The Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks, Atlantic Division rivals, meet Monday night at Madison Square Garden with both teams off to slow starts.
The Nets (1-5) earned their first win Sunday, 98-90 at Indiana, while the Knicks (2-4) lost 98-93 at Philadelphia on Friday. Brooklyn is 1-2 on the road; New York is 1-2 at home.
Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET. New York is a 14.5-point favorite, with the over/under at 218.5 points. Knicks guard Jose Alvarado is questionable with an ankle injury.
The SportsLine Projection Model, which has returned nearly $19,000 in profit on top-rated NBA picks since 2018, simulates the game 10,000 times. The model leans Over on the total, projecting 221 combined points, with the Over hitting 52% of simulations. It also indicates one side of the spread hits nearly 60% of the time.
Key players: Nets forward Julius Randle averages 21 points, 7.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists; Michael Porter Jr. adds 20.8 points and 7 rebounds. For the Knicks, Jalen Brunson leads with 25.5 points and 5.2 assists; Karl-Anthony Towns contributes 21.8 points and 13.5 rebounds.
