The Minnesota Timberwolves can take a 3-0 lead in a playoff series for the first time in franchise history when they square off against the Phoenix Suns on Friday in Game 3 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix. In Game 2 on Tuesday, the Timberwolves took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven first round 2024 NBA playoff series with a 105-93 victory. The franchise, which played its inaugural season in 1989-90, has held a 2-0 series lead only one other time in history, against Denver in the first round in 2004 en route to a 4-1 series victory. Meanwhile the Suns are two losses way from not advancing past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since the pandemic-shortened season in 2019-20.
Tipoff is scheduled for 10:30 p.m. ET. Phoenix is listed as a 4-point favorite in the latest Suns vs. Timberwolves odds via SportsLine consensus while the over/under for total points scored is 206.5. Before making any Timberwolves vs. Suns picks or NBA predictions, be sure to see the NBA predictions and betting advice from SportsLine’s proven computer model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past five-plus seasons. The model enters the second week of the 2024 NBA playoffs on a sizzling 90-58 roll on all top-rated NBA picks this season, returning more than $2,800. Anyone following the model has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Suns vs. Timberwolves and just locked in its picks and Game 3 predictions. You can visit SportsLine now to see the picks. Here are several NBA betting lines and trends for Timberwolves vs. Suns:
- Suns vs. Timberwolves spread: Phoenix -4
- Suns vs. Timberwolves over/under: 206.5 points
- Suns vs. Timberwolves money line: Phoenix -185, Minnesota +155
- MIN: Timberwolves led the NBA in defensive efficiency (108.4 points per 100 possessions) in the regular season
- PHX: Kevin Durant ranked fifth in the league in scoring (27.1 points per game)
- Suns vs. Timberwolves picks: See picks at SportsLine
Why the Suns can cover
Despite the results of the first two games of the series, Phoenix knows it owned Minnesota during the regular season, winning all three matchups between the teams. In those three games, the Suns’ margin of victory was 15.7 points. That includes a 19-point win in Minneapolis in the regular season finale when the Timberwolves could’ve locked up the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs with a victory.
In addition, Kevin Durant remains an elite scorer. The 14-time NBA All-Star ranked fifth in the league in scoring (27.1 points per game) during the regular season. Through the first two playoff games, he is averaging 24.5 points and shooting 53.1% from the field and 50.0% from beyond the 3-point arc. See which team to back at SportsLine.
Why the Timberwolves can cover
Minnesota is widely regarded as the best defensive team in the league. Led by defensive anchors Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels, the Timberwolves allowed 108.4 points per 100 possessions during the regular season, which led the NBA. Through two playoff games they’ve held the Suns to 94.0 points per game, which is well shy of their season average of 116.2.
In addition, Minnesota has the best sixth man in the league in Naz Reid. The 24-year-old forward set career highs in scoring (13.5 points per game) and rebounding (5.2) this season. For his efforts, he was named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year on Wednesday, edging out the Kings‘ Malik Monk. See which team to back at SportsLine.
How to make Suns vs. Timberwolves picks
SportsLine’s model is leaning Over on the total, projecting the teams to combine for 218 points. The model also says one side of the spread hits well over 60% of the time. You can see the picks only at SportsLine.
So who wins Timberwolves vs. Suns, and which side of the spread hits well over 60% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Suns vs. Timberwolves spread you need to jump on, all from the model on a 90-58 roll on top-rated NBA picks this season, and find out.
