The New York Knicks will be shorthanded on Thursday night as they try to beat the Miami Heat as a home underdog at Madison Square Garden in the third game of their first-round NBA playoff series.
Amare Stoudemire has been ruled out for Game 3, as he injured his hand punching a fire extinguisher after the Knicks' Game 2 loss. The Heat head into Thursday with a 2-0 lead in the series.
The Knicks bring a 36-30 record (36-30 ATS) to the battle against the 46-20 Heat, who are 32-34 ATS. OVER/UNDER bettors have seen New York go 27-39 so far and the Heat go 25-39-2.
View Miami vs New York Odds and Stats.
Betting Line:
Oddsmakers opened the Knicks as 5.5-point underdogs in this matchup over at Sportsbook, while the OVER/UNDER line was sitting at 186 at Sportsbook.
Power Rankings / Prediction:
According to new Power Rankings at Odds Shark, it's the No. 8-rated Knicks and the No. 5-rated Heat in this matchup. Predictive computer formulas point to a 102-99 win for the Heat on Thursday.
How They Match Up:
When it comes to rebounds, the visiting Heat rank No. 21 in the league with 41.6 per game. That compares with New York’s No. 18 ranking in that category. The story is different when it comes to three-point shooting where New York is the NBA’s No. 4-ranked team at 7.8 per game, while the Heat rate No. 20 with 5.6 per contest.
In comparing how the teams stack up statistically, the Heat own the league's No. 10-rated mark, allowing 95.5 points per game when on the road. New York, on the other hand, rates No. 11 in home scoring.
In their last action, New York was a 104-94 loser on the road against the Heat. They failed to cover the 9.5-point spread as underdogs, while the combined score (198) was profitable news for OVER bettors. Carmelo Anthony was dynamite, scoring 30 points and adding 9 rebounds but Miami still won, 104-94, over New York on Monday at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Miami Heat Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 7-3
Before playing New York are 8-2
After playing New York are 9-1
After a win are 6-4
New York Knicks Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 6-4
Before playing Miami are 5-5
After playing Miami are 3-7
After a loss are 7-3
A few Heat at Knicks trends to consider:
Miami is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing New York
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Miami's last 8 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Miami's last 7 games when playing New York
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Miami's last 6 games on the road
New York is 11-1 SU in its last 12 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of New York's last 7 games when playing Miami
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New York's last 5 games when playing at home against Miami
New York is 17-8 SU in its last 25 games
Next up:
Miami at New York, Sunday, May 6
New York home to Miami, Sunday, May 6
