The Indiana Pacers, and they'll look to even the best-of-seven series at 2-2 with a potential victory in Game 4 on Tuesday night.
Here are four expert player prop picks for this matchup, including an OVER on a Mikal Bridges scoring prop (-125) on May 27.
Mitchell Robinson UNDER 14.5 Points + Rebounds vs. Pacers (-122 at Sportsbook)
Preview: New York Knicks vs. Indiana Pacers, 8 p.m. ET
The decision by Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau to insert Mitchell Robinson into the starting lineup for Game 3 in favor of guard Josh Hart was met with some trepidation. It reeked of desperation to some, although being down 0-2 after dropping both games at Madison Square Garden warranted some type of change in Thibodeau's defense. The new-look unit ended up being a +1 in the 14 minutes it played together, although ironically enough, the former lineup with Hart was actually superior as a +9 in just four minutes.
I'm working under the assumption here that Robinson will continue to be a starter for Game 4, simply because making yet another adjustment coming off of a win would be illogical. The 27-year-old big man recorded six points and six rebounds in 29 minutes of action on Sunday, but was clearly the fifth option amongst his teammates and couldn't flourish on the glass with Karl-Anthony Towns grabbing 15 rebounds and Hart coming off the bench to have 10 of his own. Robinson still managed to go UNDER a prop of 15.5 despite having a grander role, marking the eighth time in his last 10 playoff games that he's done so.
Mikal Bridges OVER 15.5 Points vs. Pacers (-125 at Sportsbook)
Preview: New York Knicks vs. Indiana Pacers, 8 p.m. ET
Bridges continues to be one of the more polarizing figures on New York, simply due to the amount of first-round picks the organization gave up to acquire him and the return on investment it has received which hasn't lived up to such a grandiose package. His plus-minus rating of -6.7 is far and away the worst of any Knicks player that's seen the floor in this series, and he's only converted two of his 10 total 3-point attempts. Bridges was also tied for the team lead in field-goal attempts in Game 3, taking 18 but only burying six to finish with 15 points in 37 minutes.
Now he only needs 16 points on Tuesday to achieve an OVER on this prop, so the fact that Bridges just had 15 despite shooting the rock incredibly poorly does create some wiggle room here for him to get back on track. Prior to Sunday, the seven-year pro had gone OVER 15.5 points in three-straight outings and four of his last five, averaging 18 points and shooting 48.8 percent from the field.
Aaron Nesmith OVER 16.5 Points + Rebounds vs. Knicks (-125 at Sportsbook)
Preview: New York Knicks vs. Indiana Pacers, 8 p.m. ET
It remains to be seen if Aaron Nesmith will be available for the Pacers in Game 4 after going down with a right ankle injury midway through the third quarter of Game 3. He did manage to return to the bench in the fourth and see some run late, with head coach Rick Carlisle saying after his team's 106-100 loss that he was optimistic about Nesmith's health just watching him compete after twisting his ankle, but that he'd know more on Monday after watching some of the film.
Not having the 25-year-old wing would be a huge blow to Indiana's chances of going up 3-1 in the series, as he's currently averaging 16.7 points and 5.3 rebounds against New York while burying a ridiculous 73.3 percent of his 3-point attempts. Most importantly, in the context of this combination prop for points and rebounds at 16.5, Nesmith has gone OVER in three of his last four appearances and nine of his last 12 this postseason. He only ed 15 (eight points and seven rebounds) in Game 3, but keep in mind that he did miss a chunk of time in the second half and was therefore the only starter not to play over 30 minutes.
T.J. McConnell OVER 8.5 Points vs. Knicks (+100 at Sportsbook)
Preview: New York Knicks vs. Indiana Pacers, 8 p.m. ET
There's just something about being at home which brings out the best in T.J. McConnell, who is currently tied for the lead amongst Pacers bench options at 9.1 points per game alongside Bennedict Mathurin. Through three rounds of the playoffs thus far, McConnell has scored 11 or more points in four of Indiana's five games at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, shooting better than 55 percent from the field in each of those instances.
He only needs nine points to notch an OVER at +100 value, and that's quite the forgiving number knowing that McConnell has reached double digits on the offensive end in four of his last five games overall, as well. If his teammate Nesmith is ultimately ruled out (fingers crossed he's not) or hobbled because of his ankle, McConnell could be in store for even more playing time on Tuesday. Even if that doesn't happen, the 33-year-old veteran floor general should still bring in the units with another welcome box score.
