Brunson has been the Knicks' playoff hero with a full team effort. His scoring trend moved 22 → 29 → 32 → 36 through the four Finals games. His 29.8 series average is clearly above the 26.5 line — this is a below-mean bet at near-even money. Bleacher Report backs "another prolific offensive outing" for Brunson in Game 5.

The caution: SportsLine projects 24.8 points for Brunson, noting his shooting struggles in San Antonio in Games 1 and 2. SI also backs a complementary line: Brunson 3+ threes at +121, noting "he took 17 3-pointers in the two games in San Antonio." But the line is set below his series average — that structural advantage makes -106 worth the bet.

NBC Sports/RotoWorld specifically surfaces Anunoby Over 19.5 as the top Knicks prop: "the Game 4 hero has blown past this number in each of the last 2 games / missed cashing by 2 points in each of the first 2 games." His split between SA (17/17) and MSG (28/33) is striking — but he now heads back to SA with his confidence at an all-time high after the game-winning tip-in. The 19.5 line sits below his 23.8 series average. At +116, this is near-even money for the hottest player in the Finals.

CBS Sports' Larry Hartstein's specific recommendation: "Castle played just 26 minutes in the Spurs' heartbreaking Game 4 loss due to foul trouble. He got in foul trouble and shot 2 of 7 from the field. However, he made all eight of his foul shots and is shooting 85 percent from the free-throw line in this series. With San Antonio's season on the line Saturday, look for the team's second-leading scorer to play 30-plus minutes and score at least 16 points. He's 16-6 to this Over in the playoffs." The G4 result is a foul-trouble anomaly — his scoring baseline of 14-18 in full-minutes games makes this a strong play.

Covers' NBA expert expects a major bounce-back from KAT: "Early foul trouble completely disrupted Karl-Anthony Towns' offensive rhythm in Game 4, forcing him to the bench early. Our NBA expert expects a major bounce-back performance from KAT this Saturday, making him a prime candidate to exploit his current player prop lines." Before G4's foul trouble he scored 21, 22, and 18 across Games 1-3 — all over 17.5. The 14-pt G4 result was caused purely by playing under 26 minutes, not form. In a championship closeout game, he plays full minutes. The bounce-back case is strong; verify the line before wagering.