Thursday night at Madison Square Garden features a heavyweight Eastern Conference clash with major playoff seeding implications as the Boston Celtics visit the New York Knicks. Both teams are riding win streaks into this final stretch of the regular season, setting the stage for a potential playoff preview.

The Celtics, holding the No. 2 seed at 54-25, have won four straight and can lock up that position with a victory. They'll be without Jaylen Brown (Achilles), but Derrick White and Neemias Queta are available. The Knicks, the East's 3-seed at 51-28, are on a three-game win streak of their own and have taken two of the three meetings between these teams this season.

According to the latest odds, the Knicks are 5.5-point favorites at home, with the total points over/under set at 212.5. The money line heavily favors New York at -216. For those looking for deeper analysis, the SportsLine Projection Model, which simulates every NBA game 10,000 times, has released its coveted picks and predictions for this marquee matchup.