The Celtics host the Knicks at TD Garden on Sunday, February 8, 2026, at 12:30 PM ET.
The Celtics are 34-18 (2nd in the East). The Knicks are 33-19 (3rd in the East).
The Celtics have been a real home team this season, and they’re coming in off that 98-96 win over the Heat. The Knicks are coming off a complete faceplant, getting blown out 118-80 by the Pistons while playing shorthanded.
Season series note: This is the third meeting, with the series 1-1. It’s also landing on a brutal injury-management day for the Knicks, because OG Anunoby (right toe soreness), Josh Hart (right ankle soreness), and Karl-Anthony Towns (right eye laceration) are all questionable.
For the Celtics, Jaylen Brown has been the headliner at 29.5 points per game, and Derrick White has been the steady hand at 5.5 assists per game. For the Knicks, Jalen Brunson is at 27.1 points per game, and Towns has been their top rebounder at 11.9 boards per game.
Injury Report
Celtics
Max Shulga: Out (G League; two-way)
Jayson Tatum: Out (right Achilles; repair)
Sam Hauser: Questionable (low back spasms)
Knicks
Miles McBride: Out (pelvic; core muscle surgery)
Karl-Anthony Towns: Questionable (right eye laceration)
OG Anunoby: Questionable (right toe soreness)
Josh Hart: Questionable (right ankle soreness)
Why The Celtics Have The Advantage
This is a profile game. The Celtics are allowing 108.4 points per game, which is elite territory, and they’ve been one of the league’s best “win the possession, win the night” teams because they don’t have to score 125 to win.
The second edge is volume shooting. The Celtics are 2nd in the NBA in three-point attempts per game (42.4). That matters a lot against a Knicks team that’s already living on thin margins if Anunoby and Hart are limited, because your perimeter defense and your rotation sharpness can’t be half-speed versus that kind of volume.
And without Jayson Tatum, the Celtics still have a real bench punch. Their bench net rating has been strongly positive, which is exactly how you survive these weird Sunday games when the rotation gets choppy.
Why The Knicks Have The Advantage
The Knicks’ argument is offense and shot quality. They’re at 117.5 points per game, and the underlying engine is a top-tier offense (119.7 offensive rating). If Brunson is getting two feet in the paint and forcing help, the Knicks can still generate the kind of looks that travel.
They also bomb threes too. The Knicks are 9th in three-point attempts per game (39.7). If they hit early and make the Celtics chase, it’s the cleanest way to keep the Celtics from turning this into a grind.
The catch is obvious: a lot of this depends on who actually plays. If Towns sits, the Knicks lose their easiest “steady points” option. If Anunoby and Hart are limited, the defense and rebounding get softer.
X-Factors
If OG Anunoby plays, he’s the Knicks’ biggest swing. He’s the guy who can take the toughest wing matchup, keep the ball out of the middle, and still punish help as a spot-up threat. But if the toe limits his change of direction, that’s when the Celtics start hunting the seams, because half-speed Anunoby means more help, more rotations, and more open threes against a team that lives on volume.
Josh Hart is the other one. If he’s active and moving well, he can win the “effort possessions” and keep the Knicks afloat when the half-court bogs down. If the ankle soreness turns him into a straight-line version of himself, the Knicks lose a ton of their connective tissue.
For the Celtics, Payton Pritchard is the swing because he can swing a quarter by himself as a secondary creator, especially in a Tatum-less setup. And if Sam Hauser plays through the back, his spacing matters because it keeps the Celtics’ drive-and-kick game clean.
Prediction
I’m taking the Celtics. The defensive baseline (108.4 allowed) plus the three-point volume edge is a nasty combo against a Knicks team walking in with multiple “questionable” tags on key two-way pieces. If the Knicks don’t have at least two of Anunoby, Hart, and Towns at something close to full mobility, it’s hard to see them winning four quarters in this building.
Prediction: Celtics 112, Knicks 105
