Filip Tomic
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It is the first of 4 meetings this season between the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks as they square up tonight in Madison Square Garden. Catch the game live from 7:30 pm ET on NBA TV. I’ve prepared a Same Game Parlay to spice things up a bit.
Don’t forget to check our NBA Predictions page for picks on the side and total for tonight’s 8-game slate. Let’s dive into the Celtics vs Knicks match-up now.
New York Knicks 1-10 win margin (+270)
Jalen Brunson to score 20+ points (+114)
Jayson Tatum to score 30+ points (+140)
Parlay odds: +1747
New York Knicks 1-10 win margin (+270)
Both these teams played last night and both won, which means just a single win separates them in the standings. The Knicks were able to beat Philadelphia without Joel Embiid and James Harden on the road, while the Celtics got revenge over Chicago at home. With a bit of fatigue on both sides, I think tonight’s game will go down the wire. Boston has struggled to close out teams, as we saw in their losses against Cleveland, both of which went to overtime. I was impressed with the way the Knicks played against the 76ers last night. They finished with the better field-goal percentage, more rebounds and more fast-break points. Playing at home should be a big confidence booster for them as they’ve won 4 of their last 5 at MSG, including the last 2 against the Celtics there. Those games were decided by just 3 and 4 points, I’m expecting a similar scenario tonight, with the Knicks pulling it out in the end.
Check out our full game preview for Boston Celtics vs New York Knicks
Jalen Brunson to score 20+ points (+114)
Jalen Brunson has enjoyed a really solid spell over his last 6 games with the Knicks, scoring 20 or more points in 4 of them. Last night in Philadelphia he played one of his best games since joining New York as a free agent this summer scoring 23 points. For the season he is averaging 19 per game and leads his new team ahead of R.J. Barrett and Julius Randle. As a member of the Dallas Mavericks he scored over 20 points in 2 of his last 4 games against Boston and I really like his chances going up against Marcus Smart tonight. Although Smart won the DPOY award last season, he has had his fair share of issues guarding smaller and faster players. Brunson was instrumental in the Knicks’ 12-point comeback last night in Philadelphia, so if tonight’s game goes down the wire we can expect the ball to be in his hands, which is always a welcome sign when you’re backing a player to score points.
Jayson Tatum to score 30+ points (+140)
Jayson Tatum’s shooting has been off over the past couple of games, but despite that he’s scored 36 and 29 points against Cleveland and Chicago. He is a volume shooter, taking an average of almost 20 shots per game, so even when his shot isn’t falling he can rely on free throws to get to his point total. Just last night against Chicago he went 17-for-20 from the free-throw line, showing no fear and attacking the basket relentlessly. Tatum has made a big leap compared to last season offensively, so I don’t see this mini shooting slump going on for long. In his last game in New York he poured in 36 points, that was the 2nd time in the last 3 games there he’s scored 30 or more points. He loves to compete on the biggest stages, and it doesn’t get any bigger than Madison Square Garden.
NBA Saturday mega parlay is available at +1864 odds!
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