FIRST-ROUND RESULTS (HOME team in CAPS)

New Jersey wins 4-2 SU (3-3 ATS)
OVER 4-1

5/4/06 - Game 6: New Jersey 96, INDIANA 90 (ATS winner: NJ -1 | OVER 179)
Recap | Boxscore
SUMMARY: The Pacers stuck around in this game thanks to a career-high 40 points from former Net Anthony Johnson, who totaled 12 points in the first quarter en route to a 26-21 Indiana lead and also scored the team's first 12 of the fourth.  The Nets rallied back to tie the game 41-41 at halftime, and a 60-point third quarter by both teams helped the OVER.  New Jersey scored 32 of the 60 to take control and eventually wore down the depleted Pacers, who played without Peja Stojakovic, Jamaal Tinsley and Jeff Foster, all starters at some point during the regular season.

5/2/06 - Game 5: NEW JERSEY 92, Indiana 86 (ATS winner: Indiana +8 | UNDER 179)
Recap | Boxscore
SUMMARY: Two free throws by Indiana's Fred Jones with 50 seconds remaining along with New Jersey's Jason Kidd missing 1-of-2 from the line with 15 seconds left cost Nets backers a win.  The Pacers stayed close throughout the entire game, as the Nets got up by 11 points in the second quarter and 10 in the third but failed to blow it open.  Kidd's missed free throw kept the game UNDER, with Indiana also missing two 3-pointers in the last eight seconds, either of which would have pushed it OVER.

4/29/06 - Game 4: New Jersey 97, INDIANA 88 (ATS winner: NJ -2 | OVER 178.5)
Recap | Boxscore
SUMMARY: The Nets got off to a 24-15 first-quarter lead and never looked back.  The Pacers got within five points with two minutes remaining, but that's as close as they got.  However, a strong 31-21 fourth quarter for Indiana pushed the total OVER yet again.

4/27/06 - Game 3: INDIANA 107, New Jersey 95 (ATS winner: Indiana -1 | OVER 175)
Recap | Boxscore
SUMMARY: The Pacers took control of this game in the third quarter after trailing a high-scoring first half 55-51, which set the game up nicely for the eventual OVER.  Indiana outscored New Jersey 27-15 in the third and saw the Nets pull within 79-76 in the fourth before a 15-6 run by the Pacers put the game away.  Indiana point guard Anthony Johnson led the decisive run by scoring 10 points against his former team during a span of 2:21.

4/25/06 - Game 2: NEW JERSEY 90, Indiana 75 (ATS winner: NJ -7.5 | UNDER 177.5)
Recap | Boxscore
SUMMARY: The tone of this game was determined in the first quarter when Pacers Jermaine O'Neal and Stephen Jackson were each called for two fouls, limiting their effectiveness.  That became even more critical because Peja Stojakovic sat out with a sore knee.  Indiana scored a combined 31 points during the second and third quarters, keeping the team from covering the spread and helping the UNDER in the process.

4/23/06 - Game 1: Indiana 90, NEW JERSEY 88 (ATS winner: Indiana +7 | OVER 175)
Recap | Boxscore
SUMMARY: The Pacers stayed close to New Jersey throughout and were able to win the game outright on two free throws by former Net Anthony Johnson with 0.9 seconds remaining, a rarity considering the referees generally don't make calls like that in the final seconds.  The Nets led by one point entering the final quarter and never could get enough ahead of Indiana to seriously challenge the spread.  A high-scoring first quarter saw the Pacers take an early six-point lead, with the 54 combined points being setting an OVER pace and eventually overcoming a low-scoring second half.

REGULAR-SEASON RESULTS

Indiana wins 2-1 SU (3-0 ATS)
OVER 3-0

2/26/06 - Indiana 101, NEW JERSEY 91(ATS winner: Indiana +6 | OVER 178)
1/16/06 - NEW JERSEY 97, Indiana 92 (ATS winner: Indiana +6.5 | OVER 184)
11/11/05 - INDIANA 102, New Jersey 90 (ATS winner: Indiana -5 | OVER 189.5)

REGULAR-SEASON SERIES RECAP: It's hard to make much of the regular-season meetings since the Pacers were missing O'Neal in the last two, and the Nets saw Carter leave in the first quarter of the latest game between the teams with a hamstring injury.  The fact that Indiana covered all three is worth mentioned though, especially since New Jersey should be a solid home favorite throughout the series.