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The series heads back to Madison Square Garden as the 3-seed New York Knicks host the 2-seed Boston Celtics in a Game 6 tilt in the 2025 NBA Eastern Conference semifinals on Friday. With their backs against the wall down 3-1, the Celtics blew out New York, 127-102, in Game 5. Jayson Tatum (Achilles) remains out for Boston. Tipoff for Game 6 is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks are favored by 2.5 points, and the over/under is 211.5 points in the latest Celtics vs. Knicks odds from DraftKings Sportsbook. The Knicks are 47-45-1 against the spread, while Boston is 43-48-1.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in betting profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past six-plus seasons. The model enters the second week of the conference semifinals of the 2025 NBA playoffs on a sizzling 159-117 roll on all top-rated NBA picks, returning nearly $4,000. It is also 23-11 (68%) on top-rated NBA against-the-spread picks this season. Anyone following at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.

Now, here are the model's top-three picks in the Celtics vs. Knicks SGP on Friday:

New York Knicks -2.5 (-110)

The Knicks have gone 7-4 against the spread in the 2025 NBA playoffs, while going 20-14 against the spread after a loss. New York will be in front of its home crowd with a shot to send a huge rival and the defending champions home. During the regular season, the Knicks were 27-14 at home. Two of the Knicks' three wins this series were by three or more points.

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Jalen Brunson 30+ points (-130)

Brunson is the engine for the Knicks' offense due to his superb shot-making ability. In the 2025 NBA playoffs, Brunson averages a team-high 29.4 points per game while knocking down 36.1% of his 3-pointers. He's scored more than 30 points in six of his last 11 outings. Three of those games have come at home this postseason, and with a chance to end the series, look for Brunson to come out aggressive.

Derrick White 5+ 3-pointers made (+115)

White is the perfect complement to what the Celtics run on offense. He thrives off ball and owns a quick trigger from beyond the arc. The 30-year-old makes 39.6% of his attempts from beyond the arc. White has made five-plus 3-pointers three times this series, including going 7-of-13 from 3-point land in Game 5.  With Tatum sidelined, Boston will need more juice offensively, and White is up to the task. If you haven't signed up for DraftKings yet, new users can get $200 instantly when you bet $5:

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Want more NBA picks for today?

You've seen some the model's top NBA playoff best bets for Friday. Now, get spread, total and money-line picks for every game here, all from the model that's simulated every game 10,000 times. 

Also at SportsLine:
You can also see today's top NBA picks from expert Bruce Marshall, who's on a sizzling 129-99-1 roll on his last 230 NBA picks. Visit SportsLine to see his best plays for today, all from the expert who's up more than 20 units.