The second-seeded Boston Celtics will look to even their best-of-seven 2025 NBA Eastern Conference semifinal series with the third-seeded New York Knicks when they meet in Game 6 on Friday night. Boston avoided elimination with a 127-102 win in Game 5 behind a strong bench performances from Payton Pritchard and Luke Kornet. The former had 17 points and knocked down five shots from beyond the arc, while Kornet filled up the stat sheet with 10 points, nine rebounds and seven blocked shots. The Celtics (61-21) are looking to reach the conference finals for the fourth straight year, while the Knicks (51-31) have lost in the Eastern Conference semifinals in each of the past two seasons. Precious Achiuwa (ankle) is listed as questionable for the Knicks.
Tipoff from Madison Square Garden in New York City is set for 8 p.m. ET. New York has won seven of the last 11 postseason meetings with Boston. The Knicks are 2.5-point favorites in the latest Celtics vs. Knicks odds from DraftKings Sportsbook, while the over/under for total points scored is 211, an increase from opening at 209.5. The Knicks are -145 on the money line (risk $145 to win $100), while the Celtics are +122 (risk $100 to win $122). Before making any Knicks vs. Celtics picks, check out the NBA predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in betting profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past six-plus seasons. The model enters the second week of the conference semifinals of the 2025 NBA playoffs on a sizzling 159-117 roll on all top-rated NBA picks, returning nearly $4,000. It is also 23-11 (68%) on top-rated NBA against-the-spread picks this season. Anyone following at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.
Now, the model has simulated Celtics vs. Knicks 10,000 times and just revealed its coveted NBA picks and betting predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model’s picks. Here are several NBA odds and NBA betting lines for Knicks vs. Celtics:
- Celtics vs. Knicks spread: New York -2.5 at DraftKings
- Celtics vs. Knicks over/under: 211 points
- Celtics vs. Knicks money line: Boston +122, New York -145
- BOS: The Celtics have hit the team total under in 63 of their last 98 games (+23.60)
- NY: The Knicks are 37-32 ATS this season
- Celtics vs. Knicks picks: See picks at SportsLine
- Celtics vs. Knicks streaming: FuboTV (Try for free)
Why the Knicks can cover
Point guard Jalen Brunson is one of five New York players averaging double-digit scoring. He is coming off a 22-point and six assist effort in the Game 5 loss at Boston. He registered a double-double with 39 points, 12 assists and five rebounds in the 121-113 win in Game 4. In 11 postseason games, all starts, he is averaging 29.4 points, 7.8 assists and 3.7 rebounds in 39.5 minutes.
Another scoring option for the Knicks is center Karl-Anthony Towns. He is averaging 19.6 points, 11.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists and one block in 35.8 minutes. He has registered four double-doubles in the series, including a 23-point and 11-rebound effort in the Game 4 win. He scored 21 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in a 91-90 win over Boston in Game 2. See which team to back at SportsLine.
Why the Celtics can cover
With small forward Jayson Tatum out for the year after having surgery to repair a torn left Achilles tendon, Boston will turn to shooting guard Jaylen Brown to pick up some of the scoring slack. In 10 playoff starts, Brown is averaging 22.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists and one steal in 37.1 minutes. He is coming off a double-double with 26 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds in the Game 5 win. He poured in 20 points, while adding seven rebounds and two assists in a Game 4 loss.
Point guard Derrick White is coming off a monster effort in the Game 5 win over New York. In 40 minutes of action, he poured in 34 points, while adding three rebounds, three blocks and two assists. In Game 4, he scored 23 points, while adding three rebounds and two assists. In 10 postseason games, all starts, he is averaging 19.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.2 blocks in 38.5 minutes. See which team to back at SportsLine.
How to make Celtics vs. Knicks picks
SportsLine’s model has simulated Celtics vs. Knicks 10,000 times and is leaning under the total, projecting 209 combined points. The model also says one side of the spread hits in well over 50% of simulations. You can head to SportsLine to see the model’s NBA picks.
So who wins Celtics vs. Knicks, and which side of the spread cashes in well over 50% of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Celtics vs. Knicks spread to back, all from the model that has returned well over $10,000 on top-rated NBA picks, and find out.
This news was originally published on this post .
