The NBA Finals continue tonight in San Antonio as the red-hot New York Knicks look to build on their gritty Game 1 victory and stretch their postseason winning streak to an unbelievable 13 games.
New York successfully disrupted the Spurs on their home floor in the opener, but a desperate San Antonio squad finds itself in a desperate position, trying to avoid an 0-2 hole with the series heading to Madison Square Garden next game.
Continue below for our NBA Finals best bets for Knicks vs. Spurs Game 2 on Friday, June 5.
NBA Finals Best Bets for Knicks vs Spurs Game 2
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Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our NBA Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Knicks vs. Spurs Prop Bet
If Mitch Johnson decides to play the kiddo when he actually should, Dylan Harper should smash this line.
I feel like this number is almost a little too obvious to some extent, but the reality is he was really good in the opener.
When you watch the film, Harper is physically strong enough to create his own looks against this New York defense.
While a lot of the other Spurs' guards are wiry and athletic, Harper’s elite strength allows him to bully his way to his spots.
However, this play is mostly about an increase in usage opportunity. Harper is entirely capable of producing against this Spurs team in a myriad of different ways.
His well-roundedness is going to shine because his playmaking becomes more useful when the Knicks start over-adjusting and throwing extra pressure at him at the point of attack.
When he forces the defense to collapse, it opens up kick-outs for Julian Champagnie in the corner or rolling lanes for Victor Wembanyama at the rim.
The Spurs are bound to lean on Harper more moving forward given what he showcased in Game 1.
Pick: Dylan Harper Over 20.5 Points, Rebounds & Assists (-120)
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Knicks vs. Spurs Spread Pick
By Sean Little
Look, we are here to make money. So, I am gladly laying the points with the Spurs tonight.
The Spurs hoisted an absurd 43 three-pointers in Game 1—which was the most they’ve taken all playoffs at home—and that frantic number will come back down to Earth.
All the stuff we talked about with them rushing shots and bypassing their initial half-court offensive sets is going to get cleaned up. Putting the ball in Wembanyama's hands by the hoop will be a priority for the Spurs early on.
We have seen this script play out many times in league history: a team steals Game 1 on the road to break a streak and then they literally disappear in the second game. The Knicks dreamt of getting back to Madison Square Garden with a split, and they already got it.
The last time San Antonio dropped a Game 1 at home, they went on the road to Minnesota and thumped them by 40. I expect the Spurs show up big in a textbook desperation spot here.
Pick: Spurs -6.5 (-110)
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Knicks vs. Spurs First Half Team Total Mineshaft
We cashed the first-half team total mineshaft in Game 1, and the market simply hasn't adjusted this line far enough down for Game 2.
New York started the opener hitting two fluky triples to go up 8-2, but over the next 10 minutes, the Spurs' defense completely locked them down, holding the Knicks to 11 points for the rest of the quarter.
If you strip away those isolated runs at the absolute beginning and end of the game, the Knicks scored a meager 86 points over a 44-minute stretch. That is a sub-95 points per game pace.
Jalen Brunson’s late-game heroics completely masked a highly inefficient night where he went 12-of-31 from the floor with an ugly 86 offensive rating. New York only survived because their bench shot an unsustainable 45% from deep on high volume.
The Spurs' defensive shell was championship-caliber last game; their only flaw was being too over-aggressive on the perimeter.
I am grabbing the Knicks First-Half Under 53.5 (-110 at bet365), and opening up the mineshaft for Under 49.5 (+195 at bet365).
Pick: Knicks First Half Team Total Under 53.5 + Mineshaft
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Knicks vs. Spurs Player Prop Bet
By Matt Moore
I am infatuated with this line. Honestly, I can't believe the oddsmakers didn't bump it up after Champagnie's five-triple performance in the opener.
His perimeter attempts slowed down in the second half, but that seemed to be a cause-and-effect issue stemming from the Spurs’ overall lack of half-court execution.
When young guards like Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper try to play one-on-one and rush wild looks in transition, they fail to work the ball to the open man.
When the Spurs actually run their sets and execute their Spain pick-and-roll actions, the ball naturally finds Champagnie acting as the primary spacer in the corner.
The Knicks' defensive scheme is designed to surrender high-volume looks from deep, and they are always going to prefer closing out late on Champagnie over letting Wembanyama catch easy lobs at the rim.
The Spurs' coaching staff trusts him completely, and he will continue to light it up from beyond the arc.
Pick: Julian Champagnie Over 2.5 Three-Pointers Made (-105)
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Knicks vs. Spurs Player Prop Pick
By Joe Dellera
Dylan Harper blew by this prop line in Game 1, logging 16 points and 8 rebounds to finish with a combined total of 24 PR.
What makes that baseline output even more impressive is the fact that he barely received any run in the fourth quarter. It was a glaring rotational mistake by coach Mitch Johnson to bench one of his most efficient players down the stretch.
The Spurs need to play Harper more in Game 2 tonight. While other pieces on the roster struggled to generate half-court momentum, Harper utilized his elite frame and physical baseline to get to the rim at will.
His interior rebounding tracking has been steady all postseason, averaging around 5.8 boards per game.
This 15.5 line is trailing his actual physical footprint on the court by at least two full ticks.
Pick: Dylan Harper Over 15.5 Points & Rebounds (-135)
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Knicks vs. Spurs Prop Ladder
By Pick Labs
According to our Pick Labs Ladder Tool, targeting De'Aaron Fox to cross the 5+ rebound threshold tonight holds value.
While his standard line sits lower, the alternate ladder tool flags the 5+ milestone as the ideal play at a lucrative +227 price tag, projecting a 50.6% chance of the bet cashing, which gives us a huge 20.0% mathematical edge against the market value.
Fox is fresh off a 4-rebound performance across 38 heavy minutes of action in Game 1. While he bottomed out with zero boards in a strange Game 7 outlier against Oklahoma City, his wider postseason trajectory tells a far more active story on the glass.
Prior to Game 7 of the previous series, Fox cleared the 5+ rebound mark in three of four contests, and not only did he cross the baseline, but he displayed serious alternate upside—grabbing 7+ boards twice in that span, while getting all the way up to 10 rebounds in one of those games.
With the Spurs operating in desperation mode to avoid a devastating 0-2 hole, expect San Antonio to squeeze every possible second out of their veteran floor leader.
We expect the Spurs to put forth maximum effort in a high-energy environment tonight, which means plenty of long-range misses will be up for grabs, and Fox should be able to collect his fair share.
Pick: De'Aaron Fox 5+ Rebounds (+227)
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