New York at San Antonio

The Knicks are one win from the title, up 3-1 and back in San Antonio for Game 5 tonight. The story of this series hasn't been the drama. It's the scoreboard, at least when these teams play in San Antonio. The two games here finished at 200 and 209 combined points, both well under tonight's posted total. Game 1 was a rock fight: the Spurs shot 36 percent from the floor and 26 percent from three, and New York still needed only 105 to win it. Victor Wembanyama has anchored a half-court series, blocking at least three shots in every game and choking off the paint. Now layer in the situation. San Antonio is facing elimination at home, and closeout games tighten. Possessions slow down, every trip is contested, and the foul-line traffic dries up. Tonight's number is propped up by the two higher-scoring games in New York, where the pace ran loose. That doesn't travel back to Texas. The first-half angle is even cleaner: the two halves played in San Antonio this series went for 103 and 108, both under the first-half number. Back the UNDER on the full game, and side with the UNDER in the first half tonight.