Boston Celtics vs Los Angeles Clippers Pick & Prediction – 1/3/2026

The Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Clippers square off in an NBA matchup at Intuit Dome on Saturday night. Boston comes in with momentum after winning three of their first four games on their current road trip. They will try to stay hot against the Clippers, who aim to continue their current winning streak behind Kawhi Leonard’s elite scoring and veteran leadership. Here, I break down this inter-conference matchup in the NBA. You will find my Celtics vs Clippers prediction right here.

Our Celtics vs Clippers Pick

Game Snapshot

• Matchup: Boston Celtics @ Los Angeles Clippers
• Date & Time: January 3, 2026, 10:30 PM ET
• Venue: Intuit Dome, Inglewood, California
• Broadcast: NBATV

Key Storylines

• The Celtics are without Jayson Tatum due to an Achilles injury, but still get elite scoring from Jaylen Brown, who has averaged north of 29 points per game this season.
• Boston enters after a commanding road victory over Sacramento, as Derrick White and Payton Pritchard provided significant offensive contributions from the perimeter. Their outside shooting will be important against the Clippers as well.
• The Clippers have been buoyed by Kawhi Leonard, who recently erupted for a 50-point game and continues to shoulder a heavy offensive load in the absence of key pieces like Ivica Zubac, Bradley Beal, and Bogdan Bogdanovic. Leonard has led the Clippers to six wins in a row and he will try to get them a seventh straight win here against the Celtics.
• Boston’s defensive efficiency remains among the league’s best and can help them continue to win games with Tatum out. But the Clippers have been solid on defense themselves, giving up 113.6 points per game for the year. The defense that performs the best in this game will likely get their team a huge win in LA.

Head-to-Head & Betting Trends

• The last meeting between the Celtics and Clippers this season saw Boston prevail 121–118 in a tightly contested game where Jaylen Brown led the charge and Boston weathered a strong second half by James Harden.
• Boston is 19-14 against the spread so far this season.
• The Clippers are 14-19 against the spread for the year.
• The under is 18-15 in games for both of these teams this season.

Best Player Props to Watch

Celtics vs Clippers Model Projection

Final Thoughts

Jay Sanin

Jay Sanin is the GM and Head of Sports at ATS.io. He has been writing about sports gambling since 2013, handicapping tens of thousands of sporting events. He plays sides and totals aggressively across most sports and is more selective in player prop markets. He does his own modeling across most sports, and his family is jealous of how much time he spends on his precious spreadsheets.