One Boston Celtics Starter, Three Knicks Starters, On Injury Report For Sunday

Celtics-Knicks is a marquee afternoon game on ABC, but it could still be missing some familiar names who now appear on the injury report.

May 16, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Boston Celtics forward Sam Hauser (30) reacts during the fourth quarter of game six in the second round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Boston Celtics take on the New York Knicks on Sunday afternoon, a matinee appetizer to the main event of New England Patriots in Super Bowl 60. And both teams may be shorthanded for the game. 

The Celtics have listed Sam Hauser as questionable with lower back spasms, a recurrence of an issue that landed him on the injury report multiple times last season. Hauser has only missed two games this season, most recently the matchup against Houston with a right thumb sprain. He returned against Miami but shot poorly, missing all six three-pointers he took. 

Hauser started the season slowly but had a blistering hot January where he shot 45.1% from three. He’s currently shooting 38.8% overall this season. 

“I mean, you just try to take it day by day,” Hauser recently said about his shooting. “It happens to everybody throughout every season. You're going to hit it low, you're going to be on a high. It's just a matter of taking every day for what it is. Sometimes you want it to happen right away, and it just doesn't, and you just got to keep working through it. That’s kind of what it was this season, and now we're here. But just trying to keep it the way it's been going.”

The Knicks might also be missing a few players. Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, and Josh Hart are all listed as questionable. Anunoby and Towns missed New York’s last game, a loss to Detroit that dropped them to the third seed, a game behind the Celtics.

Towns crashed heads with Spencer Jones a few days ago, opening up a nasty cut over his right eye. 

Newly acquired Knick Jose Alvarado will make his debut Sunday afternoon. 

There had been some speculation that Jayson Tatum might see some synergy in facing the New York Knicks within the recovery window and return to action, but he’s still listed as out. SI’s Chris Mannix says Tatum has reached the “Mental hurdle phase of his recovery.”

“He’s basically able to do everything,” Mannix said. “But there is a mental hurdle that you have to get over to believe that you can go out there and make the same moves in live action, and frankly to do it in what’s becoming more and more high-pressure situations.” 

Tatum tore his Achilles in Game 4 of Boston’s second-round series against the Knicks on May 12 and had surgery the next day. The beginning of the All-Star break will also mark nine months since the surgery.