NBA Betting Tips: Three picks for crucial game six contests on Thursday

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New customers only. Deposit via Debit Card & place first bet £10+ (1/1+) on Sports in 7 days. £30 Sports & £20 Acca Free Bets within 10 hrs of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility, payment excl. & T&Cs Apply.

New York Knicks -2.5 (@ Atlanta Hawks) @ 20/23

It's win-or-go-home time for the Atlanta Hawks, and whilst I do think they have a better chance of forcing a game seven in front of their own fans, I'm backing the Knicks to wrap up this series and move onto the next round.

The Knicks head to State Farm Arena with a 3-2 lead, but have lost both games in Atlanta so far. However, I liked what I saw from the one-two punch of Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns in game five, and I believe that can deliver the Knicks a win here.

Brunson, in particular, was enormous for New York in game five at Madison Square Garden, and they played some outstanding team basketball, which we haven't seen for a while from this team.

The Hawks need bigger performances from the likes of Jalen Johnson and CJ McCollum here if they want to keep their season alive, but I think the Knicks look better value for this game.

Money Line - Philadelphia 76ers (vs Boston Celtics) @ 9/5

Is it squeaky bum time for Boston? Probably not, but at 9/5, I think Philly are a cracking price on the money line here, and I'll explain why.

Joel Embiid's return has galvanised this 76ers team, and now they have the chance to force a game seven with a win at home. If you'd offered that to Nick Nurse before the series started, you bet he'd have taken it.

It's worth noting that Philly haven't won at home so far during this series, and Boston had a terrible shooting night in game five, which probably won't be repeated here.

However, Wells Fargo Center will be rocking - will that be enough to bring Philly home? They'll need excellent performances from Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, but it's possible - and at 9/5 it's worth backing in my opinion.

Denver Nuggets -5.5 (@ Minnesota Timberwolves) @ 5/6

The Minnesota Timberwolves are another team that can wrap up their first-round play-off series tonight, as they host the Denver Nuggets with a 3-2 lead in tact.

Simply put, I'm siding with the Nuggets here, as I believed this series flipped on its head when Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo went down injured for Minnesota. If those two, particularly Edwards, were both fit, I'd be backing a series-clinching win for the Timberwolves tonight.

Nikola Jokic continues to be an enigma as no team seemingly has an answer for a centre that plays like a point guard, and Minnesota will be missing plenty of firepower in Edwards and DiVincenzo, so this one looks set to go seven games.