About the author
Paige Bueckers makes WNBA debut: Wings’ No. 1 overall pick says she has ‘room to grow’
Getty Images Less than a minute into the Dallas Wings' 99-84 opening night loss to the Minnesota Lynx, Paige Bueckers drove into the lane and put up a runner. It didn't go down, but she stuck with it and grabbed the offensive rebound in traffic. Her putback a few seconds later hit the glass and nestled into the net. So began the No. 1 overall pick's professional career. Hailey Van Lith injury update: Sky rookie questionable for season opener vs. Fever, Caitlin Clark Jack Maloney While the result was not what Bueckers or the Wings would have hoped for, her debut was an exciting moment for the team and the league. Bueckers finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and two assists on 3-of-10 shooting from the field in 30 minutes of action. "Room to grow, you gotta have a starting point, you've […]
Celtics’ playoff elimination vs. Knicks continues hard-to-believe streak for defending NBA champions
Imagn Images Just a few years ago, fans were consistently complaining about the lack of parity in the NBA. The Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers met in four consecutive NBA Finals from 2015-2018, leading to countless talking-head discussions about whether the league had become too predictable.Well, so much for that.The Boston Celtics were eliminated from the 2025 playoffs on Friday night with a 119-81 loss to the New York Knicks, which means that no defending NBA champion has advanced past the second round since the Warriors made the Finals in 2019. The lack of a repeat champion is relatively understandable given the uncertainty of health and circumstance in the postseason, but for a defending champ to not even make the conference finals is pretty unbelievable.Here's how the title-holders have fared over the last six seasons: Early exits for recent […]
NBA playoffs results and takeaways: Knicks wallop Celtics for first trip to conference finals in 25 years
Heading into Friday’s Game 6, the New York Knicks hadn’t made it to the Eastern Conference finals since 2000, a drought as long as the camera phone is old.To end the drought, the Knicks made it rain, nailing 46.2 percent of their field goals and 34.8 percent of 3-pointers en route to a 119-81 rout of the Boston Celtics. With the win, New York advances to their first conference finals in a quarter century, setting up a rematch against the Indiana Pacers, who bounced New York from the playoffs last year during a seven-game Eastern Conference semifinals series.AdvertisementThe Knicks started the second quarter with a six-point lead, and quickly turned it into a 13-point lead as the Celtics unraveled. Then the Knicks led by 16, and shortly after by 21. At halftime, New York held a 64-37 lead with five […]
Knicks reach conference finals for first time since 2000 with record 38-point win
<!--> The New York Knicks reached the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 25 years and ended the one-year NBA title reign of the Boston Celtics with astonishing ease, rolling to a 119-81 victory in Game 6 on Friday night.Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby each scored 23 points for the Knicks, who will face the Indiana Pacers, the same team they met in their last conference finals appearance in 2000. Game 1 is Wednesday night in New York.The Knicks hadn’t won a playoff series on their home floor since the 1999 East finals. So the celebrating started late in the one-sided first half inside Madison Square Garden and was sure to carry on deep into the night around the arena.Mikal Bridges scored 22 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 for the Knicks, whose 38-point margin of victory was […]
What’s next for Celtics? Three trades Boston could explore with core players potentially on the move
Getty Images The Boston Celtics were eliminated from the 2025 NBA postseason on Friday by the New York Knicks, but their season -- and this entire era in team history -- ended the moment Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles in Game 4. Boston was already in a somewhat precarious position entering the 2025 offseason. Their projected payroll for next year, before even considering potentially re-signing Al Horford or Luke Kornet, is $493 million with luxury taxes included. That was going to be hard to swallow even as two-time defending champions. But after an early elimination and with the knowledge that Tatum will presumably miss the entire 2025-26 season, it's downright untenable. The Celtics are going to look very different next season.The question is just how different. Are we talking cosmetic changes or a full-scale teardown? The answer is probably somewhere in […]
Paige Bueckers shows promise in WNBA debut as Wings fall to Napheesa Collier’s Lynx
DALLAS — The energy was a little different at College Park Center on Friday. Paige Bueckers made her WNBA debut for the Dallas Wings against the Minnesota Lynx, and the home team sold out the building.Ron Thulin, who has been the Wings’ play-by-play broadcaster for 10 years, said this was the most excited he’d ever felt for opening night.AdvertisementCheryl Reeve, who has been in the WNBA nearly since its inception starting with her first job as an assistant coach in 2001, said pregame she was “thrilled that I’m still in it after all these years to finally get a chance to experience the greatness that is the WNBA.”That greatness came in many forms in the opening game of the 2025 season between Dallas and Minnesota, with four-time All-Star Arike Ogunbowale, 2024’s most improved player DiJonai Carrington and 2025’s No. 1 […]
Related
