New York will look to further secure its playoff status tonight when its hosts Atlantic Division leader Boston at the Madison Square Garden. The two familiar foes are scheduled to tip things off at 8:00pm ET on TNT. Tuesday’s NBA Odds are favoring the hosting Knicks at -3 against the spread and -150 on the moneyline. This evening’s game total is presently set at 182.5 points with both the Over and Under drawing -110 odds.
At 31-29 New York currently sits seventh in the Eastern Conference standings; however, with six game remaining on its scheduled it has yet to fully secure a post-season berth. The Knicks or the eighth seeded Sixers could fall prey to the Bucks, who at 29-31 are just two games back in the race for the final playoff spot.
New York could go a long way toward solidifying its position with a win tonight, though, as it plays three highly winnable games (New Jersey, Cleveland, Charlotte) over the next 10 days.
The Knicks track record against Boston is not a good one, however, with the Celtics having won six of the last seven meetings between the two long time rivals. New York did earn a 106-104 Christmas Day victory over the Celtics at the TD Garden, but Boston defeated the Knicks 91-89 on February 3rd and 115-111 on March 4th at Madison Square Garden.
The Celtics also come into tonight’s game red hot after recording wins in six of their last seven games. Granted they beat up on bottom feeders New Jersey and Charlotte in their last two games, but Boston did take out Indiana, Philadelphia, Miami, and Atlanta in that stretch. Head Coach Doc Rivers also elected to rest Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen on Sunday night against the Bobcats yet the team still prevailed 94-82 thanks to a 20 point, 16 assist night from Rajon Rondo.
The status of Pierce and Allen remains unknown for tonight’s game as the former is nursing a toe injury and the latter an ankle injury. That said, Allen’s health woes seem to b of a more serious nature than Pierce’s foot problem.
NBA Odds Betting Trend: Boston is 8-2 both straight up and against the spread in its last 10 games as a road dog with a spread between 0 and 3.5 points and a total between 180 and 185 points (Under is 8-2 in those same 10 games).
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2012 NBA Odds Boston Celtics vs New York Knicks: Provided by TopBet.com
Boston Celtics +3 (-110), Over 182.5 (-110), +130 (Moneyline)
New York Knicks -3 (-110), Under 182.5 (-110), -150 (Moneyline)
