If you thought you were sweating watching the fourth quarter of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, imagine how you would have felt having bet more than $700,000 on the Knicks, who trailed by 22 points.
An anonymous bettor at BetMGM had $775,000 on the Knicks to cover five different spread bets.
The ladder strategy worked for this punter in the second round of the NBA playoffs to the tune of about $720,000.
This same bettor decided to go big for the East finals.
They bet $75,000 on the Knicks to cover -2.5 (-210), $350,000 on -3.5 (-185), $185,000 on -4.5 (-160), $95,000 on -5.5 (-140) and $70,000 on -6.5 (-120), with a chance to win over $458,000.
That bettor had a 99.9 percent chance to lose that $775,000 bet with a little less than eight minutes left in the game.
Then, Jalen Brunson put on his cape.
The Knicks captain led a 30-8 run over the final 7:49 of the fourth quarter that looked like a mirror image of a game the Knicks lost last year in this same spot against the Pacers in Game 1.
The Cavaliers missed clutch free throws down the stretch just like the Knicks did last year, and New York got the benefit of an unlucky bounce on a potential game-winner from Sam Merrill on the same basket that made Tyrese Haliburton the City’s No. 1 villain.
But this bettor needed more than just a great comeback. They needed to cover the 6.5-point spread.
The game could have easily been a nail-biter in overtime, but after consecutive seven-game series through two rounds, the Cavaliers looked completely gassed in the extra period.
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Cleveland shot 1-of-7 in overtime and scored three points, while OG Anunoby scored nine points on his own to help seal an 11-point win for the Knicks and cash that lucky bettor’s Game 1 ladder bet.
This bettor has now won more than $1.1 million on these ladder bets, which started with Game 2 of the Knicks-Sixers series, and a staggering $857,000 on the Knicks in four games.
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Malik Smith has been immersed in the sports betting industry since 2017. He’s a data nerd with a particular focus on the NBA and combat sports. He spends his weeknights in the winter looking for edges on plus-money NBA player props.
