Knicks vs Celtics Picks & Predictions (Feb 8) – Can Boston Cover as Home Favorites?

• The Boston Celtics are 3.5-point favorites at home vs the New York Knicks Sunday afternoon
• New York is coming off its season-low in scoring in a whipping at the hands of the Pistons
• Check out my Knicks vs Celtics prediction and best bet below

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After getting humbled in Detroit, it doesn’t get any easier for the New York Knicks (33-19, 11-13 away), who are in Boston to take on the surging Celtics (34-18, 17-8 home) on Sunday afternoon.

Just a game separates these teams, who are ranked second and third in the East, both looking up at the Pistons. Sportsbooks like the second-seeded Celtics on Super Sunday, setting Boston as the betting favorite in the NBA odds.

Action tips off this afternoon at 12:30 pm ET from TD Garden in Boston, with ABC carrying the broadcast.

Knicks vs Celtics Odds & Betting Lines

The Celtics are 3.5-point favorites, with both sides of that spread getting -110 odds from the folks at bet365. A straight up wager on the favored C’s comes in at -156 odds at FanDuel, while anyone backing the Knicks to take this get +140 odds on the win at Caesars.

The total is pretty solid at 214.5 points. Depending on whether you plan to bet the Over or Under, you might be able to find the line move to give you just a little more wiggle room whichever way you plan to wager.

Odds as of Feb 8. The interactive table above will automatically update as the NBA odds move over the course of the day. New customers can claim a FanDuel promo code get a bonus to bet on NBA basketball.

Knicks vs Celtics Picks & Prediction

• Pick: Celtics -4 (-110 at bet365)

This mini two-game road trip for the Knicks to see how they stack up to the heavies in the East didn’t start as planned.

New York’s 8-game win streak hit a break wall Friday, in a crushing 118-80 loss to the Pistons, the team with the best record in the conference.

It was the Knicks’ worst loss of the season, as they shot just 35.4% from the field en route to their lowest scoring output this year. Jalen Brunson shot 4-for-20 from the floor, missing all eight of his three-point attempts and finished with 12 points.

Perhaps what’s most concerning is New York’s defense getting cut up again, as Detroit shot 53% from the floor, including a lethal 17-for-40 from beyond the arc.

During their 8-game win streak, six teams were held to 101 points or less. But as the level up has happened, starting with a 2 OT win over Denver, New York’s D doesn’t look like it’s ready for primetime.

To be fair, the Knicks were down Karl-Anthony Towns (right eye laceration) and OG Anunoby (right toe soreness), and their status for Sunday will be a game-time decision.

Knicks Last 5 Games

They’ll need all the help they can get, as they meet a Celtics’ team that forgot the memo that this was their off-year, by virtue of Jayson Tatum recovering from an Achilles injury. Instead, Boston is second in the East, and made one of bolder moves at the trade deadline, acquiring big man Nikola Vucevic from the Bulls.

He’s now part of a scrappy group that has ripped off five wins in a row, including a 98-96 slugfest against the Miami Heat last game, as the Celtics overcame a 21-point halftime deficit. Vucevic contributed 11 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two steals in his debut.

Boston has really showed off its defensive chops during this streak, holding all five opponents to 100 points or less. Their 92.2 points allowed average over that span is easily the best in the NBA, nearly 13 points clear of the next closest team to them.

This is the third of four meetings this season, with the each team winning at home in the previous two matchups. In fact, the home team has covered the spread in each of the last five games between the Knicks and Celtics.

There’s nowhere to go but up for the Knicks, who need a bounce back, if for only themselves to believe they’re a worthy Top-5 title favorite in the 2026 NBA Championship odds — with better odds than both the Pistons and the Celtics.

Brunson should be back to a scoring dynamo — he’s only scored in the teens in back-to-back games once this year — and New York will surely top that 80 point plateau.

But Boston presents a tough get-right opponent: at 17-8, they are tied for the second-most home wins in the East and have covered in four of its last give games at TD.

The Knicks will compete better, but I don’t think it’s enough to win or be within the point spread range.