Western Conference Playoffs NBA: Suns vs Timberwolves Betting Odds & Key Stats

It’s a very possible first-round Western Conference playoff preview on Friday night when the Minnesota Timberwolves visit the Phoenix Suns in the second game of an NBA TV national doubleheader. The Suns are short favorites on the NBA odds

2024 NBA Expert Analysis Minnesota vs Phoenix | MyBookie Sportsbook NBA Week 24

How to Bet Timberwolves at Suns NBA Odds & TV Info

When: Thursday, 10 PM ET
Where: Footprint Center
TV: NBA TV
Stream: NBA.com, NBA TV app
Radio: Tunein.com
NBA Odds: Suns -2 (total 219.5)

Timberwolves vs Suns Season Series

Somehow these teams have played just once this season and not since way back on Nov. 15 when the Suns beat the visiting Timberwolves 133-115 behind 31 points each from Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. Booker shot 12 of 22 from the field, adding five assists and four rebounds. Durant made 11 of 15 shots. Phoenix dominated the game for the majority of the night, taking a six-point lead after one quarter, a 22-point lead at halftime and a 28-point advantage into the final quarter. The Suns shot 60% from the field and 55% from 3-point range. Anthony-Towns led the Timberwolves with 25 points. Minnesota was just 5-for-27 from deep. Phoenix has won five straight at home in the series.

Why Bet on Minnesota Timberwolves?

Minnesota, Denver and Oklahoma City are all battling for the top seed in the Western Conference – the Wolves have the best point differential in the West at plus-7.1. They won for the sixth time in seven games Wednesday, destroying short-handed Toronto 133-85 – the worst loss in Raptors history and the Wolves’ largest margin of victory this season. It clinched no worse than the No. 4 seed in the West for Minnesota, guaranteeing home-court advantage in at least the first round of the playoffs.

Minnesota jumped all over its depleted opponent from the beginning. The Wolves moved the ball great out of the gate, tallying assists on 14 of their first 16 makes. The ball movement led to more scorching shooting. The Wolves — who’ve been one of the NBA’s top shooting teams over their past 11 games — buried 20 3-pointers on 47% shooting.

“Just continue to move the ball. We knew we’d face different looks. We seem to be handling switching better now,” coach Chris Finch said. “I think guys are understanding that you defeat it with the pass and the movement, rather than just the bounce.”

Anthony Edwards had 28 points and six assists in the rout and sank five threes in 12 attempts beyond the arc, which matched his third-best total from long range this season. He buried his first triple try of the night, snapping a streak of 22 straight missed 3-point attempts.

“You could see he was being extra aggressive trying to work through his issues,” Finch said. “I thought he stayed within the flow of the game. I thought there were some other plays to be made for him, but I was happy with him being that aggressive tonight for sure, no doubt.”

Having scored at least 21 points in four consecutive games, Ant-Man led Minnesota in assists on a night when starting point guard Mike Conley did not play simply for rest against a bad team. Conley should be back for this one. Last time he took the court Tuesday in a win over Houston, Conley finished with 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including 3-of-4 from deep, six assists and a team-high three steals, marking his third consecutive, fifth out of his last sixth and 17th overall game this season with 10+ points/5+ assists/3+ made threes (179th career).

Conley became just the sixth player in NBA history since 1967-68 aged 36 or older to record three consecutive games with 10+ points/5+ assists/3+ made threes and the first player in franchise history aged 36 or older to do so.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker started for him on Wednesday and was 5-for-7 from the field for 14 points with three assists in 23 minutes. Eventually, the Timberwolves emptied their bench in the blowout and gave Monte Morris and Jordan McLaughlin time in the backcourt as well. Naz Reid had 23 points and seven rebounds and has been great amid Karl-Anthony Towns’ (knee) absence. Reid has averaged 18.6 points and 7.0 rebounds over nine consecutive starts.

Wednesday was the 26th time this season that Minnesota held its opponent to 100 points or below. The Wolves are 24-2 on the season when doing so with their 26 the most in the league and their 24 wins also the most. Minnesota now has 18 games on the season allowing 100 points or fewer on 40.0% shooting or worse, the most such games in the NBA this season; Boston (10 games) is the only other team to have 10+ such games.

Why Bet on Phoenix Suns?

The Suns, who might be bound for the play-in tournament, were very impressive Wednesday in their second straight win, 122-101 over an excellent Cleveland team. Phoenix rolled to a 72-47 lead by halftime, making 12 of 18 3-pointers. Devin Booker led all scorers with 19 points before the break while Kevin Durant had 17. Cleveland cut that deficit to 77-66 on Jarrett Allen’s layup midway through the third, but the Suns bounced back to take a 98-77 lead heading into the fourth.

“The first half, you give up 72 points, it’s hard to come back from,” Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “I was proud of the guys’ effort in the second half. I thought we competed at a much higher level.”

A game after scoring 52 points vs. New Orleans, Booker finished with 40 points and eight assists. Over the past two weeks, he has averaged 31.6 points, 6.6 assists and 4.1 rebounds while shooting 54.1% from the field and 90% from the foul line. Those are MVP-type numbers, although Booker won’t win that.

Durant had 32 points, seven assists and six boards. Over the past two weeks, he’s averaging 25.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists while shooting 55.9% from the field and 86.4% from the foul line. It was just the second time this season Booker and Durant both scored at least 30 in the same game. The Suns are now 2-0.

“I think it’s just an energy throughout our whole team. Understanding what’s at stake, what time of year it is,” Booker said of the team’s two big wins this week. “The ball is hopping around, we’re defending at a high level — everything’s hitting.”

Royce O’Neale shot 6-of-9 from the field for 17 points. With Grayson Allen (hip) sidelined, O’Neale was Frank Vogel’s choice to fill the void in the starting lineup. Also impacted by Allen’s absence was Bol Bol, as his minutes increased due to Vogel deciding to stick with an eight-man rotation. Playing 22 minutes, Bol finished with 15 points and six rebounds.

Consider Allen questionable Friday. He has only missed six games for the Suns and has started in all 69 of his appearances. He leads the league in 3-point shooting at 46.9% while averaging 13.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. Allen is also one of three players in the NBA this season shooting at least 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from deep and 87 percent from the free-throw line along with Kawhi Leonard and Al Horford.

Phoenix has won 11 of the last 13 meetings against Minnesota overall. Booker scored 43 points against the Wolves on Feb. 28, 2021, the most points ever by a Suns player in the series.

Timberwolves vs Suns Expert Prediction

Suns 115, Timberwolves 113