The Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder will square off in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night, with tipoff set for 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
Our staff of basketball betting experts dug into the latest odds and identified 5 NBA picks for tonight's contest. Continue below for our NBA best bets and predictions for Thursday, June 19.
NBA Finals Best Bets, Picks, Predictions: Thursday, June 19
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
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  | 8:30 p.m. | |
| 8:30 p.m. | |
| 8:30 p.m. | |
| 8:30 p.m. | |
| 8:30 p.m. | |
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. | ||
Thunder vs. Pacers
By Joe Dellera
Haliburton’s status is in the air tonight, and one player the Pacers can lean on as a scorer is Mathurin.
He’s capable of creating his own shot while not being a total dud on defense.
He’s scored 5, 14, 27, 8, and 7 points this series, but he is just coming off a 2/11 game from the field.
While he’s getting a bit more defensive attention, he’s someone that can score in a hurry when he’s hot.
I don’t want the median outcome for Mathurin whose points prop is at 10.5, I want the higher variance play here in a Win-or-Cancun game for the Pacers.
Pick: Bennedict Mathurin 15+ Points (+235)
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Thunder vs. Pacers
This cap is two-fold.
The simple first component is T.J. McConnell is playing high-level, high-confidence basketball and providing a huge spark to the Indiana Pacers offense.
He has knocked down a three-pointer in three of five games in this series. He is being given this shot, and he is taking and making them.
The second component is the Haliburton injury. Hali is clearly hobbled, and while I think he ultimately does play, he will not be 100% and probably sees a minutes reduction throughout the game.
Carlisle will go to McConnell with confidence, and he should see an uptick is three-point volume.
If Haliburton is out altogether, we wont know until closer to tipoff, and it would cause this bet to be more than cut in half.
Ladder the McConnell threes too: Over 0.5 (+230), Over 1.5 (+1300), Over 2.5 (+3000).
This is a rare moment I would dabble in one direction derivative over markets.
Pick: T.J. McConnell Over 0.5 Three-Pointers Made (+230)
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Thunder vs. Pacers
By Alex Hinton
Despite the 40-point outburst from Jalen Williams in Game 5, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is still the heavy favorite to be named Finals MVP should the Thunder close this series out.
Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 32.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, and five assists per game in the NBA Finals. However, statistically, he has been a factor defensively as well.
Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 2.4 steals and 1.8 blocks per game in this series.
Gilgeous-Alexander has had a block in four of the five games and a steal in four games in this series as well. He has had one each in the same game in three of the five games.
That includes the last two games when he had a block and three steals in Game 4 and four blocks and two steals in Game 5.
Taking him to get one block and steal each gives us playable odds as a combo at -125. If the trend continues, SGA will cash this for the third consecutive game.
Pick: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Over 0.5 Steals / Over 0.5 Blocks (-125)
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Thunder vs. Pacers
This should be Tyrese Haliburton proof.
I played this at over 20.5 points, and I'm good with it at over 21.5, especially at plus-money.
