The Boston Celtics will not have a great deal of time to ponder their home loss to the Lakers last night because they are in New York today for a face-off with their division rivals, the Knicks. The game is set to tip off at 7:30pm ET at Madison Square Garden. Boston Celtics vs New York Knicks NBA picks at BetUS.com are favoring the Celtics at -5.5 against the spread.
Boston saw their impressive twelve game winning streak come to an end last night at the Garden against the red hot Lakers. The Celtics were the fifth host team to fall victim to Los Angeles within the past week. Kevin Garnett’s presence in the lineup was not enough for Boston to get past a 24 point, 14 rebound effort from center Paul Gasol. Garnett had sat out the previous two games due to a bout with the flu.
Despite leading most of the second half, Boston allowed the Lakers back in the game late as Kobe Bryant hit three fourth quarter shots from beyond the arc. The Celtics ended up losing the overtime game 110-109.
Doc River’s squad still has a firm grasp on first place in the Atlantic division at 41-10, but they now trail the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference standings by a half game. Boston is 17-7 on the road this season and they are 2-1 versus the Knicks. They dropped their last game in New York by a score of 88-100.
New York closes out a three game home stand this evening when they take on the Celtics. The stretch has been anything but kind as the Knicks have had to deal with the league’s three best teams in Los Angeles, Cleveland, and Boston. The first two games did not go well for Mike D’Antoni’s team as they lost to the Lakers 117-126 on Monday night and the Cavaliers 102-107 on Wednesday evening.
The Knicks gave up a Madison Square Garden record 61 points to Kobe Bryant in the Los Angeles loss and they backed that poor effort up by allowing the Cavaliers LeBron James to pour in 52.
New York, 21-27 and in fourth place in the Atlantic division, does sport a winning home record at 14-11. They also rank fourth in the league in home scoring average at 107.6 points per game.
BetUS.com's Boston Celtics vs New York Knicks NBA Picks:
Boston Celtics -5.5 (-110), Over 208.5 (-110)
New York Knicks +5.5 (-110), Under 208.5 (-110)
NBA Picks Betting Trend: The Under is 9-1 in the Celtics last 10 games as a road favorite with a spread between 4 and 7.5.
