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Last night we had three games in the NBA and one was a decisive game.
The Oklahoma City Thunder made light work of the Suns (although Phoenix barely covered the deficit in the game). The Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons had a great battle, and now Orlando leads the number one seed 3-1 in the series.
The Denver Nuggets dominated and covered against the Minnesota Timberwolves as expected and, most importantly, I was able to collect both player supports in that one. Tonight we have a pivotal Game 5 between the Atlanta Hawks and the New York Knicks. Let’s find an angle for this one to make some money through sports betting.
For most casual fans, the Hawks making this a competitive series will probably come as a surprise. Most of them are probably thinking Trae Young is on the team. This is no longer Young’s team; This is now Jalen Johnson’s team. Honestly, it could be CJ McCollum’s team, but he’s a free agent at the end of the season. McCollum has led the team in scoring in three of the four games against the Knicks. Interestingly, Johnson, who led the team in points, rebounds and assists during the regular season, has only led them in the playoffs once in each category.
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New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns dunks against the Indiana Pacers during the fourth quarter of Game 5 of the NBA Eastern Conference finals in New York on May 29, 2025. (Adam Hunger/AP)
How have the Hawks found their success? They have managed to keep the Knicks from executing late in games. The margin of victory in both victories was just one point. The Knicks even had the ball with a chance to win in both games. At the first opportunity he missed the shot. In the second, the Hawks played great defense and avoided scoring.
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The Knicks love to make things difficult for themselves. Last season, they struggled with the Pistons, and this year, the Hawks seem to be putting pressure on them. New York has a very solid starting lineup and a deeper bench than last year. However, they don’t seem to know what they’re doing at the end of the games. To be fair, they were probably the better team in all four games.
New York Knicks guard Pacome Dadiet celebrates with center Karl-Anthony Towns late in the fourth quarter of their victory over the Detroit Pistons in Game 4 of their NBA first-round playoff series on April 27, 2025 in Detroit. (Duane Burleson/AP)
New York won the first game by 11 points and really didn’t have much difficulty in that one. Then in the second game, they let a lead slip away as McCollum fired shot after shot down the stretch. Losing that at home is something they probably should have assumed. In the third game, the Knicks outscored the Hawks in two quarters and tied it in the third. Last game the offense was much more balanced and saw the Knicks win by 16. Much of the offense went through Karl-Anthony Towns, which apparently wasn’t intentional, but might be now.
I don’t have much faith in the Knicks moving on from Jalen Brunson and letting Towns orchestrate the offense. He had a triple-double in Game 4, throwing passes to OG Anunoby repeatedly. In fact, Anunoby led the team in scoring in both games in Atlanta. As I mentioned, Mike Brown, the Knicks head coach, said it wasn’t really a game plan to pass on Towns from the high post.
Atlanta Hawks guard CJ McCollum shoots against the Orlando Magic during the first half of an NBA game on March 16, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Mike Stewart/AP)
In this game, the Hawks will probably change their defensive plan. However, Towns has had four or more assists in three of the four games in this series.
I hope the Knicks try to give him more opportunities, and even with the Hawks’ adjustments, if he can’t pass the ball as effectively, he should be able to score more. Give me his assist total of over 3.5 assists.
I’m also leaning towards the over for the game. I think the defensive adjustments will not be as effective and will open up more opportunities for other players. Over 214.5 is a strong look here.
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