As of early this afternoon, most betting shops had New York (52-31 straight up, 41-41-1 against the spread) installed as a seven-point favorite with a total of 220.5 for tonight’s Game 2 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Gamblers can back the Pistons on the money line for a +220 to +245 payout.

For first-half wagers, the Knicks are 3.5-point ‘chalk’ with a total of 113.5. New York is a two-point favorite in the first quarter.

Detroit (44-39 SU, 42-39-2 ATS) led the Knicks by eight points going into the fourth quarter of Game 1. The Pistons were still ahead 98-90 with 9:10 remaining before New York went on a 21-0 run to take a double-digit lead en route to a 123-112 victory.

The Knicks covered the spread as seven-point favorites and the 235 combined points soared ‘over’ the 221.5-point total. Jalen Brunson was the catalyst for the winners with 34 points and eight assists compared to just one turnover.

Karl-Anthony Towns had an outstanding performance as well, producing 23 points, 11 rebounds, four steals, two blocked shots and five assists without a turnover. KAT made 10-of-14 field-goal attempts and both of his free throws. OG Anunoby added 23 points, seven boards, five steals and a pair of blocked shots.

Cameron Payne had 14 points in only 14 minutes and change off the bench, draining 5-of-7 FGAs and 3-of-5 attempts from 3-point land. Josh Hart finished with 13 points, seven boards and six assists.

Detroit’s Cade Cunningham had 21 points, 12 assists and six rebounds in the losing effort, but he was only 8-of-21 from the field and coughed up six turnovers. Tobias Harris scored a team-best 25 points, burying 8-of-13 FGAs and 4-of-5 launches from downtown.

Malik Beasley made 6-of-12 treys and finished with 20 points, four rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 19 points.

Detroit has still won three of the last four head-to-head meetings between these clubs, including both regular-season meetings at MSG in NYC. The Pistons just need to clean up their turnovers (19 compared to only nine by the Knicks) and get more stops. They won the rebounding battle with a 37-36 edge in the series opener.

FanDuel has the Knicks as -750 favorites for the series, with the Pistons listed as +530 underdogs. The total for the series is 5.5 with -110 odds on both the ‘over’ and the ‘under.’

PREDICTION: I’m backing Detroit +7 for two units in Game 2. I’m also taking the Pistons on the money line at +245 odds (Circa) for one-half unit to win 1.23 units.