NBA
New York Knicks vs Boston Celtics Preview: Odds, Tips and Prediction
Date: Sunday 23rd February 2025 Start time: 1:00 pm local time (6 pm BST) Venue: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Last meeting: January 8th, 2025, Boston Celtics 131-104 New York Knicks Two weeks after their last meeting, the Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks go head-to-head once again.
Jayson Tatum//Getty Images
Two weeks after their last meeting, the Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks go head-to-head once again. The Celtics completed an impressive 131-104 in Madison Square Garden, but can they replicate this performance on their home patch? Both teams head into this tournament expected to produce electric basketball as both teams are in impressive form heading into this matchup.
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SportsBoom’s preview of this titanic matchup between two of the best organizations in the Eastern Conference is full of all the important information. We will discuss both teams and their respective 2024/25 NBA campaigns, previous head-to-head history records and our valued bets for this game.
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Pre-Game Odds and Win Probability
Boston Celtics: 4/7 (1.57) - 63.69%
New York Knicks: 7/4 (2.75) - 36.36%
Forecast odds – Betting available on Stake closer to event
Head-to-Head Record
The Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks fixture has witnessed hundreds of regular-season games over the years. Historically, this matchup is seen as one of the most famous rivalries, considering the feud between New York City and Boston-based teams in other sports. This matchup has featured an incredible 496 regular-season games played over nine decades.
What is also incredible, though, is that the Boston Celtics have a massive upper hand in this fixture. The Celtics have produced an impressive 306 wins over the New York Knicks, leaving the Big Apple-based team with only 190. The Celtics are in impressive form recently, too, producing six out of seven wins across their championship-winning 2023/24 season and this year too. The Celtics will be hard to beat at their home arena.
Last Five Matches
| Season | Date | Result |
| 2024/25 Season | February 8, 2025 | Boston Celtics 131-104 New York Knicks |
| 2024/25 Season | October 22, 2024 | Boston Celtics 132-109 New York Knicks |
| 2023/24 Season | April 11, 2024 | New York Knicks 118-109 Boston Celtics |
| 2023/24 Season | February 24, 2024 | Boston Celtics 116-102 New York Knicks |
| 2023/24 Season | December 8, 2024 | Boston Celtics 133-123 New York Knicks |
How is the season so far for both teams?
Boston Celtics
- Record: 39-16
- Home Form: 17-10
- Road Form: 22-6
The Boston Celtics are still the second seed in the East but now have the best away record in the league, losing only six times across 28 matches, an impressive feat for the reigning NBA champions. The Celtics currently have a 2.5-game cushion above the Knicks, meaning a win could provide some much-needed breathing space ahead of the closing stages of the regular season.
Jayson Tatum produced a remarkable 40 points against the New York Knicks in their last game two weeks ago, in addition to 6 rebounds and 4 assists. It’s no surprise to anyone considering the gravitas of the big game, as he is the franchise leader in points, rebounds, and assists. Overall, it’s hard to find weaknesses in his game, but it’s fair to say he is improving and recording his best numbers on defence.
Helping Tatum in defense would be their Latvian center, Kristaps Porzingis, who is averaging 19.4 points and 8 rebounds. This makes him their third and second stat leader on both sides of the court, and while he has played 29 games, it’s clear to see when he’s fit and healthy, the Celtics need him in crucial moments.
New York Knicks
- Record: 36-18
- Home Form: 19-10
- Road Form: 17-8
Despite showing impressive form these last few weeks, the New York Knicks still find themselves two games behind the Celtics. The organization are enjoying a positive spell and having a good season, and like their opponents, they have only lost in single digits away from home. The Knicks will be motivated to seek revenge after their blowout loss at the start of the month.
Across 49 games this season, Karl-Anthony Towns is averaging 24.7 points and 13.4 rebounds per game. His points per game sit him 13th in the NBA, but impressively, he is second in rebounds. These statistics are impressive figures and are the best of his career, showcasing that he is enjoying life in his first year in New York City.
Having only missed one game this season, the Knicks’ leading scorer is Jalen Brunson. In his third year for the team, he hasn’t quite lived up to his standards from last year, where he posted 28.7 points, but his 26.1 points this season are combined with a career-high number of assists. The Knicks star is averaging 7.5 so far, a part of his game that he is improving on.
Value Bets
Jayson Tatum, Over 30 Points: As mentioned earlier, Jayson Tatum recorded an impressive 40 points from the previous meeting. Tatum will no doubt want to replicate this once again, considering he accounted for a fair portion of the Celtics’ points score. Therefore, based on this performance and his career average of 24.1 points, this leaves us with the consensus that Tatum will deliver over 30 points.
Jalen Brunson, Over 25 Points: Jalen Brunson produced 36 points himself from their last matchup, highlighting his offensive threat. However, despite this performance, he has a career average of 19.8 points per game. Given the surprisingly low historical stat, we predict he will only post over 25 points. Can Brunson be the difference-maker for the organization in sealing an impressive win?
Prediction: Boston Celtics to win
SportsBoom expects the Boston Celtics to win this fixture once more. It should be a closer game than the last one, considering Anthony-Towns wasn’t up to scratch, but the Celtics are the favourites to win. Both in recent times and across history, the Celtics are in incredible form against the Knicks and will be hard to stop. Will the Knicks be able to stop the reigning NBA champions?
Henry Cheal is a versatile freelance sports journalist with extensive experience in the industry. Henry has previously worked at the 2024 World Snooker Championship and earned a Multimedia Sports Journalism degree from UCFB in 2023.
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