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Update: Jalen Brunson has been ruled out for the Knicks, while Brogdon is out for Boston. The line is now Celtics -7 and we’ll actually flip our prediction and take the home team to win and cover here. The total is now at 226, and we’ll keep our pick of the over even with Brunson being sidelined.
The New York Knicks (38-27) will meet the Boston Celtics (45-19) for the fourth and final time this season Sunday in a matchup of two Eastern Conference contenders. The Knicks have won eight straight games, including a 109-94 triumph over the Celtics on Monday. Boston is coming off a surprising 115-105 loss to the Nets and has lost two of its last three.
The Knicks are intact on the injury front. The Celtics will be without Robert Williams due to a hamstring issue, while Malcolm Brogdon is listed as questionable with an ankle injury.
The Celtics are 5.5-point favorites according to DraftKings Sportsbook. The total comes in at 228.
Knicks vs. Celtics, 7:30 p.m. ET
Pick ATS: Knicks +5.5
New York leads the season series 2-1 and is currently playing its best basketball. Meanwhile, the Celtics are in a bit of a funk right now and have seen their lead in the East standings vanish. Boston will be looking for revenge and could come away with the outright win but the Knicks should keep this close enough to cover the spread. New York is 21-10 ATS as the road team and 14-8 ATS as the road underdog this season. Boston is 8-10 ATS after a loss.
Over/Under: Over 228
The Knicks rank fifth in points per game over the last five games, while the Celtics should perform better than their most recent outings. In the three games so far between these teams, the over would’ve hit on this line twice. Even though these teams have been good defensively, they should combine to surpass this line Sunday.