New York left it late to seal their win over Toronto on Wednesday, but they did so with a bang, as a 16-2 run in the final five minutes iced the game. Leading just 95-93, the game hung in the balance in clutch time, but New York resorted to their defence which has earned them a lot of wins lately to limit the hosts to just two points in the final 5:30 of play to earn a 111-95 win. Jalen Brunson came up big in the clutch, scoring 10 points in just six minutes of play in the fourth, finishing the game with 26 points and 10 assists, while Karl-Anthony Towns had an impressive 21 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and one block. Josh Hart again did a bit of everything with 12 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, three steals and three blocks and OG Anunoby went 5/6 from the field for 15 points and five boards.
Oklahoma City rested Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Isaiah Hartenstein on Wednesday and they still left Chicago with a 116-108 win, as their famed defence again dominated. With a 101.9 defensive rating, OKC were able to force the hosts into 19 turnovers, resulting in 25 points off turnovers to help them to the win. Jared McCain had an impressive shooting night to top-score with 20 points in what was a balanced scoring night from the defending champions. Jaylin Williams had 17 points, 16 rebounds and six assists, Aaron Wiggins had 18 points and four assists, Cason Wallace had 17 points and five dimes and Isaiah Joe had 19 points to record another Oklahoma City win.
SGA and Hartenstein are set to return on Thursday, setting up a blockbuster clash against the two best teams in the league. Both teams will be on night two of a back-to-back and this favours OKC, who will have two fresh stars returning from rest while NY had some big minutes for Brunson, Mikal Bridges and Hart. That makes OKC my pick.
Boston thumped Milwaukee 108-81 on Tuesday to make it seven wins from their last eight games. Even with Giannis Antetokounmpo back in the fold for the hosts, Boston dominated on the defensive end, recording another elite defensive rating of 92.9, putting them as the league’s best defence since the beginning of February. Derrick White, Hugo González and even Nikola Vučević all had impressive defensive outings, with Neemias Queta sitting this game out, while Payton Pritchard led the offensive charge with 25 points and nine assists. González had 18 points, 16 rebounds, three steals and two blocks and white recorded 18 points and nine assists.
Charlotte have won five consecutive games in what has been a soft part of their schedule, with Wednesday’s 117-90 thumping of Dallas being another comfortable triumph. It took a while for the hosts to really get going, but when they did Dallas had no answer on either end. A 90.8 defensive rating made for another elite night on that end of the floor for the rising hosts, as the likes of Brandon Miller, Sion James, Ryan Kalkbrenner and Kon Knueppel all showing good effort on that end. LaMelo Ball was relatively disappointing in this contest, going 5/19 from the field for 15 points, five rebounds, nine assists and five steals, but Miller’s 17 points, four assists and two blocks, Grant Williams’ 4/6 shooting from deep helped Charlotte to another win.
This game loses some of its shine with Charlotte being on night two of a back-to-back, meaning I simply can’t see the visitors coming all that close. Boston have been on an elite two-way run and genuinely look like an Eastern Conference contender and are 26-19 ATS as favourites this season and will win well here.
Milwaukee welcomed back Gianiss Antetokounmpo on Tuesday but they couldn’t make it a winning return for their star, losing to Boston 81-108. It was a rusty return to play for the Greek Freak, going 7/18 from the field for 19 points and 11 rebounds, but he was by far the best on his team in what was a very ugly night for Doc Rivers’ men. Ousmane Dieng showed some nice flashes again with 13 points and Bobby Portis went 3/4 from deep for 12 points, but no other Milwaukee player reached double digits in scoring in what was a horror offensive night.
Atlanta have won four games on the bounce, most recently thumping Portland 135-101. That capped off a 4-1 home stand, which helped bring the team back to a .500 record at 31-31 to have them in 10th in the East. It was a blowout essentially from the get go for ATL, with a huge 44-25 first quarter, including a 31-6 run, laying the foundations for the 34-point win. Their 135.1 offensive rating was their second-best of the season so far, and Onyeka Okongwu was the star with 25 points, including seven threes, 10 rebounds, six assists, two steals and one block. Dyson Daniels had a very tidy 12 points, six rebounds, seven assists and two steals and Jonathan Kuminga continued his hot run with 20 points and seven boards.
Antetokounmpo is set to suit up for Milwaukee again on Thursday but I don’t think that should make them favourites in this clash. Atlanta have a top-10 defence in 2026 and will be able to slow down anyone not named Antetokounmpo and with Milwaukee being 7-15 ATS as favourites this season, I am laying them.