New York Knicks vs Boston Celtics Prediction, 5/5/2025 Preview and Pick

Game: New York Knicks vs Boston Celtics

Date: Monday, May 5, 2025

Location: TD Garden in Boston, MA

TV: TNT

Odds/Point Spread: New York (+9.0)

The Boston Celtics (61-21) will try to defeat the New York Knicks (51-31) at TD Garden on Monday in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Boston opens this game as 9-point favorites. The total comes in at 213.

The Knicks played the Pistons and notched a win by a score of 116-113 in their last contest to win their 1st round series. New York finished the contest having earned a 47.7% field goal percentage (41 out of 86) and converted 10 of their 30 shots from distance. From the charity stripe, the Knicks converted 24 of their 30 tries for a rate of 80.0%. With respect to pulling down boards, they collected 43 with 13 of them being offensive. They also doled out 18 assists for this game while creating 15 turnovers and getting 6 steals. Regarding defending, New York allowed the other team to shoot 46.9% from the floor on 38 out of 81 shooting. Detroit recorded 25 dimes and had 9 steals in this game. Additionally, Detroit pulled down 36 boards (6 offensive, 30 defensive) and earned 4 blocked shots. Detroit finished the contest at 84.8% at the free throw line by making 28 of 33 tries. They made 9 of their 34 attempts from 3-point range. Regarding fouls, the Knicks ended up with 22 and the Pistons racked up 23 fouls.

Jalen Brunson is one player who came through for this contest. He ended up finishing with 40 points on 15 of 33 shooting. He saw the court for 42 mins and totaled 4 rebounds. Brunson finished the game at 45.5% from the floor and also distributed 7 dimes.

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New York comes into this matchup with a win-loss record of 51-31 this year. They have an average of 115.8 pts per contest (9th in the league) on 48.6% from the field. The Knicks are hitting 36.9% on shots from 3-point land (1,031 of 2,794) and 80.0% from the charity stripe. As a unit, New York is collecting 42.6 rebounds per game and has totaled 2,254 dimes for the season, which ranks 11th in the league in terms of passing. They turn the ball over 13.3 times per game and as a unit they commit 17.2 fouls on a nightly basis.

When they are on the defensive end, the Knicks are able to force 14.5 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 19.0 fouls. They are relinquishing 36.7% on shots from distance and they are 9th in the league in points per game allowed (111.7). The Knicks defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 47.4% (3,411 of 7,192) and they relinquish 41.8 boards per contest as a squad. They are 7th in the league in allowing assists to the opposition with 2,069 conceded for the campaign.

When they last stepped on the court, the Celtics got the win with a final of 120-89 when they faced the Magic to win their 1st round series. In relation to how they cleaned up the glass, Boston permitted Orlando to grab 44 in total (15 offensive). They shot 21.1% from 3-point land via 8 out of 38 and finished the contest at 15 of 22 from the free throw line (68.2%). The Celtics permitted the Magic to make 33 of their 88 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 37.5% for the game. When all was said and done, the Celtics went 43 for 76 from the field which had them at 56.6%. When it comes to three-point attempts, Boston converted 13 of their 24 attempts (54.2%). They were able to knock down 21 of the free throw tries for a clip of 87.5%. The Magic earned 20 fouls in the matchup which took the Celtics to the free throw line for a total of 24 shots. They coughed up the ball 11 times, while getting 5 steals for this game. The Celtics were able to snag 35 defensive boards and 3 offensive boards for a total of 38 in this contest.

Jayson Tatum pitched in for the Celtics in this contest. Tatum earned 35 points in his 34 mins of playing time and earned 10 assists for the game. He converted 10 of 16 in this game for a field goal rate of 62.5%, and had 8 rebounds.

Boston has a win-loss mark of 61-21 for the campaign. When it comes to offense, the Celtics are hitting on 46.2% from the floor, which is ranked 19th in the league. Boston has accumulated 9,534 points for the campaign (116.3 per contest) and they grab 45.3 rebounds per game. Their rate of earning assists is at 26.1 times per contest (16th in basketball) and they are losing possession via turnover 11.9 times per game. The Celtics are responsible for committing 15.9 fouls every game and they go 79.9% from the free throw line.

The Boston defense allows 34.7% on three-point shots (1,055 of 3,041) and their opposition knocks down 77.7% of their foul shots. They give up 24.0 assists and 43.7 boards per game, which has them ranked 3rd and 13th in the NBA. The Celtics on the defensive side of the court are 2nd in the league in PPG allowed with 107.2. They are forcing their opponents into 12.8 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 45.0% from the field (2nd in the league).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take New York (+9.0)

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