Indiana at NY Knicks NBA Lines, Free Pick & TV Info

Two teams with very different agendas face off Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. The Pacers are currently sixth in the Eastern Conference playoff race and looking to stay there. The Knicks are terrible and frankly it does them more good by losing than winning games the rest of the way. New York might be a slight favorite in the NBA lines, however, as the Pacers aren’t a good road team at 11-22.

Indiana at NY Knicks NBA Lines, Free Pick & TV Info

When: Tuesday, March 14, 7:30 PM ET Where: Madison Square Garden, NYC TV: NBA League Pass NBA Odds: TBA

Why Bet on Indiana?

The Pacers come off a 102-98 home win over Miami on Sunday. Paul George scored a team-high 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Pacers over Miami, which had won 21 of its previous 25 games. George added one assist, one steal, one block and one 3-pointer. His efforts helped the Pacers earn their 10th straight regular-season home win vs. the Heat, a streak that stretches back to 2012. The victory also gives George and the Pacers some breathing room in the playoff race — they hold the No. 6 seed but are just two games ahead of the No. 10 seed Bulls. Thaddeus Young played 38 minutes vs. Miami on Sunday, finishing with 13 points (5-of- 9 FGs, 3-of- 6 FTs), five rebounds and one assist. Young’s wrist injury has hampered of late as he came in averaging just 7.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 steals since the All-Star break. Jeff Teague shot just 4-of-11 from the field on Sunday but he still finished with 12 points, five rebounds, four assists, one block and one 3-pointer in 31 minutes. “Myself included, we all need to get out and run more,” Teague said before the game. “I think it makes our offense flow a little bit better.” The Pacers finished with 16 fast-break points, but the real key was preventing Miami from scoring a single point in transition. Just as in Friday’s loss at Milwaukee, the Pacers peaked early vs. Miami, scoring 32 points in the first quarter, then declined the rest of the game. They scored 28 in the second period, 23 in the third and 19 in the fourth — and only got that many by scoring eight points in the final 3:43. “We have to continue to work to get stronger as that game goes on,: Coach Nate McMillan said. “The intensity is going to pick up and we have to raise the level of our focus and execution going down the stretch.”

Why Bet on New York?

The Knicks probably hit rock bottom on Sunday in losing 120-112 at Brooklyn, the worst team in basketball. The Nets ended a 16-game losing streak at Barclays Center. They hadn’t won there since Dec. 26, when Jeremy Lin strained his hamstring in a victory over Charlotte. Carmelo Anthony overcame a slow start to score 27 points for the Knicks, who dropped their third straight. Kristaps Porzingis added 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Derrick Rose had 17 points. Anthony joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Milwaukee, Lakers) and Elvin Hayes (Houston, Washington) as the only players to score 10,000 for two franchises. Anthony, who began his career in Denver, is nearing 24,000 points and this season moved into the top 25 on the NBA’s career scoring list. Porzingis said that there’s confusion “from top to bottom” with the Knicks’ game plans. “We’ve been switching things up. Never at any point in this season, we played like we wanted to. So it was always like, “Maybe this will work. Maybe this will work,” Porzingis said. He later walked backed his comments a bit and added that this has been a “really good experience” for him. “There’s a quote, ‘If the sea is smooth, you’re never going to become a great sailor,'”he said. KP has been rolling lately and recently became the 12th player in NBA history with at least 100 blocks and 100 three-pointers in a season. Earlier in the season, the Knicks placed assistant Kurt Rambis in charge of the defense and stopped switching on pick and rolls. They then re-emphasized the triangle offense because, among other reasons, it put them in a better position to thwart transition baskets on the other end. Nothing has worked. The Knicks are allowing 108.7 points per game.

Indiana at NY Knicks Free Pick: NY Knicks

New York leads the season series 2-1 and will hold serve at home.