Paige Bueckers makes WNBA debut: Wings’ No. 1 overall pick says she has ‘room to grow’
Getty Images Less than a minute into the Dallas Wings' 99-84 opening night loss to the Minnesota Lynx, Paige Bueckers drove into the lane and put up a runner. It didn't go down, but she stuck with it and grabbed the offensive rebound in traffic. Her putback a few seconds later hit the glass and nestled into the net. So began the No. 1 overall pick's professional career. Hailey Van Lith injury update: Sky rookie questionable for season opener vs. Fever, Caitlin Clark Jack Maloney While the result was not what Bueckers or the Wings would have hoped for, her debut was an exciting moment for the team and the league. Bueckers finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and two assists on 3-of-10 shooting from the field in 30 minutes of action. "Room to grow, you gotta have a starting point, you've […]
Celtics’ playoff elimination vs. Knicks continues hard-to-believe streak for defending NBA champions
Imagn Images Just a few years ago, fans were consistently complaining about the lack of parity in the NBA. The Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers met in four consecutive NBA Finals from 2015-2018, leading to countless talking-head discussions about whether the league had become too predictable.Well, so much for that.The Boston Celtics were eliminated from the 2025 playoffs on Friday night with a 119-81 loss to the New York Knicks, which means that no defending NBA champion has advanced past the second round since the Warriors made the Finals in 2019. The lack of a repeat champion is relatively understandable given the uncertainty of health and circumstance in the postseason, but for a defending champ to not even make the conference finals is pretty unbelievable.Here's how the title-holders have fared over the last six seasons: Early exits for recent […]
NBA playoffs results and takeaways: Knicks wallop Celtics for first trip to conference finals in 25 years
Heading into Friday’s Game 6, the New York Knicks hadn’t made it to the Eastern Conference finals since 2000, a drought as long as the camera phone is old.To end the drought, the Knicks made it rain, nailing 46.2 percent of their field goals and 34.8 percent of 3-pointers en route to a 119-81 rout of the Boston Celtics. With the win, New York advances to their first conference finals in a quarter century, setting up a rematch against the Indiana Pacers, who bounced New York from the playoffs last year during a seven-game Eastern Conference semifinals series.AdvertisementThe Knicks started the second quarter with a six-point lead, and quickly turned it into a 13-point lead as the Celtics unraveled. Then the Knicks led by 16, and shortly after by 21. At halftime, New York held a 64-37 lead with five […]
Knicks reach conference finals for first time since 2000 with record 38-point win
<!--> The New York Knicks reached the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 25 years and ended the one-year NBA title reign of the Boston Celtics with astonishing ease, rolling to a 119-81 victory in Game 6 on Friday night.Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby each scored 23 points for the Knicks, who will face the Indiana Pacers, the same team they met in their last conference finals appearance in 2000. Game 1 is Wednesday night in New York.The Knicks hadn’t won a playoff series on their home floor since the 1999 East finals. So the celebrating started late in the one-sided first half inside Madison Square Garden and was sure to carry on deep into the night around the arena.Mikal Bridges scored 22 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 for the Knicks, whose 38-point margin of victory was […]
What’s next for Celtics? Three trades Boston could explore with core players potentially on the move
Getty Images The Boston Celtics were eliminated from the 2025 NBA postseason on Friday by the New York Knicks, but their season -- and this entire era in team history -- ended the moment Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles in Game 4. Boston was already in a somewhat precarious position entering the 2025 offseason. Their projected payroll for next year, before even considering potentially re-signing Al Horford or Luke Kornet, is $493 million with luxury taxes included. That was going to be hard to swallow even as two-time defending champions. But after an early elimination and with the knowledge that Tatum will presumably miss the entire 2025-26 season, it's downright untenable. The Celtics are going to look very different next season.The question is just how different. Are we talking cosmetic changes or a full-scale teardown? The answer is probably somewhere in […]
Paige Bueckers shows promise in WNBA debut as Wings fall to Napheesa Collier’s Lynx
DALLAS — The energy was a little different at College Park Center on Friday. Paige Bueckers made her WNBA debut for the Dallas Wings against the Minnesota Lynx, and the home team sold out the building.Ron Thulin, who has been the Wings’ play-by-play broadcaster for 10 years, said this was the most excited he’d ever felt for opening night.AdvertisementCheryl Reeve, who has been in the WNBA nearly since its inception starting with her first job as an assistant coach in 2001, said pregame she was “thrilled that I’m still in it after all these years to finally get a chance to experience the greatness that is the WNBA.”That greatness came in many forms in the opening game of the 2025 season between Dallas and Minnesota, with four-time All-Star Arike Ogunbowale, 2024’s most improved player DiJonai Carrington and 2025’s No. 1 […]
Be the first to leave a comment