The San Antonio Spurs (34-45) stop by Target Center Thursday to play the Minnesota Timberwolves (45-35) at 8 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Spurs vs. Timberwolves odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
San Antonio is locked into either the 9- or 10-seed for the Western Conference play-in tourney while Minnesota still has an outside chance of getting the 6-seed if the T-Wolves win out and the Denver Nuggets lose out.
The Spurs helped the Timberwolves by upsetting the Nuggets 116-96 in Denver Thursday as 9-point road underdogs. San Antonio is 7-1 straight up (SU) and against the spread (ATS) in its last eight games.
Minnesota had its two-game win streak snapped Tuesday in a 132-114 blowout loss at home to the Washington Wizards. The T-Wolves are 3-3 SU but just 2-4 ATS over the past two weeks.
The T-Wolves are 2-0 SU versus the Spurs this season and have covered seven consecutive meetings with San Antonio.
Spurs 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 1:15 p.m. ET.
- Money line (ML): Spurs +280 (bet $100 to win $280) | Timberwolves -370 (bet $370 to win $100)
- Against the spread: Spurs +7.5 (-108) | Timberwolves -7.5 (-112)
- Over/Under: 239.5 (O: -115 | U: -107)
Spurs at Timberwolves key injuries
Spurs
- C Jock Landale (foot) out
- SF Doug McDermott (ankle) out
- PG Dejounte Murray (illness) out
- SF Devin Vassell (Achilles) probable
- SG Lonnie Walker IV (back) questionable
Timberwolves
- SG Malik Beasley (ankle) probable
- PG Patrick Beverley (ankle) questionable
- PF Jaden McDaniels (ankle) questionable
[tipico]
Spurs at Timberwolves odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Timberwolves 124, Spurs 106
Money line
PASS because Minnesota should breeze past the Spurs Thursday but the Timberwolves (-370) are way too expensive. A depleted San Antonio blowing out Denver at max motivation Tuesday is the proof you need to stay away from massive ML favorites in NBA regular-season action.
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Against the spread
BET the TIMBERWOLVES -7.5 (-112) because they have a lot more motivation entering this game and this presumed sharp side of the market is backing Minnesota.
Nearly 90% of the bets placed are on the Spurs according to Tipico, but roughly two-thirds of the cash is on the T-Wolves. Typically, in sports betting, it’s profitable to follow the money when it’s counter to the public.
Furthermore, people backing the Spurs here are suffering from recency bias due to San Antonio and Minnesota’s recent ATS trends.
But, beyond that, there really isn’t an argument for the Spurs here. The T-Wolves still have a shot at avoiding the play-in and San Antonio will have G-League players on the floor Thursday.
The TIMBERWOLVES -7.5 (-112) is the play.
Over/Under
LEAN UNDER 239.5 (-107) only because I’m much comfier betting Minnesota’s spread than the total.
However, the T-Wolves are 12-15 O/U as home favorites and 18-21 O/U versus teams with a losing record. Whereas the Spurs are 10-19-1 O/U as road underdogs and 13-22 O/U against teams with a winning record.
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