New York Knicks vs Detroit Pistons Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 04/24/25

Ausar Thompson over 9.5 points (-115)

Ausar Thompson didn’t have the best of nights in Game 2, scoring just 5 points, but you know what they say about role players – they play a lot better in home games and I’m expecting that to be the case here. You can just imagine how pumped up the Pistons players will be, playing in their first postseason home game since 2019, and this is a solid opportunity to grow as a player for Thompson. In 32 home games this season, he averaged 22.5 minutes per game, averaging exactly 10 points per outing on over 53% shooting from the field.

Thompson capped off the regular season by elevating that number to 13.4 per game in his last 9 outings, and I’m expecting him to have a much bigger impact in this game compared to Monday. The Knicks have had their fair share of issues trying to contain opposing small forwards, despite having an elite defender like Mikal Bridges at that position. For most of the 2 games in this series, Bridges has been occupied by Cade Cunningham on defense, and that should make Thompson’s life a bit easier. New York is allowing the 12th-most points per game to opposing small forwards this year, so let’s hope Ausar makes a name for himself here.

Karl-Anthony Towns over 22.5 points (-105)

In many ways, Karl-Anthony Towns was a massive letdown for the Knicks in Game 2 of this series. He opened the game by scoring 10 points early and then just completely shut down the rest of the way, failing to even score one basket in the final 24 minutes of play. That was very uncharacteristic from KAT, who is usually a reliable 2nd scoring option behind Brunson. With the series now moving to Detroit for the next 2 games and all the pressure being on the Knicks, I expect head coach Tom Thibodeau to do a much better job at putting KAT into positions where he can be more effective out there.

Prior to the woeful performance in Game 2, Towns was on a streak of 9 consecutive games against the Pistons scoring at least 21 points. It’s quite obvious that turning to Brunson to score 35+ and hoping to win hasn’t really translated into much success, so I’m expecting a different approach from the Knicks and KAT in this game.

Cade Cunningham to record a Double-Double (+105)

Cade has been nothing short of spectacular for the Pistons this season, carrying the team to their first postseason since 2019 and the glory days of Blake Griffin. He showed up in a big way in Game 2 to help Detroit even the series up following a disappointing series opener where they let a solid lead slip away in the final frame. He’s now on a run of 3 straight games recording a double-double, and prior to Game 2 he did it with points and assists against the Bucks and Knicks, while on Monday he did it by dominating the boards as well as scoring 33 points.

New York has really struggled with the boards over their last 3 games, allowing 51.3 per game, and a player like Cade who has the height advantage should be able to utilize that once again. Just the energy in Little Caesars Arena should propel Cunningham to have a great game here. He’s averaging 31 points, 6.4 rebounds and 8.4 assists against the Knicks in the last 5 meetings, during which he has recorded 1 triple-double and 2 more double-doubles. Expect Cade to fill the box score here.