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The NBA's hottest teams are colliding in Oklahoma City this Tuesday night. The Boston Celtics (26-6; 16-14-2 ATS) have the best record and winning streak in the NBA. The Oklahoma City Thunder (22-9; 22-9-0 ATS) have the second-longest winning streak, while they're creeping on Minnesota for the Western Conference's top spot. Tuesday's high-profile battle is scheduled to start at 8:00 p.m. EDT in Paycom Center. Regular-season battles rarely get better than this. Who will finish on top?
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To close 2023, the Celtics beat the Spurs in San Antonio by 33 points. That was the expected result, so this fully healthy team led by Jayson Tatum will have a real test to open 2024. The Celtics enter this game third in offensive rating, led by the highest volume of three-pointers in the NBA. Boston's efficiency from all three levels of the floor is top 10 in the league. They're also seventh in free throw percentage, seventh in turnover percentage, and 12th in offensive rebounding percentage. The Celtics must give opposing coaches a nightmare before gamedays.
Then there's the defense, which is third in defensive rating this season per NBA.com. Their greatest blemish is a low turnover percentage, one that's only ahead of three o ther teams. They make up for it by allowing the fewest free throw attempts per contest. Boston also allows the second-fewest percentage of shots at the rim and forces the second-lowest shooting percentage at the rim. The Celtics are sixth in defensive rebounding percentage. They're mediocre at defending threes, but Boston is a strong defensive team overall.