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New York Knicks (33-19) at Boston Celtics (34-18)
Sunday, February 8, 2026
12:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #53 Home Game #26
TV: ABC
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, 880 ESPN, Sirius XM
TD Garden
Probable Celtics Starters PG
SG
SF
PF
C
PG: Derrick White
SG: Jaylen Brown
SF: Sam Hauser
PF: Luka Garza
C: Neemias Queta
Celtics ReservesPayton Pritchard
Hugo Gonzalez
Baylor Scheierman
Amare Williams
Nicolas Vucevic
Jordan Walsh
2-Way PlayersRon Harper, Jr
Max Shulga
John Tonje
Injuries/OutJayson Tatum (Achilles) out
Head CoachJoe Mazzulla
Probable Knicks Starters PG
SG
SF
PF
C
PG: Jalen Brunson
SG: Mikal Bridges
SF: Josh Hart
PF: OG Anunoby
C: Karl-Anthony Towns
Knicks Reserves Jordan Clarkson
Pacome Dadiet
Jose Alvarado
Mohamed Diawara
Tyler Kolek
Mitchell Robinson
Landry Shamet
Ariel Hukporti
Two-Way Players Kevin McCullar, Jr
Dillon Jones
Trey Jemison III
Injuries/Out OG Anunoby (toe) questionable
Josh Hart (ankle) questionable
Karl Anthony-Towns (eye) questionable)
Miles McBride (abdomen) out
Head Coach Mike Brown
Game NotesThe Celtics host the New York Knicks for a very important game for the standings. A win and the Celtics are 2 games ahead of the Knicks for 2nd place in the East. A loss and the Celtics fall back to 3rd place. The Celtics won the series with the Knicks 4-0 last season.
The series is currently tied 1-1 with the Knicks winning the first game 105-95 in New York on October 24 and the Celtics winning the 2nd game 123-117 in Boston on December 2. They will play one more regular season game in New York on April 4.
The Celtics are 309-191 overall, all time against the Knicks and they are 167-68 in games played in Boston.
The Celtics made several moves at the trade deadline. They traded Anfernee Simons to Chicago for Nikola Vucevic. They traded Chris Boucher to Utah for John Tonje, a two way player. They converted Amare Williams to a standard contract from two-way. They traded Josh Minott to Brooklyn and they traded Xavier Tillman to Charlotte. The Knicks traded Guershon Yabusele to Chicago for Dalen Terry, who the Knicks sent to New Orleans for Jose Alverado.
The Celtics are 2nd in the East, 4.5 games behind 1st place Detroit. They are 1 game ahead of 3rd place New York, 3 games ahead of 4th place Cleveland, 3.5 games ahead of 5th place Toronto, 4.5 games ahead of 6th place Philadelphia and 7 games ahead of 7th place Orlando. The Celtics are 23-12 against Eastern Conference opponents and 7-4 against the Atlantic Division. They are 17-8 at home and 8-2 in their last 10 games. They have won their last 5 games.
The Knicks are 3rd in the East, 5.5 games behind 1st place Detroit and 1 game behind 2nd place Boston. They are 2 games ahead of 4th place Cleveland, 2.5 games ahead of 5th place Toronto, 3.5 games ahead of 6th place Philadelphia and 6 games ahead of 7th place Orlando.. They are 22-12 against Eastern Conference opponents and 8-3 against the Atlantic Division. They are 11-13 on the road and 8-2 in their last 10 games. They lost their last game after winning 8 in a row before that loss.
This is the 2nd of 3 home games. They beat Miami in come from behind thriller in the first game and will complete the home stand against Chicago on Wednesday, which will take them into the All Star Break. After the break, they will head out on a 4 game Western road trip through Golden State, Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix, and Denver.
The Knicks are playing in the second game of a 2 game road trip. They lost to Detroit on Friday, ending an 8 game win streak. After this game they will play Indiana at home and then at Philadelphia before the All Star break. After the break they will host Detroit and Houston before a 3 game road trip through Chicago, Cleveland and Milwaukee.
For the Celtics, Jayson Tatum remains out as he rehabs from the Achilles tear he suffered in last year's playoffs against the Knicks. Sam Hauser is also listed on the injury report as questionable due to lower-back spasms. If he can't play, I would guess that Baylor Scheierman would get the start in his place. But that's just a guess because you never know with Joe. I'm also guessing that he once again goes with the double big lineup with Luka Garza at the four.
