The slumping Boston Celtics welcome the New York Knicks to Bean Town tonight for a divisional showdown at the TD Garden. Start time in this evening’s Atlantic tussle between the Celtics and Knicks is set for 7:00pm ET; it will be broadcast live on TNT. NBA Odds have Boston listed as a -2 against the spread home favorite and the Over/Under set at 192 points. The Knicks are drawing +115 moneyline odds to extend their current winning streak to five games.
With just 13 regular season games remaining on the schedule Boston is all but assured a spot in the playoffs; however, its seeding is very much in question. The Celtics are presently seventh in the Eastern Conference standings, but their recent skid has reduced their lead to two games over the eighth place Milwaukee Bucks.
The difference between the seventh and eighth place may not seem all that significant, but in this case in means an opening round series opposite the Pacers instead of the defending champion Heat. In other words, the seventh seed is probable first round elimination while the eighth seed is certain elimination.
Right now, though, the Celtics just need to concern themselves with winning a game. Boston has dropped four straight and six of its last eight games to fall to 36-33 overall. Unfortunately for the Celtics, they will need to end their slide without the services of Kevin Garnett, who will sit out tonight’s contest with an ankle injury.
Conversely, the Knicks, who lead the Atlantic Division with a 42-26 record, will look to record their fifth straight win this evening. New York, which is coming off back to back wins over the Raptors, last played on Saturday when it took out Toronto 110-84 at Madison Square Garden.
Both of these teams are 3-3 in their last six meetings, but New York won the most recent clash, taking out Boston 89-86 at the TD Garden on January 24th.
Notable Trends: The Knicks are 4-1 both straight up and against the spread in their last five games as a road dog with a spread between 0 and 3.5 points and total between 190 and 195.
New York Knicks vs Boston Celtics NBA Odds:
New York Knicks +2 (-110), Over 192 (-110), +115 (Moneyline)
Boston Celtics -2 (-110), Under 192 (-110), -135 (Moneyline)
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