Minnesota Timberwolves (49-33, sixth in the Western Conference) vs. San Antonio Spurs (62-20, second in the Western Conference)
San Antonio; Monday, 9:30 p.m. EDT
LINE: Spurs -13.5; over/under is 216.5
WESTERN CONFERENCE SECOND ROUND: Spurs host first series matchup
BOTTOM LINE: The San Antonio Spurs host the Minnesota Timberwolves to start the Western Conference second round. Minnesota went 2-1 against San Antonio during the regular season. The Spurs won the last regular season matchup 126-123 on Sunday, Jan. 18 led by 39 points from Victor Wembanyama, while Anthony Edwards scored 55 points for the Timberwolves.
The Spurs are 36-16 in Western Conference games. San Antonio ranks seventh in the Western Conference with 11.4 offensive rebounds per game led by Luke Kornet averaging 3.4.
The Timberwolves are 31-21 in Western Conference play. Minnesota is 6-4 in games decided by 3 points or fewer.
The Spurs make 48.3% of their shots from the field this season, which is 2.1 percentage points higher than the Timberwolves have allowed to their opponents (46.2%). The Timberwolves average 13.8 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.8 more makes per game than the Spurs give up.
TOP PERFORMERS: Stephon Castle is scoring 16.6 points per game and averaging 5.3 rebounds for the Spurs. De’Aaron Fox is averaging 19.5 points and 3.6 rebounds over the last 10 games.
Rudy Gobert is averaging 10.9 points, 11.5 rebounds and 1.6 blocks for the Timberwolves. Ayo Dosunmu is averaging 14.8 points and 1.9 rebounds while shooting 60.4% over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Spurs: 7-3, averaging 118.0 points, 45.7 rebounds, 26.8 assists, 7.7 steals and 6.4 blocks per game while shooting 48.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 108.7 points per game.
Timberwolves: 7-3, averaging 118.4 points, 42.7 rebounds, 26.4 assists, 7.7 steals and 5.1 blocks per game while shooting 49.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 113.9 points.
INJURIES: Spurs: David Jones Garcia: out for season (ankle).
Timberwolves: Anthony Edwards: out (knee), Kyle Anderson: day to day (illness), Ayo Dosunmu: day to day (calf), Donte DiVincenzo: out for season (leg).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Read the full article here