The Indiana Pacers and the Minnesota Timberwolves collide at the Target Center on Wednesday night.
The Indiana Pacers have been in a bit of a rut as they’ve lost four of their last six games, but they will be eager to build some momentum after snapping a three-game skid with a 112-104 road win over the Warriors on Monday. Andrew Nembhard was the best player on the night as he scored 31 points with eight rebounds and 13 assists, Buddy Hield added 17 points with nine rebounds and five assists while Jalen Smith chipped in with 15 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. As a team, the Pacers shot 47 percent from the field and 15 of 39 from the 3-point line as they jumped all over the Warriors from the start and poured in 34 points in the first quarter to take the early 16-point lead which was enough of a cushion to keep the Warriors off the backs the entire night with Nembhard playing the game of his life.
Meanwhile, the Minnesota Timberwolves have been in a slump of their own as they’ve lost four of their past five games and they will be hoping for a better performance after coming up short to the Thunder in a 135-128 loss on Saturday. D’Angelo Russell led the team with 27 points and six assists, Anthony Edwards added 26 points with six steals while Jaylen Nowell chipped in with 21 points off the bench. As a team, the Timberwolves shot 52 percent from the field and 10 of 30 from the 3-point line as they exploded for 44 points in the third quarter to take a seven-point lead after trailing for most of the game, but they couldn’t get the stops in the fourth quarter where they allowed 38 points which cost them in the end.
Looking at the betting trends, the Pacers are 1-4 ATS in their last five games following a win, 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games against a team with a losing record and 13-6 ATS in their last 19 games overall. The Timberwolves are 1-5 ATS in their last six home games, 3-9 ATS in their last 12 games against a team with a winning record and 1-4 ATS in their last five games overall.
Head to head, the under is 5-2 in the last seven meetings in Minnesota and the Pacers are 7-1 ATS in the last eight meetings in Minnesota.
The Pacers could be shorthanded once again as James Johnson, TJ McConnell, Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner are all questionable, while the Timberwolves are still without Karl-Anthony Towns and Taurean Prince. This is a tricky one to pick as the Pacers have so many key players listed as questionable which obvious has a major impact on the game. The Timberwolves have barely had to deal with injuries all season, but they’ve been struggling lately. The Pacers have been the better team this season and I think they can get the job done if they at least have Haliburton and Turner playing, but if those two sit out, I’ll go with the Timberwolves.
