The Minnesota Timberwolves (46-35) host the Chicago Bulls (45-36) Sunday at the Target Center for an 8:30 p.m. ET tip-off. Below, we look at the Bulls vs. Timberwolves odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
Both teams are already locked into their playoff position with Chicago as the 6-seed in the Eastern Conference and Minnesota the 7-seed out West.
The Bulls are struggling as the postseason nears, losing 4 consecutive games, all by double digits. The T-Wolves will have two chances to clinch a playoff berth through the play-in tourney.
Minnesota’s first opportunity is the 7- versus 8-seed matchup against the Clippers this upcoming Tuesday or by beating the winner of the 9- versus 10-seed game between the Pelicans and Spurs if the T-Wolves lose to L.A.
The Bulls stormed past the T-Wolves late in their first meeting this season 134-122 in Minnesota by outscoring them 42-31 in the fourth quarter.
Bulls at Timberwolves odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:48 p.m. ET.
- Money line (ML): Bulls +225 (bet $100 to win $225) | Timberwolves -290 (bet $290 to win $100)
- Against the spread: Bulls +6.5 (-108) | Timberwolves -6.5 (-112)
- Over/Under: 229.5 (O: -108 | U: -112)
Bulls at Timberwolves key injuries
Bulls
- PG Lonzo Ball (knee) out
- SG Alex Caruso (back) out
- SF DeMar DeRozan (rest) out
- SG Zach LaVine (knee) out
- C Nikola Vucevic (rest) out
- PG Coby White (toe) doubtful
Timberwolves
- PG Patrick Beverley (ankle) questionable
- SG D’Angelo Russell (illness) questionable
- C Karl-Anthony Towns (rest) out
[tipico]
Bulls at Timberwolves odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Timberwolves 122, Bulls 114
Money line
PASS.
Minnesota should win its home regular-season finale comfortably but I’d never recommend betting a -290 ML favorite in the NBA. It doesn’t matter if the Bulls (+225) are troting out G-Leaguers, they are still pros and any professional team can get hot from 3 for a night.
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Against the spread
Slight LEAN to the TIMBERWOLVES -6.5 (-120) since they’ll have by far the best player on the floor in SF Anthony Edwards and the Bulls +6.5 (-105) have been terrible lately even at full strength.
Furthermore, Chicago is just 1-6 ATS as 5-to-7-point underdogs and 5-11 ATS on the road versus teams with a winning record. Minnesota is 13-6 ATS at home versus winning teams and 6-1-1 ATS when playing on 2 days of rest.
That said, it’s tough to forecast how this game plays out since both teams could be without several starters.
Over/Under
LEAN to the OVER 229.5 (-115) because the Bulls have the fourth-worst non-garbage time defensive efficiency over the past two weeks and the T-Wolves have the third-worst, according to CleaningTheGlass.com.
However, with all the missing firepower, it’s hard to get behind either side of the total. None of Chicago’s O/U trends apply here since the Bulls are resting their 3 best scorers.
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