Donte DiVincenzo hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 13 seconds left on the clock and OG Anunoby knocked down 2 free throws to give the Knicks a 104-101 victory in game 2. With the win, the Knicks now lead the series 2-0 and will look to move to 3-0 in Philadelphia tonight.
The 76ers opened as 3.5-point favorites, but early money has already move d the spread to Philadelphia -5.5. The total opened at 205 and currently sits at 204.5 at most sportsbooks.
It takes guts to go back to this well after Monday's result. We took the over in game 2 of this series and cashed thanks to Anunoby's final 2 free throws.
Looking at the scoring trends for both of these teams over the close of the regular season, we should be sailing over this number. However, the Knicks have sucked the air out of the ball in this series, taking the majority of their possessions to under 10 seconds before even beginning their half-court action.
Combine the Knicks' brutally slow pace with Jalen Brunson's horrendous shooting, and you have a recipe for low scoring games in this series. That said, we think Philly will be able to dictate pace tonight, and do expect some shots to go down for Brunson.
It is worth pointing out that only 16 of 43 Knicks home games have gone over the total, but 22 of 41 went over on the road.
As Brunson and the Knicks look to take a 3-0 series against Philly, expect a much better performance from JB than we saw in the first two games.
Jalen has had 12 potential assist opportunities in each game this series while securing 14 rebounds + assists in both outings.
With the Sixers really committing to stopping Brunson around the rim, look for plenty of kick-outs to Donte and OG. We think Brunson racks up 8 or 9 assists and covers his rebounds + assists prop in a crucial game.
We are looking for Kelly Oubre Jr. to get back on track on the offensive end in Game 3 after dropping just 14 points combined in New York.
Due to play around 30 minutes in Philadelphia, Oubre is too explosive off the wing to continue this cold streak. Kelly hasn’t had two back-to-back games of less than 10 points since mid-January. Take him to go over 9.5 points here in game 3.