Best bets for Celtics-Thunder, Clemson-UNC, more on Thursday, March 12

The Oklahoma City Thunder are in the midst of another lengthy winning streak. If they want to extend it, they’ll need to get past a team they could potentially be facing in the NBA Finals.

Oklahoma City (51-15) seeks its seventh consecutive victory Thursday as it hosts the Boston Celtics (43-22) at 9:30 p.m. ET at Paycom Center. The Thunder’s current run is their third longest of the 2025-26 season, as they won 16 contests in a row from Nov. 7-Dec. 10 after beginning the campaign with eight straight triumphs.

Reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and company take on a Boston squad that has won 14 of its last 18 games. The Celtics, who have lost four of their last five meetings with the Thunder – including both last season, are 1-1 on their three-game road trip following Tuesday’s 125-116 setback at San Antonio but have not endured back-to-back defeats since Jan. 10 and 12 against the Spurs and Indiana Pacers.

Boston recently welcomed back Jayson Tatum, who had been sidelined since suffering a ruptured Achilles in last year’s playoffs. The 28-year-old forward averaged 19.7 points while playing 27 minutes in each of his first three games back but won’t be on the court for the matchup against Oklahoma City as the Celtics, who are second in the Eastern Conference, vowed to handle his return with caution. 

Eight other games are on Thursday’s NBA schedule, including a huge showdown between the Denver Nuggets (40-26) and Spurs (48-17) at 9 p.m. ET at the Frost Bank Center. San Antonio is red-hot as it has won five straight and 16 of its last 17. The club is 2.5 games behind the Thunder while the Nuggets, who have lost four of their last five meetings with the Spurs, trounced Houston 129-93 on Wednesday to climb within a half game of both the Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers for third place in the conference.

The NHL will be extremely busy as there are 14 games on its slate, one of which has the Calgary Flames (25-32-7) continuing their five-game road trip with a contest against the New Jersey Devils (32-30-2) at 7 p.m. ET at the Prudential Center in Newark. The Flames lost the first two games of their trek and have dropped six of seven overall (1-5-1), while the Devils are coming off a 3-0 setback against the Detroit Red Wings that ended their four-game winning streak and dropped them to 3-1-0 on their seven-game homestand.

College basketball conference tournaments continue Thursday, and one of the more intriguing games has Clemson (23-9) taking on No. 19 North Carolina (24-7) at 9:30 p.m. ET in an ACC tournament quarterfinal at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte. Both teams received a first-round bye and the Tar Heels moved directly to the quarterfinals while the Tigers defeated Wake Forest 71-62 in the second round. North Carolina got past Clemson 67-63 in their regular season clash less than two weeks ago.

The Thunder are 6.5-point favorites against the Celtics in the latest consensus NBA odds, while the Spurs are 5.5-point favorites over the Nuggets. The Devils are -191 on the money line against the Flames and North Carolina is a 1.5-point favorite against Clemson.

Below is a snapshot of what to watch and bet for Thursday, Mar. 12. All times Eastern

NBA best bets, where to watch

Nuggets at Spurs

Time: 9 p.m. | Location: San Antonio | TV: NBA League Pass | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)

SportsLine picks — Model: Over 238.5 (-112) | Expert: Aaron Gordon Under 1.5 made 3-pointers (-152, Alex Selesnick)

This matchup features two of the highest scoring teams in the NBA. The Nuggets are second in the league with an average of 120.4 points and the Spurs rank fifth at 118.7 per game. When the clubs met in Denver earlier this season, they combined for 275 points. The SportsLine Projection Model thinks they’ll light up the scoreboard again as the Over hits in more than 55% of its simulations. Denver’s Aaron Gordon is just 2-for-9 from 3-point range in three games since returning from a hamstring injury, and SportsLine props expert Alex Selesnick (8-5, +362 on his last 13 NBA player prop picks) feels the forward will continue to struggle from beyond the arc.

Celtics at Thunder

Time: 9:30 p.m. | Location: Oklahoma City | TV: Prime Video

SportsLine pick — Model: Celtics +6.5 (-110)

The Thunder are streaking but haven’t been blowing out opponents during their current six-game run. Four of the victories were by six points or fewer, including a pair by three points, and another was by just seven against a struggling Golden State squad. Even though they’ll be without Tatum, the Celtics will be looking to come up with a better performance after losing by nine points at at San Antonio on Tuesday. The SportsLine Projection Model feels they will as its simulations have the Celtics covering the spread 62% of the time.

NHL best bets, where to watch

Flames at Devils

Time: 7 p.m. | Location: Newark, N.J. | TV: ESPN+ | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)

SportsLine picks — Model: Under 5.5 (-102) | Expert: Devils -1 (-122, Matt Severance)

Goals are likely to be at a premium when two of the worst offensive teams in the NHL face off. The Flames are last in the league in scoring with just 156 goals and the Devils are only two spots ahead of them with 162. Both teams are coming off shutout losses and the Flames have netted two tallies or fewer in five of their last seven games. These clubs met in Calgary in January and combined for just three goals. The SportsLine Projection Model doesn’t expect much offense this time around as the Under hits in more than 67% of its simulations. SportsLine expert Matt Severance (12-1-4, +1083 on his last 17 NHL spread picks) likes the Devils to post a multi-goal victory as the Flames are playing their third game in four nights and were outscored 11-3 in the first two.

CBB best bets, where to watch

Clemson vs. No. 19 North Carolina

Time: 9:30 p.m. | Location: Charlotte, N.C. | TV: ESPN | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)

SportsLine picks — Model: Over 138.5 (-112) | Expert: North Carolina -1 (-110, Mike Tierney)

The total for this quarterfinal contest seems low considering the scoring averages of the teams involved. The Tar Heels are producing 79.8 points per game, while the Tigers are averaging 74.4. The ACC rivals combined for just 130 points when they squared off on March 3 but the SportsLine Projection Model sees them coming closer to their season averages as its simulations have the Over hitting well over 67% of the time. SportsLine expert Mike Tierney (4-2, +184 on his last six college basketball picks) believes North Carolina will cover the small spread against a Clemson team that could be without Carter Welling (knee), who is second on the Tigers in scoring (10.2 points) and leads the team in rebounds (5.4).