The Los Angeles Lakers (38-38, 17-20 Away) will try to slow down one of the NBA’s top shooting teams when they are on the road to face the Minnesota Timberwolves (39-38, 21-17 Home) on Friday.
Los Angeles beat the Chicago Bulls 121-110 at United Center on Wednesday. Anthony Davis was a top performer with 38 points and 10 rebounds. The Lakers are the ninth seed in the Western Conference.
Minnesota dropped their last game on Wednesday at Footprint Center, falling to the Phoenix Suns 107-100. Anthony Edwards had 31 points and six assists in the losing effort, leading the team. The Timberwolves are the sixth seed in the Western Conference.
This marks the last meeting of the season between the teams. After winning both of the previous season meetings against Los Angeles, the last of which was a 110-102 victory at Crypto.com Arena on March 3, their third straight head-to-head victory, Minnesota will be aiming for a season sweep.
Rudy Gobert led the Timberwolves with 22 points, 14 rebounds, and three assists. Davis had 38 points in the losing effort. The Lakers have been led this season by Dennis Schroder (12.9 ppg), Austin Reaves (12.4), and Lonnie Walker IV (12.0). Schroder also has dished 4.5 assists per game.
Meanwhile, Wenyen Gabriel is grabbing 4.3 rebounds per game.Edwards’ 24.5 points per game have powered the T’Wolves on offense. Gobert is averaging 11.7 rebounds per game, fourth-most in the league, and D’Angelo Russell is recording 6.2 assists.
The Timberwolves are shooting 49.1% from the field on the season, ranking as one of the NBA’s most accurate field goal shooting teams (4th). The Lakers have struggled in recent trips to Target Center, losing nine of the last 10.
Los Angeles is 6-4 in the last 10 games with an average margin of +3.9 (115.1-111.2). Minnesota has split the last 10 (5-5), scoring 118.2 points per game on average while holding opponents to 118.0 (+0.2 margin).
LAKERS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Austin Reaves: 32.4 | 18.6 | +13.8
Rui Hachimura: 8.5 | 16.4 | -7.9
Points per game:
Malik Beasley: 7.4 | 12.8 | -5.4
Assists per game:
LeBron James: 3.5 | 6.8 | -3.3
TIMBERWOLVES HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Naz Reid: 25.4 | 17.5 | +7.9
Points per game:
Naz Reid: 18.8 | 11.5 | +7.3
Rebounds per game:
Anthony Edwards: 3.0 | 5.8 | -2.8
Assists per game:
Karl-Anthony Towns: 2.7 | 5.0 | -2.3
SportsTips’ NBA Pick:
Minnesota Timberwolves (-120)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
