New York Knicks vs Boston Celtics Prediction, 10/23/2026 Preview and Pick

Game: New York Knicks vs Boston Celtics

Date: Friday, October 23, 2026

Location: TD Garden in Boston, MA

TV: NBC Sports Boston

Odds/Point Spread: New York (+2.5)

The New York Knicks (53-29 last season) are on their way to TD Garden on Friday where they will try to defeat the Boston Celtics (56-26 last year). Boston opens this contest as 2.5-point favorites from oddsmakers. The total comes in at 223.5.

The Knicks played the 76ers and took a loss by a final of 106-100 in their last game. New York finished the game having earned a 37.2% field goal percentage (35 out of 94) and converted 11 out of their 33 three-point attempts. At the charity stripe, the Knicks converted 19 of their 27 attempts for a rate of 70.4%. When it comes to pulling down boards, they earned 53 with 14 of them being of the offensive variety. They also recorded 21 dimes in this matchup while creating 12 turnovers and getting 6 steals. Concerning the defense, New York allowed 41.6% from the field on 37 of 89 shooting. Philadelphia doled out 28 assists and had 8 steals for the contest. Moreover, Philadelphia snagged 45 rebounds (6 offensive, 39 defensive) and earned 8 blocked shots. Philadelphia walked away from this one shooting 77.8% at the charity stripe by knocking down 21 of 27 shots. They also converted 11 out of their 40 attempts from beyond the perimeter. Regarding fouls, the Knicks finished with 22 and the 76ers finished the game with 23 fouls.

Jalen Brunson is a guy who had an impact in this game. Brunson finished shooting 31.6% from the floor and earned 3 dimes. He was on the hardwood for 34 minutes played and grabbed 5 boards. He had 21 points on 6 out of 19 shooting.

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New York comes into this matchup after finishing with a record of 53-29 last year. They lost possession by turning the ball over 13.6 times per contest and as a basketball team committed 20.0 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, New York pulled down 45.6 rebounds per game and tallied 2,250 dimes over the course of last year, which had them ranked 13th in the league in terms of passing. The Knicks hit on 37.3% on three-point attempts (1,168 of 3,133) and 79.2% from the charity stripe. They averaged 116.5 points per contest (10th in the NBA) while hitting 47.8% from the field.

On defense, the Knicks were able to force their opponents into 14.4 turnovers per game and they drew 19.5 personal fouls. They gave up 36.2% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they were 5th in the NBA in points per game from their opponents (110.1). The Knicks gave up a shooting percentage of 46.0% (3,223 of 7,014) and they relinquished 40.5 boards per game as a unit. They were ranked 6th in basketball in giving up assists with 2,050 relinquished last season.

When they last stepped on the court, the Celtics took a loss by a score of 121-113 when they faced the Pistons. When discussing rebounding, Boston permitted Detroit to get 49 in total (14 on the offensive side). They went 37.5% from 3-point land by connecting on 15 of 40 and ended up going 28 out of 32 from the free throw line (87.5%). The Celtics permitted the Pistons to make 39 of 86 attempts from the floor which had them at 45.3% in this game. When the final whistle blew, the Celtics walked away from this one shooting 40 for 88 from the field which had them at 45.5%. When talking about shots from beyond the perimeter, Boston buried 17 out of 42 tries (40.5%). They were able to convert 16 of them for a percentage of 76.2%. The Pistons were called for 22 personal fouls for this contest which got the Celtics to the free throw line for a total of 21 tries. They gave up possession of the ball 14 times, while getting 10 steals in this contest. The Celtics were able to corral 27 defensive rebounds and 12 offensive rebounds for a total of 39 in the game.

Paul George ended up being a factor for the Celtics in this game. He converted 12 out of 21 for the game for a field goal rate of 57.1%, and added 5 rebounds. George recorded 38 points in his 31 mins on the court and had 3 assists for this contest.

Boston had a record of 56-26 last year. As an offensive unit, the Celtics shot 46.7% from the floor, which ranked them 16th in the NBA. Boston earned 9,418 pts last year (114.9 per game) and they averaged 46.4 rebounds per contest. They dished out assists 24.6 times per game (27th in the NBA) and they turned it over 12.4 times per game. The Celtics were responsible for committing 19.0 personal fouls per game while shooting 80.7% from the charity stripe.

The Celtics on the defensive side of the court were 1st in basketball in PPG given up with 107.2. They forced 12.4 TO's every game and allowed teams to shoot 44.2% from the field (2nd in the league). The Boston defense surrendered 35.8% from downtown (1,149 of 3,208) and opponents made 77.5% of their foul shots. They gave up 24.7 dimes and 41.2 rebounds on a nightly basis, which ranked them 4th and 6th in those categories on the defensive end.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take New York (+2.5)

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