Celtics / Knicks

[Raji]

Wouldn’t be fun if this was the Red Sox and Yankees, instead we have Atlantic Division teams at the opposite ends of the spectrum, with Celtics invading the Big Apple to face the New York Knicks. Boston is in first place in the division and Isiah Thomas’s team is in last. At least the Knicks will have a reason for wanting to give maximum effort on Martin Luther King Day matinee for the fans, after being humiliated 104-59 by Boston, which was the third-worst loss and second-lowest scoring performance of the shot-clock era by this New York franchise.

The Knicks return home looking for fifth win and cover in last six games, after taking out miserable Miami 88-84 as 4.5-point underdogs. This stretch began with an 89-65 victory over Central Division leading Detroit, which came within one point of the lowest total in franchise history. They have gone on to win four of five, which is all the more impressive considering three of the last four have come when playing four games in five days. "That just goes to show the resiliency of our team," said Knicks forward David Lee, who had 15 points and eight rebounds. "We've been able to battle back."

Keying the Knicks surge has been Jamal Crawford, who has averaged 24.0 points over the last eight games while going 25-of-57 from 3-point range (43.9 percent). New York hasn’t done much right this season, but at least are 4-1 ATS as an underdog of late.

The Celtics were the ones struggling early last week with losses in three of four games straight up and against the spread after losing just three times in their first 32 contests. However, Boston has bounced back to win its last two games, both at home by double digits. The Celtics overcame a 12-point deficit in the first half and limited Philadelphia to 32 second half points in a 116-89 win last Friday, easily covering the 10.5-point spread.

"We played with a lot more passion, especially in the third quarter, the fourth quarter," said Paul Pierce, who scored 14 of his 22 points in the final period. Ray Allen had 10 of his 23 points in the final stanza, two days after scoring 26 of his season-high 35 points in the second half of a win over Portland. The Celtics will come in 13-2 ATS after a blowout win by 20 points or more over the last two seasons.

Sportsbooks have Boston as 8.5-point point favorites, with a total of 186.5. Despite New York having a number of reasons to play well, many angles are not in their favor. For example, they are 12-2 ATS off a home win by 10 points or more this season. Boston is the third best bet in the NBA at 25-13 ATS and is perfect 9-0 against the number versus division foes. Toss in this the fact the Knickerbockers are 5-17 ATS after a win by six points or less over the last two seasons. Coach Doc Rivers hopes to get back starting point guard Rajon Rondo, who has missed two straight games and three of the last four with a bruised back and sore hamstring.

Boston has won 11 of the past 14 meetings with the Knicks, including four straight at New York. The Celtics are 11-2 SU and ATS at Madison Square Garden since December of 2001.

The Total has one interesting aspect to contemplate, Play the Under when the total is between 180 and 189.5 points and the home team after having covered four of their last five outings against the spread and is playing third contest in four days. When all these elements connect, playing below the total is a winner 73.5 percent of the time with 25-9 mark the last three seasons.

Raji