require.config({"baseUrl":"https:\/\/sportsfly.cbsistatic.com\/fly-0679\/bundles\/sportsmediajs\/js-build","config":{"version":{"fly\/components\/accordion":"1.0","fly\/components\/alert":"1.0","fly\/components\/base":"1.0","fly\/components\/carousel":"1.0","fly\/components\/dropdown":"1.0","fly\/components\/fixate":"1.0","fly\/components\/form-validate":"1.0","fly\/components\/image-gallery":"1.0","fly\/components\/iframe-messenger":"1.0","fly\/components\/load-more":"1.0","fly\/components\/load-more-article":"1.0","fly\/components\/load-more-scroll":"1.0","fly\/components\/loading":"1.0","fly\/components\/modal":"1.0","fly\/components\/modal-iframe":"1.0","fly\/components\/network-bar":"1.0","fly\/components\/poll":"1.0","fly\/components\/search-player":"1.0","fly\/components\/social-button":"1.0","fly\/components\/social-counts":"1.0","fly\/components\/social-links":"1.0","fly\/components\/tabs":"1.0","fly\/components\/video":"1.0","fly\/libs\/easy-xdm":"2.4.17.1","fly\/libs\/jquery.cookie":"1.2","fly\/libs\/jquery.throttle-debounce":"1.1","fly\/libs\/jquery.widget":"1.9.2","fly\/libs\/omniture.s-code":"1.0","fly\/utils\/jquery-mobile-init":"1.0","fly\/libs\/jquery.mobile":"1.3.2","fly\/libs\/backbone":"1.0.0","fly\/libs\/underscore":"1.5.1","fly\/libs\/jquery.easing":"1.3","fly\/managers\/ad":"2.0","fly\/managers\/components":"1.0","fly\/managers\/cookie":"1.0","fly\/managers\/debug":"1.0","fly\/managers\/geo":"1.0","fly\/managers\/gpt":"4.3","fly\/managers\/history":"2.0","fly\/managers\/madison":"1.0","fly\/managers\/social-authentication":"1.0","fly\/utils\/data-prefix":"1.0","fly\/utils\/data-selector":"1.0","fly\/utils\/function-natives":"1.0","fly\/utils\/guid":"1.0","fly\/utils\/log":"1.0","fly\/utils\/object-helper":"1.0","fly\/utils\/string-helper":"1.0","fly\/utils\/string-vars":"1.0","fly\/utils\/url-helper":"1.0","libs\/jshashtable":"2.1","libs\/select2":"3.5.1","libs\/jsonp":"2.4.0","libs\/jquery\/mobile":"1.4.5","libs\/modernizr.custom":"2.6.2","libs\/velocity":"1.2.2","libs\/dataTables":"1.10.6","libs\/dataTables.fixedColumns":"3.0.4","libs\/dataTables.fixedHeader":"2.1.2","libs\/dateformat":"1.0.3","libs\/waypoints\/infinite":"3.1.1","libs\/waypoints\/inview":"3.1.1","libs\/waypoints\/jquery.waypoints":"3.1.1","libs\/waypoints\/sticky":"3.1.1","libs\/jquery\/dotdotdot":"1.6.1","libs\/jquery\/flexslider":"2.1","libs\/jquery\/lazyload":"1.9.3","libs\/jquery\/maskedinput":"1.3.1","libs\/jquery\/marquee":"1.3.1","libs\/jquery\/numberformatter":"1.2.3","libs\/jquery\/placeholder":"0.2.4","libs\/jquery\/scrollbar":"0.1.6","libs\/jquery\/tablesorter":"2.0.5","libs\/jquery\/touchswipe":"1.6.18","libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.core":"1.11.4","libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.draggable":"1.11.4","libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.mouse":"1.11.4","libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.position":"1.11.4","libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.slider":"1.11.4","libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.sortable":"1.11.4","libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.touch-punch":"0.2.3","libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.autocomplete":"1.11.4","libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.accordion":"1.11.4","libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.tabs":"1.11.4","libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.menu":"1.11.4","libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