The Miami Heat try to take one step closer to the Eastern Conference Finals when they host the New York Knicks for Game 3 of their conference semifinal series on Monday night. Miami took a 2-1 lead in the series with an easy home win on Saturday and can really take command of the series with a victory on Monday.
New York is in a desperate situation, trying to avoid going down 3-1 in the series, so it will need a much better effort in this one. Before you make your NBA picks today, take a look at our preview of this crucial contest as we look at the Knicks vs Heat odds and make our picks.
New York Knicks vs. Miami Heat Odds
Spread: The NBA odds today are giving the edge to the Heat, who are playing at home, as they’re giving 4.5 points to the Knicks on a point-spread bet. You can get either team at -110 odds on that bet.
Moneyline: The Knicks vs Heat odds on the moneyline are listing Miami at -180 for a straight-up win, while New York is at +155.
Over/Under: The over/under for this game has been set at 207.5 points, with -110 odds available on either side of that wager.
New York Knicks vs Miami Heat Information
New York Knicks vs Miami Heat
Location of the game: Kaseya Center, Miami, FL.
Date & Time: Monday, May 8. 7:30 PM ET.
How to watch: TNT
New York Knicks vs. Miami Heat Betting Preview
Knicks Need More Offense
The New York Knicks schedule didn’t give them a lot of time to dwell on their Game 3 performance, which might be good, considering they managed just 86 points in a blowout loss. Guard Jalen Brunson had 20 points and eight assists, but the Knicks as a team shot just 34.1% from the floor, including 20% from 3-point range.
Forward Julius Randle must be better in Game 4 after he had just 10 points on 4-of-15 shooting on Saturday, missing all five of his 3-point attempts. The only player to hit even half of his shots was Mitchell Robinson, who was just 1-for-2 from the floor in limited minutes.
Randle is the biggest key to an offensive turnaround, as he was among the leaders in NBA player stats with 25.1 points per game in the regular season. If he can get his scoring going, it will open things up for the rest of the team as well.
Heat Feeling Very Confident
One thing that Jimmy Butler brings to the Miami Heat is confidence, no matter what the situation. And he usually comes through to back up that confidence. It’s part of why, despite the Miami Heat standings of being the eighth seed in these NBA playoffs in the East, they’re two wins from the conference finals.
Butler had 28 points in the Game 3 win after missing Game 2 with an ankle injury that still has him listed as questionable for this contest. Miami wasn’t much better on the offensive end, hitting just 39% of its shots, but it had the better defense in Game 3.
Center Bam Adebayo had 17 points and 12 rebounds, while guard Max Strus contributed 19 points, as the Heat never trailed in Game 3. That kind of hot start will get the home crowd behind Miami and could help propel it to another win.
New York Knicks vs. Miami Heat Betting Picks
This is one of those NBA matchups that is going to be a tight defensive struggle, unlike most of the other games on the NBA schedule these days.
The Knicks vs Heat odds are favoring Miami to come out on top, and we expect that to be the case as well.
- Take Miami to win and cover in another low-scoring contest.
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