Celtics vs Thunder Picks, Predictions & Odds Tonight

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02 January 2024

Celtics vs Thunder Picks, Predictions & Odds Tonight

While the Thunder and Celtics are both strong defenses, they both have plenty of scoring punch. Which side will win out? Our NBA picks have the answers for Tuesday's showdown.

Prior to the start of the season, it would have been wishful thinking to consider the Oklahoma City Thunder a legit NBA title threat.

Now? Tuesday’s matchup with the perennially powerful Boston Celtics could theoretically be a Finals preview come June.

Boston enters as one of the NBA championship odds favorites, having won six straight and 2.5-point road favorites vs OKC in tonight’s NBA odds. The Thunder have reeled off four wins in a row and have just one loss in their last eight.

What bet should you be targeting? Read below for my free Celtics vs Thunder NBA picks on Tuesday, January 1.

Celtics vs Thunder odds

Celtics vs Thunder predictions

The big green machine keeps chugging along. Boston has lost just once in the last dozen games. Its latest was a 134-101 demolition of the San Antonio Spurs.

Boston has been filling it up, sometimes by sheer excellence, and other times motivated by desperation. The Celtics have scored at least 126 points in all but one game during this fun run.

They opened this streak scoring 140+ points in blowouts over the Kings and Clippers. Following an 11-point win over the Lakers, they were very close to losing at home to the Pistons, who were riding a 27-game losing streak, before prevailing 128-122 in overtime.

The following night, they blew a 20+ lead to the Toronto Raptors, before gutting out a 120-118 decision.

The Thunder, meanwhile, are coming off a 124-108 win over the Brooklyn Nets, moving them to 13-5 at Paycom Center, tied for the second-most home wins in the West.

Their latest four-game win streak is dotted with a pair of statement wins. It started with a 129-106 thumping of the West-leading Timberwolves, and hitting the road in a 119-93 clubbing of the Denver Nuggets — their second win over the defending champs in two weeks.

OKC and Boston are offensive juggernauts: they’re two of six teams in the league to average better than 120 points per game.

While Boston sits on the fringes of the Top-10 in field goal and 3-point shooting, the Thunder lead the NBA with a lethal 39.1% mark from three, while shooting 49.9% from the field overall, which ranks third.

While these teams are among the top-ranked defenses in basketball — OKC and Boston are 2-3 in defensive efficiency — offense is each of their calling card.

They’ve crossed the total in five straight head-to-heads. Tuesday’s line is heftier: 10 full points higher than the highest total set for any of the past 10 matchups.

Still, the last three Boston vs OKC meetings have topped the 239.5 total set for Tuesday.

My best bet: Over 239.5 (-110 at FanDuel)

Celtics vs Thunder same-game parlay

Over 239.5

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Over 1.5 made threes

Jayson Tatum Over 26.5 points

Let’s take that total and highlight a pair of All-NBA stars battling in this one to complete a same-game parlay that pays out at +559 odds on FanDuel.

For the Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander just wrapped up an incredible month of December, averaging 31.9 points per game on 55.3% shooting.

If there was one knock on his game during that stretch, it would likely be his inability to do damage from distance, hitting just 26.8% in 13 games, making one or less 10 times.

But SGA has never had trouble finding the mark against the Celts. Since coming to OKC, in four career games against Boston, Gilgeous Alexander has connected on at least two triples in every game.

Boston’s 3-point defense is middle of the pack, so I don’t think SGA has problems hitting that number.

It was a colder shooting month for Jayson Tatum, who averaged 25.8 points on 44.2% from the field and 32.4% from distance. Last month, he was scoring 27.3 points, on 48.1% from the field and 35.9% from beyond the arc.

He’s topped his 26.5 total for this game just five times in 12 games, but he hasn’t had a problem scoring against OKC.

In his last five games, Tatum has 27 points or more in all five, shooting 47.2% from the field but just 33.3% from 3-point range. I think his streak remains intact Tuesday.

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Celtics vs Thunder spread and Over/Under analysis

The spread for Boston vs OKC opened at 2 points, with most books settling in at 2.5, though you can find the Thunder as long as three-point dogs.

OKC is the NBA’s best bet against the spread, going 22-9-0, while also enjoying a 7-3-0 ATS mark against Boston over the last 10 meetings. The Celtics are just 16-14-2 ATS on the year.

The Thunder have covered five straight against the Celtics, all as underdogs — four of them with Boston as double-digit favorites.

The total has not sunk below 238.5 points, with the line increasing by only a point at most books currently.

The Over is 18-13-0 in Thunder games this year, and 17-14-1 in Boston games.