The Boston Celtics (18-20, 7-12 away) take on the New York Knicks (18-20, 8-11 home) in an Eastern Conference showdown on Thursday night. Boston aims to get back into the win column after a 99-97 loss to San Antonio on Wednesday, and the Knicks hope to keep their winning ways intact after defeating Indiana, 104-94, on Tuesday night. These two teams will turn around and face each other again on Saturday night in Boston.
Thursday’s matchup tips off at 7:30 p.m. EST inside the historic Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y. Boston is a 1-point road favorite, and the over-under total is at 210.0 points.
What to Know – Boston Celtics
Boston comes into Thursday’s contest playing their second game in as many days. This season, the Celtics have a 5-2 record after zero days of rest. Boston has dropped their last five games on the road.
The Celtics average 107.9 points per game behind 44.3 percent shooting from the floor and 33.3 percent shooting from the arc. Boston’s defense holds opponents to 106.9 points, 44.2 percent from the field, and 34.4 percent from three.
The Celtics will need to shoot better beyond the arc if they want to defeat the Knicks Thursday night. Boston hit just 9-of-28 threes in Wednesday night’s loss. Jaylen Brown paced the Celtics in scoring with a game-high 30 points.
Boston is 18-19-1 against the spread with a 10-9 record ATS on the road. The Celtics are 1-4 over their last five games and 5-14 ATS in their previous 19 games against teams from the Atlantic Division.
What to Know – New York Knicks
The Knicks snapped a two-game losing skid with Tuesday night’s victory over the Pacers and have won four of their last six games. New York is 3-5 against teams from the Atlantic Division this season.
New York scores 104.7 points per game with an offense that knocks down 43.6 percent from the floor and 37.1 percent from the 3-point line. Defensively, the Knicks surrender 105.4 points per game, allowing opponents to shoot 43.8 percent from the field and 34.8 percent from three.
RJ Barrett poured in 32, and Julius Randle added 30 and 16 rebounds in the Knicks victory over Indiana. New York crashed the boards, outrebounding the Pacer 51-35. Both teams shot poorly from the arc, but the Knicks shot just 21.4 percent in the contest.
New York is 17-21 ATS this year and 7-12 on their home floor. The Knicks are 4-2 ATS over their previous six games but 2-4 ATS against teams from their division.
The Pick is In
Thursday’s tilt is the third time these two teams will be facing each other, each picking up a victory earlier in the year. Boston has been effective in games played with zero rest, but the duo of Barrett and Randle will give the Celtics’ defense a lot of trouble.
We like the host to pull out the victory at home.
The Pick: New York Knicks ML
