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NBA Best Bets Today- Our Top Picks for Saturday, January 3

Our best bets for Saturday, January 3, 2026.

Image Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

For Saturday, January 3, fans have a wide variety of games to enjoy, featuring exciting eight clashes throughout the day. The day starts with the Miami Heat hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves in a cross-conference matchup. The Atlanta Hawks will then visit the Toronto Raptors, while the New York Knicks will welcome the Philadelphia 76ers. There is a lot more for bettors to try their luck upon.

Here, we have picked our NBA Best Bets today, rather than breaking down every game. This consists of a handful of spreads, totals and player props. These are the picks we would prioritize in case someone is looking for just a few spots on tonight’s slate.

For full previews, we suggest you head over to our NBA picks and predictions page for tonight. Otherwise, you can continue scrolling down to check our favorite NBA best bets for the day, along with a quick breakdown driven by stats, form and latest information.

Our NBA Best Picks of the Day

Tag	Game	Market and Line	Odds and Book
Best Bet	Knicks vs 76ers	Knicks -4 (spread)	-110 at FanDuel
Play #2	Heat vs Timberwolves	Under 239.5 (total)	-106 at Fanduel
Play #3	Warriors vs Jazz	Stephen Curry Over 28.5 Points (Player prop)	-106 at Fanduel

Odds from FanDuel picked on Saturday, 3:55 am ET. Lines are subject to change before tip off.

Game 1- Best Bet: New York Knicks -4 vs Philadelphia 76ers

Pick type	Market	Odds and Book
Best Bet	Knicks -4	-110 at FanDuel

The New York Knicks are having a strong campaign this season, where they have been dominating at home with a solid 15-3 record. They rank mid-rack in defensive rating, and allow 114.6 points to their opponents, which goes down to 111.5 at home. The Philadelphia 76ers, otherwise having a decent season, are struggling on the road.

The sportsbooks have the Knicks -4, which seems short given their home-court dominance. With a 20-15 ATS record, New York covers well as moderate favorites. The line hasn’t fully priced in the Knicks’ advantage, and we like them to win by 6+ points tonight.

With the Knicks dominating the Madison Square Garden this season, we pick Knicks -4 as our best bet for today.

Game 2- Play #2: Miami Heat vs Minnesota Timberwolves Under 239.5

Pick type	Market	Odds and Book
Play #2	Under 239.5 points (total)	-110 at FanDuel

The Minnesota Timberwolves rank 12th in points allowed, while the Heat are at 19th. This signifies that both teams play decent defense. In addition to it, the hosts for the night are ranked in top four in terms of defensive rating at 111.9, while the Minnesota Timberwolves are ranked seventh at 112.7.

The projected total 239.5 seems high for teams who are defensively strong. Though the Heat are the top-ranked team in terms of pace, the Wolves are ranked lower rack, balancing the pace out.

While sportsbooks have priced it like a high-scoring contest, trends and stats suggest it to be a tight encounter. We pick Under 239 as our second bet of the day.

Game 3: Play #3: Stephen Curry Over 28.5 Points vs Utah Jazz

Pick Type	Market	Odds and Book
Play #3	Stephen Curry Over 28.5 Points (Player prop)	-106 at FanDuel

Stephen Curry is the go-to-scorer for the Golden State Warriors, leading them with an average of 28.7 points through 25 games. He has been shooting 46.8% from the field and 39.4% from the three-point range. The Utah Jazz, on the other hand, have the worst defensive rating in the league, and they allow the most points.

Curry missed the first-leg of the back-to-back on Friday, and could be back in action on Saturday.

Considering that he has been crossing the number frequently and the homecourt advantage, we expect him to go over 28.5 points on Saturday.

How we are betting tonight’s NBA slate

The NBA’s Saturday slate features strong defenses, projecting controlled and tight clashes like the Heat vs Wolves. The home-favorites in the other game, the New York Knicks, like the exploiting edges. For player props, we have picked Stephen Curry, a proven scorer, who, if plays, is favorite to score for his team.

NBA Best Bets Recap for January 3

Best Bet: Knicks -4 vs Sixers (-110 at FanDuel)
Play #2: Heat vs Timberwolves Under 239.5 (-110 at FanDuel)
Play #3: Stephen Curry Over 28.5 Points (-106 at FanDuel)

More NBA betting from us

Golden State Warriors

Miami Heat

Minnesota Timberwolves

New York Knicks

Philadelphia 76ers

Utah Jazz

Garima Ranawat

Garima is a sports writer with around two years of experience in Indian sports and a newfound interest in the NBA. Inspired by the leadership of cricketing legend MS Dhoni, she wishes to bring in newer perspectives to the NBA fanatics with her writing.