We have three best bets for Saturday’s NBA regular season games on January 31st 2026, with a nine-game slate to choose from. First up, we take a look at the Trail Blazers and Knicks which tips off at 11:30am AEDT. The Kings head to Boston to take on the Celtics at the same time, while at 2:00pm AEDT its the Pistons and Warriors which should be a close one.
Here are our best bets for Saturday's NBA action. Why not get amongst the action with our friends at Dabble!
NBA Betting Tips: Saturday, January 31st 2026
Portland Trail Blazers at New York Knicks (11:30am AEDT)
The New York Knicks (29-18) are second in the East and will host the Portland Trail Blazers (23-25) who may be without their top performer Deni Avdija who is questionable for the game. If he misses, then the Knicks look an incredible play at -7.5. Regardless, New York, led by Jalen Brunson, is on a four-game winning streak, including a 119-92 thumping of the Toronto Raptors. It wasn’t Brunson dominating that contest though, as he contributed just 13 points. Mikal Bridges scored 30, OG Anunoby had 26 points and Josh Hart dropped 22 points.
Along with Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns had a quiet scoring night, with just eight points, but looked like Dennis Rodman out there on the boards, grabbing 22 rebounds. All five starters have shown they are capable scorers when the time is right, and that makes it a difficult matchup for the Blazers. They are 10-14 on the road and the Knicks are 18-6 at Madison Square Garden.
The Blazers are one of the worst teams in offensive efficiency and the Knicks defend the paint better than most teams, ranked fourth in the league. It’s hard to see the Blazers producing offensively on the road against the Knicks who should cover the line.
Knicks -7.5
$1.92 (2 units)
Sacramento Kings at Boston Celtics (11:30am AEDT)
The trajectory of these two franchises are opposites. The 2024 NBA champion Boston Celtics (29-18) are looking to contend once again while the Sacramento Kings (12-37) may be hoping for the number one draft pick. It will be a back-to-back for the Kings who bravely fought against the Philadelphia 76ers, losing 113-111 despite 27 points from Dennis Schroder and 25 points from DeMar DeRozan.
Boston comes off a 117-106 loss against the Atlanta Hawks and they aren’t likely to play two poor games at home. Recent head-to-head games between these two sides have seen the Celtics often blow the Kings away by double-digit margins, including a 120-106 victory in Sacramento at the start of the month.
Russell Westbrook is out for the Kings and Jaylen Brown is questionable for the game. The Celtics have good depth, so Brown missing means extra minutes for someone like Anfernee Simons and Sam Hauser. The Celtics will be keen to make a statement here and could win this by a large margin.
Celtics -10.5
$1.90 (1.5 units)
Detroit Pistons at Golden State Warriors (2:00pm AEDT)
The Golden State Warriors (27-22) are trying to cope with the loss of Jimmy Butler to a season-ending injury and the pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo would see a huge shake-up to the roster. For the moment, they get ready to host the Detroit Pistons (34-11) who are six games clear on top in the East.
Steph Curry will have to carry the Warriors even more with Butler’s absence. Curry is averaging 27.3 points per game with Brandin Podziemski next best (excluding Butler) with 12.2 points per game. The Pistons are the second-best defensive team in the league, but that will only get you so far if Curry, the greatest shooter the game has ever seen, starts to heat up from long range. Great offense beats great defense as the saying goes.
The Pistons enter the game off a loss to the Phoenix Suns – prior to that, they only just beat the Denver Nuggets who don’t have Nikola Jokic. As slight underdogs, the Warriors at home appeal at the +1.5 handicap.
Warriors +1.5
$1.87 (2 units)
