Two proud franchises collide at lunchtime on Sunday as the New York Knicks visit the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Both teams arrive with top‑tier records and this game comes with real stakes in the Atlantic Division race. Boston has ripped off a five‑game surge behind Jaylen Brown’s scoring binge and a defense that has tightened late in games, while New York just had an eight-game winning streak snapped by the Detroit Pistons. Here, I break down this contest in the Atlantic Division and make my Knicks vs Celtics prediction in the NBA.
Our Knicks vs Celtics Pick
Pick: Knicks +3.5 ATS PRO
Confidence: 3/5
Game Snapshot
Matchup: New York Knicks @ Boston Celtics
Date & Time: Sunday, February 8, 2026, 12:30 PM ET
Venue: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Broadcast: ABC
Key Storylines
Availability watch for New York: OG Anunoby, Karl‑Anthony Towns, and Josh Hart are all listed as questionable going into this contest. They are also without Deuce McBride, who is expected to miss a significant chunk of time after suffering an abdominal injury and getting surgery.
Jayson Tatum remains out for Boston as he recovers from an Achilles injury. Jaylen Brown has carried the scoring load at 29.5 points per game, while Derrick White has stabilized the offense as a secondary playmaker.
Recent form: Boston has won 5 straight, including a 98-96 win over Miami on Friday. New York is 4-1 in its last 5, but fell 118-80 at Detroit on Friday before flying to Boston for the early Sunday tip. That loss snapped an eight-game winning streak for the Knicks.
ESPN Analytics favors Boston with a 56.5% win probability. That aligns with the Celtics being slight favorites going into this matchup.
The Knicks come into this game with an 11-13 record away from home this season, but they won multiple road games in their playoff series with the Celtics last year and will try to get another win at TD Garden here.
Head-to-Head & Betting Trends
Season series: 1-1. Boston won the most recent meeting at TD Garden 123-117 on December 2, 2025. New York protected its home floor in the earlier meeting at Madison Square Garden.
New York is 29-24 against the spread for the season going into this matchup.
Boston is 29-23 against the spread going into Sunday afternoon.
The under is 27-26 in Knicks games this season.
Boston has stayed under the total in 33 of their first 52 games, the highest percentage of unders in the NBA.
Knicks vs Celtics Model Projection
Score Projection: New York 110 – Boston 112
Win Probability: New York 43%, Boston 57%
Final Thoughts
This is going to be an extremely close game between two teams that are no strangers to playing extremely close games against each other. I'm going to take the points with the Knicks here, as this reads as a one-possession game in either direction for me. The Celtics being banged-up will prevent them from running away with this game at home, even if I do expect them to ultimately grab the win.
Affiliate DisclosureATS.io uses affiliate links. If you sign up through a link on this page, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Rankings are based on hands-on testing and published criteria, and affiliate relationships do not determine placement.
