Two of the league’s premier scorers go mano-a-mano for the first time this season, when Paul George and the rest of the Indiana Pacers welcome the Carmelo Anthony-led New York Knicks into Bankers Life Fieldhouse tonight. Which superstar will be able to lead their respective team to a much-needed victory?
Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
When: Wednesday, February 24, 2016, 7:00 PM ET
Line: New York Knicks (+8) at Indiana Pacers (-8); total: 203.0– view all NBA lines
TV Broadcast:FSIN, MSG
Betting on the New York Knicks (24-34)
[sc:NBA250 ]New York is back to its losing ways again. The Knicks, who were fresh off a 103-95 win against Minnesota on Saturday, re-entered the loss column after being decimated during Monday night’s bout with the visiting Raptors.
Carmelo Anthony tried his best to keep his team in the game, scoring 21 points and grabbing 13 rebounds while going 8-of-17 from the floor. But unfortunately, their defense was nowhere to be found as it allowed Toronto to shoot 52.9 percent from the field. New York is now 0-9 when its opponents are shooting at least 50 percent as a team.
Moving on, the Knicks won’t have time comfort themselves because they’ll be faced with another daunting battle tonight against Paul George and his Indiana Pacers. And if it still isn’t obvious, Anthony and co. are going to have to figure out how to stop George, the ninth-best scorer in the NBA today, from going off on them.
In any case, a player as lethal as George will likely get his points no matter how good the defense may be. That being said, the only option for the Knicks would be to match fire with fire or in short, hope that Anthony can light up the scoreboard as well. The former Nuggets forward is averaging 25.0 points and 9.6 rebounds the last three games. New York has gone 2-1 in that brief stretch.
Meanwhile, the pair of Kristaps Porzingis and Arron Afflalo should be able to lend a helping hand to Anthony on offense. Both players have played relatively well on the road this season, posting 13.9 and 14.1 points, respectively.
New York is 3-7 SU and 5-5 ATS in its previous 10 road games.
After back-to-back road wins to kick off the second half of the season, the Indiana Pacers couldn’t take care of business during Monday’s matchup with the Miami Heat.
The Pacers had the lead for almost the entire duration of their contest, but they faltered down the stretch. The Heat, who were led by Goran Dragic’s 24 points, rallied back to force an overtime period and eventually got the thrilling victory, 101-93, over their conference rivals.
On the bright side though, Paul George had another jaw-dropping performance for the Pacers. He finished with a game-high 31 points along with 11 rebounds, four dimes and three steals. Expect George, who is posting 22.7 points at home this season, to build on this momentum when the New York Knicks come to town later.
Moreover, Monta Ellis could raise some eyebrows in this matchup. The former Mavericks guard holds a pretty good track record against New York, tallying 18.7 points, 3.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists across 18 career games.
On defense, meanwhile, the Pacers have held opponents below 100 points through 26 homes games thus far. They should have a relatively easy time in limiting the Knicks, who are racking up just 99.1 points collectively, from getting easy buckets.
Indiana is 6-4 SU and 5-5 ATS in its past 10 home games.
Writer’s Prediction
Pacers (-8) get back on track, 101-93, thanks to a pair of solid performances from Paul George and Monta Ellis.