For the Knicks, 3 starters are questionable. Josh Hart left Friday's loss to the Pistons and didn't return due to a right ankle injury, and he's questionable for this game with right ankle soreness. OG Anunoby missed Friday's game with soreness in his right toe and is questionable for this game. Karl Anthony-Towns missed Friday's game due to a right eye laceration and is questionable for this game. I'm guessing that all 3 will play.
Key Matchups vs
Derrick White vs Jalen Brunson
Brunson is the key to the Knicks offense and the Celtics need to defend him well. He is averaging 27.1 points, 3.3 rebounds and 6.1 assists, while shooting 46.7% from the field and 37.3% from beyond the arc. Against the Celtics this season, he averaged 23 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 8 assists while shooting 39% from the field and 26.7% from beyond the arc. The Celtics must defend him closely, especially on the perimeter.
vs
Neemias Queta vs Karl Anthony-Towns
Towns is averaging 19.9 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game while shooting 46.5% from the field and 35.6% from beyond the arc. In the first 2 games against the Celtics, he averaged 27.5 points, 10 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1 block while shooting 51.4% from the field and 54.5% from beyond the arc. The Celtics need to box him out on the boards and defend him in the paint and on the perimeter.
Honorable MentionJaylen Brown vs Mikal Bridges
Bridges is averaging 15.7points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 50% from the field and 39.3% from beyond the arc. Against Celtics this season, he averaged 23.5 points, 6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 2 steals while shooting 63% from the field and 62.5% from beyond the arc. The Celtics need to be aware of his presence on defense as he is very good at getting steals and blocks and they need to stay with him on defense.
Keys to the Game
Defense - As always, defense is the key to winning this, and every, game. The Celtics are 9th with a defensive rating of 112.5. The Knicks are 13th with a defensive rating of 113.4. The Celtics defense has been up and down, at times locking down their opponents and at other times allowing them to score at will but recently have been playing much better defense overall. The Celtics must make defense a priority if they hope to win this game.
Rebound - As with defense, rebounding will always be a key to winning.The Celtics have to crash the boards as a team and go after every rebound. The Celtics are 9th with 45.4 rebounds per game while the Knicks are 4th with 46.3 rebounds per game. In the loss to the Knicks this season, the Celtics were out-rebounded 53-37 but in the win over the Knicks, they out-rebounded them 38-33. The Knicks are 5th with 16.7 second chance points per game. The Celtics must give extra effort to beat the Knicks to rebounds in this game.
3 Point Shots - When the Celtics make their 3's they are tough to beat but when the 3's aren't falling, the game gets really ugly. The Celtics are 2nd in the league, taking 42.4 threes per game. The Knicks are 9th with 39.7 threes a game. Although the Celtics are 2nd in 3 pointers attempted, they are 10th, shooting 36.5% from beyond the arc. The Knicks are 3rd, shooting 37.8% from beyond the arc. The key is simple. The Celtics must make their threes and they have to defend the perimeter well to keep the Knicks from making theirs. And, if the 3's aren't falling, they need to get into the paint until they are falling.
Effort and Focus for 48 Minutes- The Celtics have to play with extra effort overall for all 4 quarters. In most of their losses and even in some of their wins, they have allowed their opponents to play with more energy than them for periods of time during the game. They play well for stretches but let up and allow their opponents to surge ahead. The Knicks play hard and the Celtics must match that effort and they need to stay focused on playing the right way.
X-Factors Home Game - The Celtics need to take advantage of home court and the boost their fans can give them. The Knicks will face a hostile crowd and an unfamiliar arena along with travel which will hopefully give the Celtics the edge. If the Knicks have shown one crack in their armor, it is playing on the road. They are just 11-13 on the road. The Celtics need to play hard and with focus and take advantage of playing at home.
Officiating - Officiating always has the potential to be an x-factor. Each officiating crew calls the game differently. Some refs call it tight and constantly call fouls while others let them play with few fouls called. Some refs just make terrible head-scratching calls. The Celtics need to adjust to how the refs are calling the game and not allow bad calls or no calls to take away their focus.
Topic: Knicks (33-19) at Celtics (34-18) Game #53 2/8/26 (Read 360 times)