instagram that Smith has struggled because he’s hung over from partying. “I don’t follow that,” Knicks coach Mike Woodson told reporters. “It has no bearing on this game tonight.”
2. Indiana went 19-for-33 from the free throw line in Game 5.
3. New York G Jason Kidd was limited to five minutes in Game 5 and went 0-for-1 from the field. He is 0-for-17 in the last nine games.
2013 NBA Playoffs
Knicks beat Boston in 1st round, which was playing without PG Rondo, now Indiana PG Hill has concussion, may not play here. Pacers' starting guards hit dismal 4-16 in Game 5 loss without Hill. Anthony is 25-67 (37.3%) in three Indy win in series, 25-54 in two Knick wins. JR Smith is 26-85 in five losses vs Pacers, 19-47 in four New York Ws- in seven games since a suspension in Boston series, Smith is shooting 28.2% from floor. 11 of last 15 Knick games stayed under the total; 12 of last 19 Indy games went over (0 of last 3). Immense pressure on Indiana to end series on home court and avoid going back to Manhattan for a decisive Game 7.
Armadillosports.com
Knicks at Pacers, Game 6
By Brian Edwards
VegasInsider.com
With its back against the wall going back home to Madison Square Garden for Thursday’s Game 5, New York (60-33 straight up, 51-40-2 against the spread) caught a break a few hours before it took the court against Indiana.
George Hill, who had led the Pacers to a 3-1 series advantage by scoring a game-high 26 points in an 82-71 Game 4 win, was declared ‘out’ due to a concussion suffered on Tuesday.
Suddenly the storyline of J.R. Smith’s horrendous shooting slump and late-night partying with Rihanna was put on the backburner. With Hill out of the lineup, the Knicks had a much better chance at staving off elimination.
And that’s exactly what they did, capturing an 85-75 win as five-point home favorites. New York took the cash, while the 160 combined points stayed ‘under’ the 181.5-point total.
Carmelo Anthony scored a game-high 28 points to force a Game 6 back in Indianapolis with his team trailing 3-2 in the series. Chris Copeland finally got some playing time and responded by draining 3-of-4 attempts from 3-point land en route to scoring 13 points in 19 minutes of action.
Smith didn’t exactly explode from out of his shooting woes, making only 4-of-11 from the field, but he played decent with 13 points, six rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists. Raymond Felton was also in double figures with 12 points and dished out four assists without committing a turnover.
In the losing effort, Paul George finished with 23 points, six rebounds and six assists. David West scored 17 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and made three steals.
D.J. Augustine saw increased minutes (38) with Hill ‘out.’ The Texas product knocked down three treys but failed to record an assist. As a team, Indiana had an atrocious 12/19 assists-to-turnovers ratio.
For Game 6 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indiana (56-36 SU, 49-43 ATS) has been installed as a five-point home ‘chalk.’ As of early this morning, there were a few books at 4.5. The total was 178 and the Knicks were +175 on the money line (risk $100 to win $175).
The Pacers are a perfect 5-0 both SU and ATS in its five home playoff games, winning by at least 11 points in each contest. But Hill played in those five home wins and he remained ‘questionable’ as of early this morning.
Mike Woodson’s club is 2-3 both SU and ATS in five postseason road assignments.
The ‘under’ is 6-2-1 in nine head-to-head meetings between these squads this year, 3-0-1 in the last four encounters. The lowest previous total was 179.5 in Game 4 at Indiana.
The ‘under’ is 49-41-3 overall for the Knicks, 24-20-2 in their road games. The ‘under’ is 47-43-2 overall for the Pacers, 23-22-1 overall in their home outings.
Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. Eastern on ESPN.
B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets
J.R. Smith hasn’t been the same player since his suspension during the Boston series. Since then, Smith has made only 27-of-102 shots for an abysmal 26.5 percent in the last
Amar’e Stoudemire hasn’t been much of a factor in his three games since returning from injury. He logged just 6:34 of playing time in Game 5, finishing with two points and two rebounds. In nearly 27 minutes of PT in three games, Stoudemire has 13 points and nine boards.
The updated series price is Pacers -330, Knicks +270.
San Antonio has been installed as a four-point home favorite for Sunday’s Game 1 vs. Memphis. The total is 183.5 and the Grizzlies are +160 on the money line.
The series price at most spots is San Antonio -140, Memphis +110.
Sportsbook.ag’s updated futures: Heat -350, Grizzlies 7/1, Spurs 7/1, Pacers 15/1 and Knicks 50/1.
Pacers Look to Advance
By Sportsbook.ag
The Knicks look to force a Game 7 when they seek a second straight victory over the Pacers in Indiana on Saturday night.
New York was able to hold off elimination with an 85-75 victory on Thursday thanks in big part to closing the rebounding differential from minus-18 in Game 4 to minus-3 in Game 5. The Knicks were also able to force the Pacers into committing 19 turnovers without their starting point guard, George Hill, who was out with a concussion. Hill is questionable for Saturday's Game 6.
So far in these playoffs, Indiana is 5-0 (SU and ATS) at home, winning all five games by at least 11 points. The Pacers are 35-11 SU (27-19 ATS) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse this season, while the Knicks are 25-21 SU (24-21-1 ATS) on the road. Indiana has also been resilient after an SU loss, going 22-13 ATS (63%), but New York has been able to string together win streaks all season, going 38-21 SU (64%) and 32-27 ATS (54%) following an SU victory.
The Knicks really struggled in Indiana this series, scoring 76.5 PPG on 35% FG in losing two straight games to fall into a 3-1 series deficit. However, New York responded with a 10-point victory in Game 5, as SF Carmelo Anthony hit some big shots on his way to a game-high 28 points (12-of-28 FG) and six rebounds in 42 minutes. C Tyson Chandler played great defense on Pacers big man Roy Hibbert, finishing with eight rebounds and two blocks in 27 minutes.
SF Chris Copeland provided a huge spark off the bench with 13 points (4-of-6 FG, 3-of-4 threes) and four rebounds in just 19 minutes. PG Raymond Felton played a strong, aggressive game with Indiana missing George Hill. Felton scored 12 points (6-of-14 FG) while also adding five rebounds, four assists, three steals and zero turnovers in 37 minutes. SG J.R. Smith finally played a decent game for the Knicks and they will need him to build off of that in Game 6. After shooting 28.1% FG in Games 1-4, Smith shot a series-best 36.4% FG (4-for-11) on Thursday with six rebounds and three steals in 36 minutes.
Indiana did a poor job taking care of the basketball in New York in Game 5, posting just 12 assists with its 19 turnovers in the contest. SF Paul George was the Pacers’ best player in Game 5, finishing with 23 points (7-of-18 FG), six rebounds and six assists in 43 minutes of play. George got to the free-throw line at will (7-of-10 FT) and is now averaging 18.8 PPG, 7.4 RPG and 5.2 APG in the series. PF David West also played a solid game for the Pacers with 17 points (7-of-17 FG), 10 rebounds and three steals in 39 minutes.
Outside of West and George though, the only other player to score in double-figures was PG D.J. Augustin, who had 13 points filling in for injured George Hill as the starting point guard. Despite his 39 minutes, Augustin failed to record an assist in the game. The Pacers will need to do a better job taking care of the ball in Game 6 and the status of Hill is a major concern for Indiana in that regard. C Roy Hibbert, who had just nine points and five fouls in 31 minutes on Thursday, will need to find his offense, as he's averaged 14.7 PPG in his team's three wins this series, but just 7.5 PPG in the two defeats.