It’s not easy beating green, but the New York Knicks have found a way to do so in recent endeavors against the Boston Celtics.
Another win over Boston could give New York some valuable cache before the 2026 postseason tips off, as the Knicks open a three-game homestand to conclude their regular season on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks host the Celtics for the second time after taking a six-game victory in last spring’s Eastern Conference semifinal set.
The Knicks enter Thursday’s game with some solid momentum, having won their regular season road finale in Atlanta by a 108-105 finale on Monday night. Clutch antics from Jalen Brunson, capped off by a go-ahead three-pointer in the closing stanzas, served as the perfect cherry to a 30-point sundae. He would pair that with 13 assists, joining the double-double brotherhood with Karl-Anthony Towns. The win over the surging Hawks was the Knicks’ first against a team currently stationed in the top six of its respective conference in just over month.
Boston enters Thursday’s game on a similar path, having prevailed in each of its last four. The latest addition to that collection was a 113-102 win over the Charlotte Hornets at home on Tuesday, one that saw Jaylen Brown break loose for 35 points. The win allowed Boston to take a three-game lead on the Knicks in the chase for the Eastern Conference’s regular season runner-up spot.
This will be the fourth and final meeting between the Knicks and Celtics in this regular season, with New York holding a 2-1 advantage to date. Their last meeting came on Feb. 8 in Boston, a 111-89 Knicks victory that was fueled by a 31-point Brunson breakout and a defensive effort that limited the Celtics to just 17 percent from three-point range (7-of-41). No matter what happens over the final three games, New York does own the tiebreaker over Boston thanks to a better divisional record.
What: Boston Celtics (54-25) @ New York Knicks (51-28)
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
When: Thursday, 7:30 p.m. ET, MSG/Prime Video
Who’s Favored: NYK -4.5 (o/u: 215.5)
Keep An Eye On: Mitchell Robinson
It’s all hands on deck for the Knicks as the regular season draws to a close: it might be too late to catch Boston and they’re guaranteed to hold homecourt advantage in their opening round set. Entering Thursday, however, the Knicks are a half-game ahead of idle Cleveland for the third seed on the bracket, which would avoid a potential second-round match with dangerous Detroit.
With that in mind, Robinson is not listed on the metropolitan injury report, even though the Knicks have a back-to-back with Toronto, a potential first-round foe, visiting on Friday. Robinson has every reason to take things personally against the Celtics: while the “Bewitch-a-Mitch” has mostly faded, Boston tried to cling onto it during a comeback attempt in their last meeting, which saw Robinson go 3-of-8. He’s gotten somewhat better since then but old habits die hard and the Celtics could well be persuaded to re-engage in such a strategy if things start to go haywire again. The Knicks are undeniably at least a more confident team when Robinson is on the floor and that, of course, spells trouble for the Celtics.
Celtic to Watch: Jayson Tatum
Thursday’s game is a landmark not only because of its place in the Knicks-Celtics rivalry or the theory that it’s a potential playoff preview: it’s also a landmark for the Boston franchise face Tatum, who will return to MSG hardwood for the first time since enduring a devastating Achilles injury during Game 4 of the aforementioned semifinal set last year. Having rejoined the fray after the leftover Celtics held down the fort while he recovered, Tatum has been a spark for an already dangerous Boston group.
Tatum has said all the right things heading into the matchup, focusing only on Boston’s collective fate rather than individual landmarks. But it’s certainly telling that Tatum, who isn’t at the level of playing back-to-backs yet, is taking the floor on Thursday (Boston hosts New Orleans on Friday night). It should be an emotional, yet competitive night between Tatum and the Knicks, were among the first to send well wishes when he originally went down.
They Said It
“We’re in a good spot. We did a good job this year of dictating our destiny through the good and bad. You ask in the preseason, and you ask in training camp, that we control our own destiny. So we’ve just got to be better all around. We’ve got to be the best version of ourselves, be the sharpest tool. Right now, we just practiced, and at practice, we got a lot done. We’ve got to show it [Thursday].”—Towns on the state of the Knicks (h/t Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News)
“Last time I played there, obviously, it was a traumatic experience for me. Obviously, I knew at some point I would have to get over that hurdle and play there again. So, it’s going to have to be this Thursday. But it’s not like I’m thrilled about it. But it’s part of it. I decided to come back and play, so I’m not necessarily skipping certain games. I can’t play back-to-backs right now, but I decided to come back and play, so it’s just another game on the schedule.”—Tatum on returning to MSG (h/t Tim Bontemps, ESPN)
Prediction
Throughout the Brunson era, the Knicks have done a solid job of not letting things get too out of hand when the shots aren’t falling, evidenced by handling the Hawks on Thursday to finally get off the slide against winning teams. Simultaneously, everything stands as bittersweet considering the accompanying trouble they’ve had in extending the good times.
The Knicks will have time to make things right before a potential postseason sequel against the Celtics, and not everything will be decided on Thursday night. Heck, the challenge against the Pistons might’ve been a perfect jolt they needed to finally get over the Beantown hump. For the time being, though, derailing the Celtics’ post-Tatum momentum seems like a little too much to ask for, surrendering the relatively small-time battle of the Atlantic Division over to the enemy.
