Minnesota Timberwolves vs Oklahoma City Thunder 1/5/22 NBA Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Minnesota Timberwolves play host to the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Target Center on Wednesday night.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have been in a rut as they’ve lost three of their past four games and they will be hoping to bounce back after getting stopped by the Mavericks in a 95-86 home loss on Sunday. Josh Giddey led the team with a triple-double of 17 points with 13 rebounds and 14 assists to become the youngest player ever to record a triple-double in the NBA, Isaiah Roby and Ty Jerome each scored 12 points while Aaron Wiggins scored just 10 points. As a team, the Thunder shot just 41 percent from the field and 10 of 30 from the 3-point line as they got off to a rough slow and scored just 17 points in the second quarter to trail by 12 points at halftime, before fading away in the fourth quarter where they fell behind by 15 points.

Meanwhile, the Minnesota Timberwolves have been in a rut as they’ve lost five of their past seven games, but they will be eager to build some momentum after snapping a three-game skid with a 122-104 win over the Clippers on Monday. Anthony Edwards led the team with 28 points on 11 of 17 shooting, Jaden McDaniels scored 18 points off the bench while Patrick Beverley chipped in with 11 points and 12 assists. As a team, the Timberwolves shot 52 percent from the field and 16 of 45 from the 3-point line as they exploded for 38 points in the second quarter to lead by as many as 27 points to allow them to cruise in the second half.

Looking at the betting trends, the Thunder are 13-4 ATS in their last 17 games against a team with a losing record, 10-4 ATS in their last 14 road games and 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games overall. The Timberwolves are 6-0 ATS in their last six games against a team with a losing record, 5-1 ATS in their last six games following a win of more than 10 points and 8-2-1 ATS in their last 11 games overall.

Head to head, the over is 10-4 in the last 14 meetings overall and the Thunder are 4-1-1 ATS in the last six meetings overall.

The Thunder will again be without Luguentz Dort, while the Timberwolves are sweating on the availability of D’Angelo Russell and Karl-Anthony Towns who are both listed as game-time decisions for this game. Be sure to check the starting lineups before the game, but assuming that Towns is unable to play, I’d take the Thunder with the points in what should be a close one.