Assuming everyone is healthy; Friday’s matchup between the Magic and Timberwolves will feature two of the NBA’s best centers in Orlando’s Nikola Vucevic, who is having easily his best season, and Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns. The Wolves are favored on the latest NBA Odds.
Magic at Timberwolves NBA Spread & Pick
BALLIN’ LIKE @TheRealMoBamba 🎶 pic.twitter.com/YugiJRWUMk
— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) 3 de enero de 2019
- When: Friday, 8 PM ET
- Where: Target Center, Minneapolis
- TV: NBA TV
- Live Stream: NBA League Pass
- Radio: TuneIn
- NBA Odds: Minnesota Timberwolves -6 (Total 212)
Mavericks vs Celtics NBA Week 12 Betting Preview & Prediction
Team Records
- All: Magic 17-20 / Timberwolves 17-21
- Home: Magic 10-11 / Timberwolves 12-6
- Away: Magic 7-9 / Timberwolves 5-15
- ATS: Magic 20-17 / Timberwolves 19-19
- Over/Under: Magic 15-22 / Timberwolves 19-19
Season Series
First meeting. The Magic have won six of the last nine meetings with the Timberwolves and 14 of the last 19 outings overall. Orlando has won nine of the last 10 outings at home and seven of the last 11 visits to Minnesota. Four of the teams’ last 10 meetings have been decided in overtime. The Wolves have won three of four overall after dropping the previous five. Last year, each won at home.
Why Bet on Orlando?
The Magic aren’t usually a great road team but they slaughtered the Bulls 112-84 in Chicago on Wednesday. The Magic shot 58 percent from the field and had 31 assists on 44 field goals.Orlando coach Steve Clifford sensed a special performance was coming at the morning shootaround.
“When we walked out, I told a couple of the coaches, `I don’t know if we’re going to win, but we’re going to play well,” Clifford said. “We were very focused in the shootaround and you could tell we were going to have great energy.”
Nikola Vucevic racked up 22 points on 10-of-15 shooting, 12 rebounds, three assists, three blocks, two steals, and one 3-pointer. Vucevic is having an All-Star year with career-high numbers in most categories, averaging 20.3 points (52.9% FG’s, 79.4% FTs), 1.1 triples, 11.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.1 blocks, and 1.0 steals.
Aaron Gordon scored 18 points with a career-high nine assists, seven rebounds, and one block in 37 minutes on Wednesday. Gordon made 8-of-14 shots and he committed just one turnover. D.J. Augustin (right ankle) was on a playing-time limit Wednesday, finishing with 10 points, six assists, two rebounds, one steal, and one 3-pointer in 25 minutes. He got hurt in the fourth quarter on Sunday game but only missed one game.
Jonathon Simmons (left ankle) missed his second straight game but did practice Thursday so it’s looking good for this one. Orlando is 7-9 this season on the road. The Magic were 8-33 on the road last season.
The Magic are shooting .447 (1,449-3,243) from the floor this season and shot 50 percent or better eight times (6-2 record), including a season-high .579 (44-76) in Chicago. The Magic shot .452 (3,182-7,042) from the floor last season and shot 50 percent or better 20 times (11-9 record).
Why Bet on Minnesota?
The Timberwolves lost 115-102 in Boston on Wednesday to complete a three-game trip. Minnesota trimmed a 22-point deficit to six points in the third. It was an 11-point game with 4:53 left before the Celtics went on an 8-0 run to clinch their fifth straight win over the Wolves. The last time Minnesota won in Boston was March 6, 2005.
Andrew Wiggins erupted for a season-high 31 points (10-of-18 FGs, 9-of-12 FTs), adding two rebounds, three assists, and two 3-pointers in 43 minutes in the loss. Wiggins became the seventh-youngest player in NBA history to score 7,000 career points. He now has two 30-point games on the season, with both of them coming in his last six games. He has scored in double figures for 18 straight games.
Karl-Anthony Towns had a dominant third quarter en route to 28 points (12-of-21 FGs, 3-of-3 FTs) with 12 rebounds, seven assists, one block, one 3-pointer and four turnovers in 37 minutes. KAT went for 20/5/5 in the third quarter alone. He’s posted five consecutive 20-point double-doubles, adding 4+ assists in each game.
Robert Covington (right knee injury), Derrick Rose (right ankle sprain) and Jeff Teague (left ankle inflammation) were sidelined by injuries. Rose missed his third straight game. Teague was a limited participant in Wednesday’s shootaround, which signals he may be close to a return, while Rose didn’t participate at all. Tyus Jones stared for Rose/Teague and scored 14 points on 7-of-14 shooting, along with one rebound, nine assists, four steals and four turnovers in 40 minutes.
The Wolves have won 13 of 25 starts since the Nov. 12 trade that brought Covington, Dario Saric and Jerryd Bayless from Philadelphia. However, they’re 4-9 in the past 13 games – allowing the NBA’s most fast break points (18.2 ppg) in that span.
Magic at Timberwolves NBA Betting Trends
- Road team is 6-1 ATS in the last 7 meetings
- Underdog is 10-1 ATS in the last 11 meetings
- Orlando is 6-3 ATS in its last 9 games on the road
- Orlando is 8-17 SU in its last 25 games on the road
- The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Orlando’s last 6 games on the road
- Minnesota is 10-5 ATS in its last 15 games at home
- Minnesota is 15-7 SU in its last 22 games at home
- The total has gone OVER in 6 of Minnesota’s last 7 games at home
Expert NBA Betting Prediction for Magic at Timberwolves
Those trends all favor Orlando, but we still like the Wolves.
