Minnesota Timberwolves vs Portland Trail Blazers prediction 1-12-24 Picks

Portland Trail Blazers (10-26) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (26-11)
January 12, 2024 8:00 pm EDT
The Line: Minnesota Timberwolves -14.5; Over/Under: +221.5
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The Portland Trail Blazers and the Minnesota Timberwolves duke it out at the Target Center on Friday night. Here’s a Trail Blazers vs Timberwolves Prediction.

Portland Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers have been in poor form as they’ve lost five of their last six games and they will be hoping for a better performance after getting embarrassed by the Thunder in an ugly 139-77 road defeat last night. Anfernee Simons led the team with 14 points while Scoot Henderson added 13 points on four of 21 shooting, but no other player finished in double figures in this one. As a team, the Trail Blazers shot a horrid 27 percent from the field and 11 of 49 from the 3-point line as they just never looked alive in this one, scoring just 15 points in the second quarter to fall behind by 36 points going into halftime and things only got worse in the third quarter.

Portland Trail Blazers Team Facts

• The Trail Blazers have lost each of their last 16 road games against Western Conference opponents.
• The Trail Blazers have failed to cover the spread in each of their last six night games at Target Center.
• Nine of the Trail Blazers’ last 10 night games on the second leg of a back-to-back have gone UNDER the total points line.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Meanwhile, the Minnesota Timberwolves have been in a bit of a rut as they’ve lost four of their past six games overall and they will be looking to bounce back here after falling just short to the Celtics in a 127-120 overtime road loss on Wednesday. Anthony Edwards led the team with 29 points, Karl-Anthony Towns added 25 points with 13 rebounds and six assists, Naz Reid scored 19 points off the bench while Kyle Anderson chipped in with 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists. As a team, the Timberwolves shot 46 percent from the field and 14 of 34 from the 3-point line as they squandered a seven-point lead late in the fourth quarter, before they went cold in overtime to suffer one of their more disappointing losses this season.

Minnesota Timberwolves Team Facts

• The Timberwolves have won 14 of their last 15 night games against Northwest Division opponents that held a losing record.
• The Timberwolves have failed to cover the spread in each of their last eight home games against Western Conference opponents.
• Each of the Timberwolves’ last four home games against Northwest Division opponents have gone UNDER the total points line.

Trail Blazers vs Timberwolves Prediction

The Trail Blazers are still shorthanded with Deandre Ayton and Moses Brown ruled out, while the Timberwolves could be missing Rudy Gobert who sat out Wednesday’s game with a hip injury. The Trail Blazers have been in terrible shape and their confidence could not be any lower after getting embarrassed by the Thunder in a nightmare loss last night, while the Timberwolves could do with a win to get their season back on track after suffering a painful overtime loss in their last outing. It’s no surprise that the Timberwolves are so heavily favored in this one given how poor the Trail Blazers were last night, but I think we’re going to see a better effort here. I still have the Timberwolves winning easily at home, but I think we’re going to see the Trail Blazers hang around in this one.