NBA Playoffs continue on Friday with three teams on the brink of advancing with 3-2 series leads. The first is the Knicks at Hawks which tips off at 9:10am AEST, followed by the Celtics at 76ers at 10:10am, before the final game which is scheduled for 11:40am between the Nuggets at Timberwolves. We take you through our best bets for each game below!
NBA Playoffs Betting Tips: Friday, May 1st 2026
New York Knicks at Atlanta Hawks (9:10am AEST)
The New York Knicks lead 3-2 over the Atlanta Hawks and this has been a thrilling series so far. Ultimately, it is win-or-go-home time for the Hawks in front of their home crowd. Jalen Johnson simply has to play better for the Hawks as his last two games have seen him score 14 points and 18 points. This is down from his All-Star season average of 22.5 points per game. On the other side, Jalen Brunson was enormous in the Game 5 victory, dropping 39 points and eight assists on 15-23 shooting from the field.
What is incredible about the Knicks right now is that Karl-Anthony Towns is generally taking 12 or fewer shots in the game, shooting 50% or better in his last nine outings. The two-man game between Brunson and Towns, and also Brunson and Mitchell Robinson is causing the Hawks defense some trouble. Credit must also go to Josh Hart in slowing down CJ McCollum to just six points last game. Hart is questionable though so if he misses, that is a huge blow for the Knicks defensively.
The Knicks are playing good team basketball right now and Brunson is the catalyst for most of their offensive action. With a -2.5 line, the Knicks look the better value in the game.
Knicks -2.5
$1.95 (2 Units)
Boston Celtics at Philadelphia 76ers (10:10am AEST)
The Philadelphia 76ers kept their season alive with a 113-97 victory over the Boston Celtics at the TD Garden. Former MVP Joel Embiid was unstoppable with 33 points and Tyrese Maxey had 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Sixers. Once again, the Celtics’ star duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown received very little support with Derrick White scoring just six points.
Immediately, White is the player in the spotlight as he has gone missing not only when they have lost both games in the series, but for the most part – his series best score is 11 points. For a player that averaged 16.5 points throughout the regular season, he simply needs to step up and be the third or fourth option. Payton Pritchard is having a mixed series – he dropped 32 points in a victory two starts back but had just four in their first loss of the series and 12 points last game.
Boston lives and dies by the three and they couldn’t find it in Game 5, shooting 28% from deep. If they can find better rhythm from deep, they will go a long way to sending Philadelphia packing from the Playoffs.
Celtics -5.5
$1.89 (2 Units)
Denver Nuggets at Minnesota Timberwolves (11:40am AEST)
The Minnesota Timberwolves hold a 3-2 series lead as the Denver Nuggets try to force a Game 7. It has been a horrific series for the Wolves’ personnel, yet they still have a chance to advance despite injuries to Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo. No one likes to see injuries derail a season and that is what is happening for the Timberwolves. On the Nuggets side, Aaron Gordon is questionable to play, and Peyton Watson is still out which is a big loss on the scoring front.
Denver won 125-113 last game to keep their season alive with Nikola Jokic doing his usual thing with a triple double. Spencer Jones stepped up with a surprise 20-point game. Jamal Murray and Jokic will do the bulk of the offensive work for the Nuggets and that means a lot of pressure goes on Rudy Gobert to show why he is a former four-time defensive player of the year.
While Julius Randle, Ayo Dosunmu and Naz Reid can score comfortably when they are on song, the absence of Edwards could hurt them down the stretch and the Nuggets look primed to send this to a seven-game series.
Nuggets -5.5
$1.90 (2 Units)
