New York Knicks vs Boston Celtics: Preview, odds, picks, how to watch, more

The New York Knicks look to extend their eight-game winning streak when they travel to Boston to take on a Celtics team that will be hoping for revenge after Monday’s loss.

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New York Knicks (38-27) @ Boston Celtics (45-19)

Game Details:

Location: TD Garden in Boston, MA
Time: Sunday, March 5th at 7:30 p.m. ET
Channel: ESPN

Betting odds:

Spread: BOS -5.5
Over/Under: 228
Moneyline: BOS (-225), NYK (+185)

Matchup:

The New York Knicks won their eighth straight game in dramatic fashion when they beat the Miami Heat on Friday, 122-120 on Julius Randle’s game-winning three-pointer.

Randle was electric on the night, posting a 43-point, nine-rebound performance. He was 16-25 from the field, including 8-13 from the three-point range, and New York as a team shot 58.0% from the field and 41.5% from the three-point range (17-for-41).

Randle also led the Knicks with 23 points on Monday when they beat the Celtics 109-94 at Madison Square Garden, taking the lead in the season series 2-1. The recent hot streak has allowed the Knicks to move into fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings, and they are now just one game behind Cleveland for fourth.

Meanwhile, Boston has lost two of their last three games after blowing a 23-point lead to the Brooklyn Nets on Friday, losing 115-105. The mini-struggle streak has dropped the Celtics to second in the Eastern Conference standings, one game behind Milwaukee.

However, a big difference for Boston on Sunday will be the presence of Jaylen Brown, who missed Monday’s game against the Knicks. Brown led the Celtics on Friday with 35 points, on 15-of-27 from the field. The Celtics will also likely get a better performance from Jayson Tatum, who was just 6-of-18 against the Knicks on Monday and was ejected in the fourth quarter after two technical fouls.

On the season, Boston ranks fourth in the NBA in points per game with 117.5 and is sixth in three-point shooting at a 37.8% clip. They made just 9-of-42 shots (21.4%) in Monday’s game, and you’d have to expect that percentage to tick up on Sunday night since New York does have a tendency to give up a fair amount of open three-point shots due to the way they aggressively help in the lane.

Despite that, New York has been a strong team defensively, ranking ninth in points allowed per game at 112.1 and third in opponent field-goal percentage at 45.5%. The Knicks have also been outstanding on the glass, ranking third at 46.8 rebounds per game, which will work in their favor on Sunday since Mitchell Robinson is back for New York but Robert Williams III will be out for Boston.

A big question for the Knicks will be the health of Jalen Brunson. While the point guard is not listed on the injury report, Brunson was forced to leave Friday’s game early with an ankle injury, so there may be some residual stiffness on Sunday. While we know Brunson will play, we’re not sure exactly how close to 100% he is.

Brunson has been tremendous for the Knicks this season, putting up 25.6 points, 6.1 assists, and 3.7 rebounds on 48.8% shooting since the team shortened the rotations on December 4th. While Immanuel Quickley will be able to pick up some slack if Brunson is not 100%, the team will need a great performance from Brunson and Randle to pull over their second straight win over Boston.

Prediction:

Celtics 118 – Knicks 114

While I’m not sure the Knicks can go into Boston twice and beat the Celtics, New York has beaten five of the eight opponents during their winning streak by at least 15 points, so it’s hard to truly bet against them. Since the Celtics are not firing on all cylinders of late, this seems like a good opportunity to bet on the Knicks to cover the 5.5 point spread.