Minnesota Timberwolves (22-23) vs Toronto Raptors (20-25)
Game Info: Thursday, January 19, 2023 at 8:00 pm (Target Center)
Betting Odds: Minnesota Timberwolves +3.5 -- Over/Under: Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Toronto Raptors and the Minnesota Timberwolves collide at the Target Center on Thursday night.
The Toronto Raptors have started to turn things around as they’ve won four of their last six games overall, but they will be hoping to bounce back here after coming up short against the Bucks in a 130-122 road loss on Tuesday. Fred VanVleet led the team with 39 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, Gary Trent Jr added 28 points, Pascal Siakam tallied 23 points on eight of 13 shooting while Scottie Barnes chipped in with 14 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and three steals. As a team, the Raptors shot 45 percent from the field and 13 of 35 from the 3-point line as they exploded for 40 points in the second quarter to climb out of a hole, only to get blown away in the third quarter by 38-23 as they just had no answer for the Bucks’ Jrue Holiday who torched them for 37 points on 16 of 26 shooting.
Meanwhile, the Minnesota Timberwolves have been in decent form as they’ve won six of their last nine games overall, but they will be hoping to avoid a third straight defeat after falling short to the Nuggets in a 122-118 road loss last night. Jaden McDaniels led the team with 18 points on seven of 10 shooting, Naz Reid added 17 points while Anthony Edwards chipped in with 16 points. As a team, the Timberwolves shot 51 percent from the field and 12 of 32 from the 3-point line as they looked to be in full control after pouring in 35 points in the third quarter to build a 10-point lead, but they never put the Nuggets away and got burned by 34-23 in the fourth quarter to fall just short in the end.
Looking at the betting trends, the Raptors are 4-1 ATS in their last five games playing on one days’ rest and the Timberwolves are 4-9 ATS in their last 13 games against a team with a losing record.
Head to head, the under is 4-0 in the last four meetings overall, the Raptors are 25-10 ATS in the last 35 meetings overall and the Raptors are 4-0 ATS in the last four meetings in Minnesota.
The Raptors have been on a pretty good run lately despite all the trade rumors and they were more than competitive against the Bucks in their last outing, while the Timberwolves have been in decent form and they will be kicking themselves after failing to put away the red-hot Nuggets last night. The Timberwolves come into this meeting as the team in better form, but it’s tough to play on zero days rest against the Raptors who are 4-0 ATS in the last four meetings in Minnesota. You can make an argument for either side here, but I’ll lean towards the Raptors to get the win in a close one.
Peter’s Pick Toronto -3.5
AUTHOR: Peter Tran
Mitch's Take...
