The San Antonio Spurs have the second-best record in basketball and are one of the model franchises in sports. The Minnesota Timberwolves were supposed to be much better this season under first-year coach Tom Thibodeau but stink again. And the Wolves will be double-digit underdogs in the NBA lines when they head to San Antonio on Tuesday.
When: Tuesday, Jan. 17, 7:30 PM ET
Where: AT&T Center, San Antonio
TV: NBA League Pass
NBA Odds: Spurs favored by TBA
Gorgui Dieng scored 21 points and Andrew Wiggins had 19 for the Timberwolves, who had won three in a row. Minnesota’s last four-game winning streak was in December 2012. Karl-Anthony Towns had 18 points and nine rebounds, but the Mavericks largely held him in check after he had 34 points and 11 boards in the Wolves’ 101-92 home win over Dallas last Monday. Over the past few weeks, Towns is averaging 22.3 points, 14.1 rebounds, 3.9 dimes, 1.9 blocks and 3.1 turnovers per game on 50.0 percent shooting from the field and 91.4 percent shooting from the stripe.
Zach LaVine (hip) scored 11 points on 3-of- 8 shooting in his return from a two-game absence on Sunday, adding three 3-pointers, five boards, one assist, one steal and one turnover in 34 minutes. Brandon Rush returned to the bench with LaVine back in action on Sunday, missing his only shot attempt and failing to record a single statistic in his three minutes of playing time.
LaVine scored a career-best 40 points Dec. 23 vs. Sacramento, becoming the third Timberwolves player to tally 40+ this season and 15th all-time. Minnesota is the sixth team in the past 15 years to have three different players score 40+ points in a game in the same season – and the first in NBA history to have three, all age 22 or younger, accomplish that feat.
A Jan. 7 home loss to Utah dropped the Wolves to 0-10 this season in games decided by four points or fewer. A year ago, Minnesota finished 9-11 (.450) in that category; they’re 53-112 (.321) in the past decade.
“The Suns did a great job of being aggressive for 48 minutes they clearly played very competitively as it was evidence by their 26 or so second chance points they got and we exacerbated with 20 points off our turnovers,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
Leonard has now scored 30-plus points for three straight games for the first time in his career. Leonard is also three games shy of tying Tim Duncan’s franchise record for consecutive games with double-digit scoring. Tony Parker scored 14 points vs. the Suns. He did take a hard knee to his right thigh from Tyler Ulis and did check out. Parker did not go to the locker room and he did return. Backup point guard Patty Mills sat vs. Phoenix with left calf tightness.
San Antonio leads the league in both free throw percentage (.823) and in three-point shooting percentage (.414). These are also the best averages through 40 games in franchise history as the Silver and Black went .401 from long range in 2008-09 and .816 from the charity stripe in 1977-78. The Spurs are also second in field goal percentage (.480) behind Golden State (.499).
The Spurs have won eight straight vs. Minnesota. In the first meeting, on the second night of a back-to- back, the Spurs topped the Timberwolves 105-91 on 12/6 at Target Center. Leonard scored a game-high 31 points (11-15 FG, 2-3 3FG, 7-8 FT), 4 assists, 2 steals. San Antonio shot 52.7% from the field and had 5 players in double figures. The Spurs reserves outscored the Timberwolves bench 42-24. Minnesota was led by LaVine who tallied 25 points (9-16 FG, 4-8 3FG, 3-4 FT), 3 rebounds and 2 assists, while Karl-Anthony Towns chipped in a double-double of 11 points and 14 rebounds.
Minnesota at San Antonio NBA Lines, Pick & TV Info
When: Tuesday, Jan. 17, 7:30 PM ET
Where: AT&T Center, San Antonio
TV: NBA League Pass
NBA Odds: Spurs favored by TBA
Why Bet on Minnesota?
The Timberwolves (14-27) had a three-game winning streak snapped Sunday in a 98-87 loss in Dallas to start the trip through Texas. Dallas dressed four players with 10 or more years in the NBA — Minnesota has none — and all of them reached double figures.Gorgui Dieng scored 21 points and Andrew Wiggins had 19 for the Timberwolves, who had won three in a row. Minnesota’s last four-game winning streak was in December 2012. Karl-Anthony Towns had 18 points and nine rebounds, but the Mavericks largely held him in check after he had 34 points and 11 boards in the Wolves’ 101-92 home win over Dallas last Monday. Over the past few weeks, Towns is averaging 22.3 points, 14.1 rebounds, 3.9 dimes, 1.9 blocks and 3.1 turnovers per game on 50.0 percent shooting from the field and 91.4 percent shooting from the stripe.
Zach LaVine (hip) scored 11 points on 3-of- 8 shooting in his return from a two-game absence on Sunday, adding three 3-pointers, five boards, one assist, one steal and one turnover in 34 minutes. Brandon Rush returned to the bench with LaVine back in action on Sunday, missing his only shot attempt and failing to record a single statistic in his three minutes of playing time.
LaVine scored a career-best 40 points Dec. 23 vs. Sacramento, becoming the third Timberwolves player to tally 40+ this season and 15th all-time. Minnesota is the sixth team in the past 15 years to have three different players score 40+ points in a game in the same season – and the first in NBA history to have three, all age 22 or younger, accomplish that feat.
A Jan. 7 home loss to Utah dropped the Wolves to 0-10 this season in games decided by four points or fewer. A year ago, Minnesota finished 9-11 (.450) in that category; they’re 53-112 (.321) in the past decade.
Why Bet on San Antonio?
The Spurs (31-9) were upset by Phoenix 108-105 in Mexico City on Saturday — I previewed that game here at MyBookie and recommended the Suns and the points so that was a winner. Kawhi Leonard had 38 points for the Spurs. They lost for the second time in their last three games.“The Suns did a great job of being aggressive for 48 minutes they clearly played very competitively as it was evidence by their 26 or so second chance points they got and we exacerbated with 20 points off our turnovers,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
Leonard has now scored 30-plus points for three straight games for the first time in his career. Leonard is also three games shy of tying Tim Duncan’s franchise record for consecutive games with double-digit scoring. Tony Parker scored 14 points vs. the Suns. He did take a hard knee to his right thigh from Tyler Ulis and did check out. Parker did not go to the locker room and he did return. Backup point guard Patty Mills sat vs. Phoenix with left calf tightness.
San Antonio leads the league in both free throw percentage (.823) and in three-point shooting percentage (.414). These are also the best averages through 40 games in franchise history as the Silver and Black went .401 from long range in 2008-09 and .816 from the charity stripe in 1977-78. The Spurs are also second in field goal percentage (.480) behind Golden State (.499).
The Spurs have won eight straight vs. Minnesota. In the first meeting, on the second night of a back-to- back, the Spurs topped the Timberwolves 105-91 on 12/6 at Target Center. Leonard scored a game-high 31 points (11-15 FG, 2-3 3FG, 7-8 FT), 4 assists, 2 steals. San Antonio shot 52.7% from the field and had 5 players in double figures. The Spurs reserves outscored the Timberwolves bench 42-24. Minnesota was led by LaVine who tallied 25 points (9-16 FG, 4-8 3FG, 3-4 FT), 3 rebounds and 2 assists, while Karl-Anthony Towns chipped in a double-double of 11 points and 14 rebounds.
