Who's Playing
Minnesota Timberwolves @ Oklahoma City Thunder
Current Records: Minnesota 17-14, Oklahoma City 26-5
How To Watch
- When: Tuesday, December 31, 2024 at 8 p.m. ET
- Where: Paycom Center -- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- TV: NBATV
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $64.35
What to Know
The Minnesota Timberwolves will face off against the Oklahoma City Thunder at 8:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday at Paycom Center. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as the Timberwolves come in on three and the Thunder on six.
The Timberwolves are headed into the matchup having just posted their closest win since October 24th on Sunday. They had just enough and edged the Spurs out 112-110.
Donte DiVincenzo and Rudy Gobert were among the main playmakers for the Timberwolves as the former scored 26 points plus seven rebounds and the latter dropped a double-double on 17 points and 15 rebounds. The dominant performance also gave Gobert a new career-high in offensive rebounds (11). Julius Randle, on the other hand, was considerably less helpful: he went 0-7 from deep.
The Timberwolves smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive rebounds. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 9.4 offensive rebounds per game earlier this season, but in their last five matches they've averaged 12.4.
Meanwhile, the Thunder posted their biggest victory since December 5th on Sunday. They put the hurt on the Grizzlies with a sharp 130-106 win. With Oklahoma City ahead 76-50 at the half, the game was all but over already.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got back to being his usual excellent self, as he went 14 for 19 en route to 35 points plus seven assists and six rebounds. His performance made up for a slower contest against the Hornets on Saturday.
Minnesota's victory bumped their record up to 17-14. As for Oklahoma City, they are on a roll lately: they've won 15 of their last 16 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 26-5 record this season.
The Timberwolves are hoping to beat the odds on Tuesday, as the experts think they're headed for a loss. For those looking to play the spread, take note: they are a solid 5-2 against the spread when playing as the underdog.
The Timberwolves didn't have too much breathing room in their match against the Thunder when the teams last played back in January, but they still walked away with a 107-101 win. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Gilgeous-Alexander, who went 10 for 18 en route to 37 points plus eight assists and seven rebounds. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will the Timberwolves still be able to contain Gilgeous-Alexander? Check CBSSports.com after the match to find out.
Odds
Oklahoma City is a solid 6.5-point favorite against Minnesota, according to the latest NBA odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Thunder as a 7.5-point favorite.
The over/under is 216.5 points.
See NBA picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine's advanced computer model. Get picks now.
Series History
Minnesota has won 7 out of their last 10 games against Oklahoma City.
- Jan 29, 2024 - Minnesota 107 vs. Oklahoma City 101
- Jan 20, 2024 - Oklahoma City 102 vs. Minnesota 97
- Dec 26, 2023 - Oklahoma City 129 vs. Minnesota 106
- Nov 28, 2023 - Minnesota 106 vs. Oklahoma City 103
- Apr 14, 2023 - Minnesota 120 vs. Oklahoma City 95
- Dec 16, 2022 - Minnesota 112 vs. Oklahoma City 110
- Dec 03, 2022 - Oklahoma City 135 vs. Minnesota 128
- Oct 23, 2022 - Minnesota 116 vs. Oklahoma City 106
- Oct 19, 2022 - Minnesota 115 vs. Oklahoma City 108
- Mar 09, 2022 - Minnesota 132 vs. Oklahoma City 102