.dialog":"1.11.4","libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.resizable":"1.11.4","libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.button":"1.11.4","libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.tooltip":"1.11.4","libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.effects":"1.11.4","libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.datepicker":"1.11.4"}},"shim":{"liveconnection\/managers\/connection":{"deps":["liveconnection\/libs\/sockjs-0.3.4"]},"liveconnection\/libs\/sockjs-0.3.4":{"exports":"SockJS"},"libs\/setValueFromArray":{"exports":"set"},"libs\/getValueFromArray":{"exports":"get"},"fly\/libs\/jquery.mobile-1.3.2":["version!fly\/utils\/jquery-mobile-init"],"libs\/backbone.marionette":{"deps":["jquery","version!fly\/libs\/underscore","version!fly\/libs\/backbone"],"exports":"Marionette"},"fly\/libs\/underscore-1.5.1":{"exports":"_"},"fly\/libs\/backbone-1.0.0":{"deps":["version!fly\/libs\/underscore","jquery"],"exports":"Backbone"},"libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.tabs-1.11.4":["jquery","version!libs\/jquery\/ui\/jquery.ui.core","version!fly\/libs\/jquery.widget"],"libs\/jquery\/flexslider-2.1":["jquery"],"libs\/dataTables.fixedColumns-3.0.4":["jquery","version!libs\/dataTables"],"libs\/dataTables.fixedHeader-2.1.2":["jquery","version!libs\/dataTables"],"https:\/\/sports.cbsimg.net\/js\/CBSi\/app\/VideoPlayer\/AdobePass-min.js":["https:\/\/sports.cbsimg.net\/js\/CBSi\/util\/Utils-min.js"]},"map":{"*":{"adobe-pass":"https:\/\/sports.cbsimg.net\/js\/CBSi\/app\/VideoPlayer\/AdobePass-min.js","facebook":"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js","facebook-debug":"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all\/debug.js","google":"https:\/\/apis.google.com\/js\/plusone.js","google-csa":"https:\/\/www.google.com\/adsense\/search\/async-ads.js","google-javascript-api":"https:\/\/www.google.com\/jsapi","google-client-api":"https:\/\/accounts.google.com\/gsi\/client","gpt":"https:\/\/securepubads.g.doubleclick.net\/tag\/js\/gpt.js","hlsjs":"https:\/\/cdnjs.cloudflare.com\/ajax\/libs\/hls.js\/1.0.7\/hls.js","recaptcha":"https:\/\/www.google.com\/recaptcha\/api.js?onload=loadRecaptcha&render=explicit","recaptcha_ajax":"https:\/\/www.google.com\/recaptcha\/api\/js\/recaptcha_ajax.js","supreme-golf":"https:\/\/sgapps-staging.supremegolf.com\/search\/assets\/js\/bundle.js","taboola":"https:\/\/cdn.taboola.com\/libtrc\/cbsinteractive-cbssports\/loader.js","twitter":"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js","video-avia":"https:\/\/vidtech.cbsinteractive.com\/avia-js\/2.12.0\/player\/avia.min.js","video-avia-ui":"https:\/\/vidtech.cbsinteractive.com\/avia-js\/2.12.0\/plugins\/ui\/avia.ui.min.js","video-avia-gam":"https:\/\/vidtech.cbsinteractive.com\/avia-js\/2.12.0\/plugins\/gam\/avia.gam.min.js","video-avia-hls":"https:\/\/vidtech.cbsinteractive.com\/avia-js\/2.12.0\/plugins\/hls\/avia.hls.min.js","video-avia-playlist":"https:\/\/vidtech.cbsinteractive.com\/avia-js\/2.12.0\/plugins\/playlist\/avia.playlist.min.js","video-ima3":"https:\/\/imasdk.googleapis.com\/js\/sdkloader\/ima3.js","video-ima3-dai":"https:\/\/imasdk.googleapis.com\/js\/sdkloader\/ima3_dai.js","video-utils":"https:\/\/sports.cbsimg.net\/js\/CBSi\/util\/Utils-min.js","video-vast-tracking":"https:\/\/vidtech.cbsinteractive.com\/sb55\/vast-js\/vtg-vast-client.js"}},"waitSeconds":300});
Discover more from FOXIZ SPORTS
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.