Houston Rockets (10-35) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (23-24)
January 21, 2023 8:00 pm EDT
The Line: Minnesota Timberwolves -8.5; Over/Under: -
(Get latest betting odds)
The Houston Rockets and the Minnesota Timberwolves duke it out at the Target Center on Saturday night.
The Houston Rockets have been in terrible shape as they’ve lost 17 of their last 18 games overall and they will be hoping to snap a 12-game losing streak after falling just short to the slumping Hornets in a 122-117 loss on Wednesday. Jalen Green led the team with 41 points and seven assists, Alperen Sengun added 24 points with 12 rebounds and six assists while Eric Gordon and Kenyon Martin Jr each scored 11 points. As a team, the Rockets shot 50 percent from the field and 10 of 32 from the 3-point line as they looked to be in control when they restricted the Hornets to just 17 points in the second quarter, but they couldn’t maintain the pressure and got blown out by 69-57 in the second half.
Meanwhile, the Minnesota Timberwolves have been in great shape as they’ve won seven of their last 10 games overall and they will be eager to stay hot after sneaking past the Raptors in a 128-126 home win on Thursday. D’Angelo Russell led the team with 25 points and six assists, Anthony Edwards added 23 points with seven assists while Kyle Anderson tallied 20 points with 10 rebounds and six assists. As a team, the Timberwolves shot 50 percent from the field and 17 of 40 from the 3-point line as they struggled to contain the Raptors to start the game and allowed 76 points in the first half to fall behind early, but they kept their heads and held the Raptors to just 17 points in the fourth quarter to escape with the win on free throws in the end.
Looking at the betting trends, the Rockets are 0-7 ATS in their last seven road games, 26-54 ATS in their last 80 games against a team with a losing record and 7-18-1 ATS in their last 26 games overall. The Timberwolves are 5-2 ATS in their last seven home games and 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games overall.
Head to head, the over is 13-5 in the last 18 meetings in Minnesota and the Rockets are 1-5 ATS in the last six meetings overall.
The Rockets are shorthanded again as Kevin Porter Jr and Jabari Smith Jr are both listed as doubtful, while the Timberwolves have listed Austin Rivers, Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert are all questionable. The Rockets are only 0-7 ATS in their last seven road games and they are only 1-5 ATS in the last six meetings against the Timberwolves, so I’ll stick with the Timberwolves to get the job done at home.
