Pacers vs Knicks Game 1 Prediction, Odds, Player Props & How to Watch

Fahad Umar
May 21, 2025
7:21 am

The Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks meet in Game 1 of the ECF on Wednesday, May 21
New York won its only home game against Indiana in the regular season but the Pacers eliminated the Knicks last season
See the Pacers vs Knicks predictions, odds, and player props, plus details on how to watch Game 1

In search of their first NBA Finals berth since 1999, the New York Knicks (59-35, 30-17 home, 44-46-4 ATS) host the Indiana Pacers (58-34, 24-21 away, 43-47-1 ATS) in Game 1 of the 2025 Eastern Conference final on Wednesday, May 21, at Madison Square Garden in New York. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:05 pm ET and the Knicks are 4.5-point favorites across the board in Wednesday’s NBA odds.

Jump to: How to Watch | IND vs NYK Picks | IND vs NYK Props | Best Game 1 Odds

How to Watch Pacers vs Knicks Game 1

Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final will be televised on TNT/TruTV and streamed on Max in the United States. Canadian viewers can watch the game on TSN.

The Ernie Johnson-hosted pre-game show starts at 7:00 pm ET, followed by the actual Game 1 broadcast at 8:00 pm ET. Tip-off will be roughly five minutes thereafter.

Indiana Pacers vs New York Knicks Prediction & Picks

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Indiana was been almost flawless on the road this postseason, going 3-1 straight-up in away games so far, including a perfect 3-0 against the heavily-favored Cavaliers in round two. The only road game the Pacers have lost thus far was Game 2 against the Bucks in the first round of the NBA playoff bracket.

The Knicks, on the other hand, are just 3-3 straight-up at MSG, losing two of three to the Pistons in round one and going 2-1 against the Celtics in round two.

New York dominated the only regular-season meeting at home against Indiana (123-98) but that was just three days into the season. The last big game these teams played at MSG – Game 7 of last year’s second-round series – saw the Pacers dominate, 130-109, with all five starters scoring at least 17 points, led by 26 from Tyrese Haliburton.

And all five of those starters remain intact for the 2025 Pacers.

The Knicks are coming off their own impressive six-game series victory over the Celtics but, of course, they were fortunate that Boston lost Jayson Tatum in Game 4. Unbenounced to bettors at the time, Jaylen Brown was also playing through a torn meniscus, which is likely to require surgery in the offseason.

I’m not trying to take too much away from New York’s series victory over the reigning-champion and incredibly-deep Celtics. But it did require multiple 20-point comebacks and it did come against a team that was far less than 100%. Against a healthy Detroit team in round one, New York only managed a 1-2 SU record at MSG.

I’m also targeting the over of 222.5 at Draftkings in Game 1. These teams went over that number in four of seven in last year’s playoff series, averaging 226.6 PPG over the seven games. Each of Games 1 and 2 flew over the total (238 points in Game 1 and 251 in Game 2).

IND vs NYK Game 1 Player Props

NBA player props from DraftKings on May 21st.

A pair o Knicks lead the point totals for Game 1: Jalen Brunson (28.8 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 7.7 APG postseason) at 28.5 O/U and Karl-Anthony Towns (APG postseason) at 22.5. Pascal Siakam (18.8 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 3.1 APG postseason) and Tyrese Haliburton (17.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 9.3 APG postseason) have the highest total on the Indiana side at just 18.5 O/U.

Towns has the highest rebound total at 11.5 O/U. He was second in the NBA in rebounding during the regular season (12.8 RPG) but is a hair under 11.5 in the playoffs.

Pacers vs Knicks Odds: Best Available Betting Lines for Game 1

Unfortunately for bettors, the Pacers/Knicks Game 1 point spread is sitting at 4.5 at all sportsbooks. There are some minor variations in price: Caesars has the best odds on the Knicks to cover (-105) while FanDuel has the best odds on the Pacers to cover the spread (-108).

The moneyline shows a bigger range. FanDuel once again has the longest odds on Indiana winning straight-up at +164. DraftKings has the longest odds on the Knicks taking Game 1 (-180).

The game total shows the most variety, with a 1.5-point range across sites. Bet365 is on the high end, listing the total at 224.0 with -110 odds both ways, making it the best choice for under bettors. DraftKings is on the low end at 222.5 (-110 odds both ways), making it the best option for over bettors. If you bet the over at DraftKings and under at bet365, you would win both bets if the score landed exactly on 223.