It's a do-or-die Game 5 for the Celtics on Wednesday, down 3-1 and hosting the division-rival Knicks without the services of injured superstar Jayson Tatum. The chips are stacked against the reigning champions, but the 2025 NBA Playoffs have taught us to expect the unexpected.
The Sporting News will analyze the latest NBA odds for this elimination game and also hand-select the best bets for the night. We'll offer up our final score prediction, and highlight the optimal spread, over/under and player prop wagers.
Let's get right to our betting preview for Game 5 of the Celtics vs. Knicks series, including the odds, our game pick and the top player props.
Celtics vs. Knicks Game 5: Spread, moneyline, over/under
All odds and props are from BetMGM, an authorized gaming operator of the NBA.
- ATS: Celtics -4.5 (-105) | Knicks +4.5 (-115)
- Moneyline: Celtics -185 | Knicks +154
- Over/under: O 207.5 (-110) | U 207.5 (-110)
The Celtics enter Wednesday as a 4.5-point home favorite despite trailing 3-1 in the series. Boston's -185 moneyline translates to a roughly 65-percent implied win probability. The 207.5 seems like a low over/under, until you realize that Games 2 and 3 totaled 181 and 208 points, respectively, and Boston's top scorer (Tatum) is sidelined.
The Celtics have now gone 31-15 at TD Garden since the start of the 2024-25 season. They went 8-2 in games without Tatum, although half those 10 opponents finished the season with records below .500.
Celtics vs. Knicks Game 5 best bets and final score prediction
When Jayson Tatum went down late in Game 4 at Madison Square Garden, Celtics fans felt a collective gut punch. After already blowing the third big second-half lead in four games, it felt like the basketball gods were adding injury to insult. However, the show must go on, and the Celtics must channel their inner Bill Belichick with a "Next man up" mentality.
Sportsbooks aren't taking the bait on the injury — they still have Boston as the 4.5-point favorite this evening, knowing full well that Joe Mazzulla's squad has plenty of dog left in it. The Celtics went 8-2 without JT this season, and Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and Payton Pritchard have all flashed moments of brilliance throughout this series.
As for bettors, the collective feeling is that this series is done and the Celts are kaput. Over 70 percent of the BetMGM moneyline bettors and a whopping 80 percent of spread bettors have put their money on the Knicks to seal the deal in front of the New England crowd. Can you blame them? Jalen Brunson has proved himself entirely worthy of his Clutch Player of the Year honors, and Mikal Bridges' late-game defense has certainly validated the bevy of picks New York used to acquire him.
However, this postseason has taught us to zig when the public zags. And the Celtics crowd should rally like never before to help propel its squad to victory. It's time for Brown to show why he landed a $300 million contract two years ago. Time for Pritchard to flex his Sixth Man of the Year muscles and go off. Time for Boston to attack the lane, maintain pressure, get big stops and collect rebounds. This rollercoaster series isn't done yet, folks — New York will have to finish the job at home if it wants to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
FINAL SCORE PREDICTION: Celtics 106, Knicks 100 — Boston wins and covers (-4.5) and the score finishes just UNDER the projected total of 207.5.
Celtics vs. Knicks Game 5 top player prop bets
*Celtics guards step up* mini-parlay (+114)
— Derrick White, G, Celtics: 15+ points
— Payton Pritchard, G, Celtics: 12+ points
It's crazy to be getting plus odds for these two very attainable point milestones. White has scored 17-plus points in all four games this series, and Pritchard has scored 12-plus in three of the four. These guys will need to step up as Boston's second and third scorers alongside Brown, as Kristaps Porzingis is clearly still not fully healthy and Jrue Holiday simply isn't the offensive threat he used to be. Take the easy-money double-up with this alt-prop mini-parlay.