Through 3 Quarters

Down 15 at the end of last quarter, the New York Knicks have now snagged the lead. After three quarters neither squad has the contest in the bag, but New York leads 88-86 over the Boston Celtics.

The Knicks have enjoyed the tag-team combination of point guard Kemba Walker and shooting guard Evan Fournier. The former has shot 5-for-9 from beyond the arc and has recorded 29 points and six rebounds, while the latter has 28 points in addition to five boards. Fournier does need to be careful, however, as he is in foul trouble with four.

Shooting guard Jaylen Brown has led the way so far for Boston, as he has shot 5-for-11 from downtown and has recorded 23 points.

The Celtics haven't lost 93% of the games in which they were down heading into the final period this year, so a win here would be refreshing.

Who's Playing

New York @ Boston

Current Records: New York 13-16; Boston 14-15

What to Know

The Boston Celtics are getting right back to it as they host the New York Knicks at 7 p.m. ET Dec. 18 at TD Garden. If the game is anything like New York's 138-134 win from their previous meeting in October, the scorekeeper will be kept real busy.

It was a hard-fought matchup, but the Celtics had to settle for a 111-107 defeat against the Golden State Warriors on Friday. Boston's loss came about despite a quality game from small forward Jayson Tatum, who had 27 points and six assists in addition to eight boards.

Meanwhile, while not quite a landslide, the contest between New York and the Houston Rockets on Thursday was still a pretty decisive one as New York wrapped it up with a 116-103 victory on the road. The top scorers for New York were shooting guard Immanuel Quickley (24 points) and shooting guard Evan Fournier (23 points). Immanuel Quickley's performance made up for a slower contest against Golden State on Tuesday. Quickley's points were the most he has had all year.

The Celtics are the favorite in this one, with an expected 5.5-point margin of victory. Those playing the odds have seen things go back and forth with Boston, who are 14-14-1 against the spread.

New York's win lifted them to 13-16 while Boston's loss dropped them down to 14-15. In New York's win, center Mitchell Robinson had 17 points along with nine rebounds and three blocks and point guard Miles McBride had 15 points and nine assists. We'll see if Boston have a strategy for dealing with them or if they lead their team to another successful outing.

How To Watch

  • When: Saturday at 7 p.m. ET
  • Where: TD Garden -- Boston, Massachusetts
  • TV: NBATV
  • Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
  • Follow: CBS Sports App
  • Ticket Cost: $63.12

Odds

The Celtics are a solid 5.5-point favorite against the Knicks, according to the latest NBA odds.

The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Celtics as a 4.5-point favorite.

Over/Under: -112

See NBA picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine's advanced computer model. Get picks now.

Series History

Boston have won 16 out of their last 23 games against New York.

  • Oct 20, 2021 - New York 138 vs. Boston 134
  • May 16, 2021 - New York 96 vs. Boston 92
  • Apr 07, 2021 - Boston 101 vs. New York 99
  • Jan 17, 2021 - New York 105 vs. Boston 75
  • Dec 01, 2019 - Boston 113 vs. New York 104
  • Nov 01, 2019 - Boston 104 vs. New York 102
  • Oct 26, 2019 - Boston 118 vs. New York 95
  • Feb 01, 2019 - Boston 113 vs. New York 99
  • Dec 06, 2018 - Boston 128 vs. New York 100
  • Nov 21, 2018 - New York 117 vs. Boston 109
  • Oct 20, 2018 - Boston 103 vs. New York 101
  • Feb 24, 2018 - Boston 121 vs. New York 112
  • Jan 31, 2018 - Boston 103 vs. New York 73
  • Dec 21, 2017 - New York 102 vs. Boston 93
  • Oct 24, 2017 - Boston 110 vs. New York 89
  • Apr 02, 2017 - Boston 110 vs. New York 94
  • Jan 18, 2017 - New York 117 vs. Boston 106
  • Dec 25, 2016 - Boston 119 vs. New York 114
  • Nov 11, 2016 - Boston 115 vs. New York 87
  • Mar 04, 2016 - Boston 105 vs. New York 104
  • Feb 02, 2016 - Boston 97 vs. New York 89
  • Jan 12, 2016 - New York 120 vs. Boston 114
  • Dec 27, 2015 - Boston 100 vs. New York 91

Injury Report for Boston

  • Al Horford: Out (Covid-19)
  • Dennis Schroder: Out (Illness)
  • Sam Hauser: Out (Covid-19)
  • Grant Williams: Out (Covid-19)
  • Romeo Langford: Out (Neck)
  • Jabari Parker: Out (Covid-19)
  • Juancho Hernangomez: Out (Covid-19)
  • Brodric Thomas: Out (Covid-19)

Injury Report for New York

  • Luka Samanic: Game-Time Decision (Foot)
  • Derrick Rose: Game-Time Decision (Ankle)
  • Obi Toppin: Out (Covid-19)
  • Kevin Knox II: Out (Covid-19)
  • R.J. Barrett: Out (Covid-19)
  • Quentin Grimes: Out (Covid-19)
  • Immanuel Quickley: Out (Covid-19)
  • Miles McBride: Out (Covid-19)