Boston Celtics vs Los Angeles Clippers Prediction, 1/3/2026 Preview and Pick

Game: Boston Celtics vs Los Angeles Clippers

Date: Saturday, January 3, 2026

Location: Intuit Dome in Inglewood, CA

TV: FanDuel Sports Network

The Los Angeles Clippers (11-21) are hosting the Boston Celtics (20-12) at Intuit Dome on Saturday.

The Celtics played the Jazz and notched a win by a score of 129-119 in their last contest. In reference to personal fouls, the Celtics finished with 17 and the Jazz accumulated 17 personal fouls. They made 16 of 42 attempts from downtown. Utah finished the game shooting 84.0% from the charity stripe by burying 21 of 25 attempts. Moreover, Utah grabbed 40 boards (9 offensive, 31 defensive) and added 9 blocks. Utah dished out 31 dimes and had 4 steals in the game. When discussing defense, Boston allowed the other team to go 47.1% from the floor on 41 of 87 shooting. They also recorded 27 assists for the contest as well as forcing the other team into 13 turnovers and getting 8 steals. With regard to grabbing boards, they compiled 44 with 11 of them being of the offensive sort. From the charity stripe, the Celtics converted 20 of their 23 attempts for a percentage of 87.0%. Boston ended the game with a 51.1% field goal percentage (48 out of 94) and converted 13 of 44 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Derrick White is a guy who was a major factor in this matchup. White ended up shooting 50.0% from the field and distributed 6 dimes. He was on the court for 36 mins played and also snagged 7 boards. He totaled 27 points on 8 out of 16 shooting.

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Boston will enter this contest with a mark of 20-12 on the year. They average 116.9 points per outing (13th in the league) while shooting 47.3% from the floor. The Celtics are shooting 36.2% on shots from downtown (497 of 1,372) and 78.8% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Boston is collecting 43.8 rebounds per game and has 764 assists so far this season, which ranks 29th in the league in terms of passing. They cough up possession 12.2 times per contest and as a basketball team are committing 21.8 personal fouls per contest.

Defensively, the Celtics are forcing their opponents into 14.6 turnovers every game and they draw 19.4 personal fouls. They are giving up 37.0% on shots from downtown and they are 2nd in the NBA in points per game allowed (110.8). The Celtics are allowing a shooting percentage of 44.9% (1,233 of 2,749) and they concede 42.4 boards per contest as a team. They are ranked 3rd in the league in allowing assists with 802 surrendered for the year.

When they last played, the Clippers took home the win by a final score of 131-90 against the Kings. The Clippers recorded 31 defensive boards and 11 offensive boards for a total of 42 in this contest. They also gave up possession of the ball 4 times, while recording 13 steals in this contest. The Kings earned 20 fouls for the game which took the Clippers to the free throw line for 32 attempts. They were able to knock down 25 of the free throws for a rate of 78.1%. When discussing 3-point shots, Los Angeles made 14 of 38 tries (36.8%). When the game finished, the Clippers ended up going 46 for 90 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 51.1%. The Clippers allowed the Kings to knock down 34 of 83 attempts from the field which left them with a rate of 41.0% for the game. They finished 33.3% from 3-point land by shooting 9 out of 27 and walked away from this one shooting 13 of 14 at the free throw line (92.9%). Concerning rebounds, Los Angeles permitted Sacramento to pull down 39 in all (11 offensive).

Kawhi Leonard ended up being a major contributor for the Clippers for the game. He knocked down 11 of 19 in the matchup for a field goal percentage of 57.9%, and had 5 rebounds. Leonard earned 33 points in his 33 mins of playing time and accumulated 5 assists in this matchup.

Los Angeles has a mark of 11-21 on the season. The Clippers are committing 19.9 fouls per contest and they hit 84.1% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 23.7 times per game (30th in the league) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 15.4 times per game. Los Angeles has earned 3,588 pts so far this year (112.1 per game) and they collect 40.5 rebounds per contest. On the offensive side of the ball, the Clippers are hitting on 47.3% from the field, which has them ranked 13th in the NBA.

The Clippers on defense are ranked 9th in the league in PPG allowed with 114.0. They are forcing 13.6 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 47.2% from the field (18th in basketball). The Los Angeles defense concedes 37.5% on shots from distance (440 of 1,173) and opponents are making 79.9% of their shots from the free throw line. They relinquish 25.9 assists and 42.4 rebounds per game, which ranks them 12th and 9th in the NBA.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Los Angeles

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