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Wednesday’s NBA schedule features a battle between two teams entangled in the tight Western Conference playoff race as the Minnesota Timberwolves head south to meet the New Orleans Pelicans at 8 p.m. ET.
Minnesota (24-25) split a pair of games against Houston in recent days, last falling in a 119-114 loss on Monday. This was a one-point game deep into the fourth quarter before Jalen Green took over and stepped up huge for the Rockets down the stretch. He put up a career-high 42 points while Anthony Edwards led the T-Wolves with 31 points and five assists in the loss.
New Orleans (26-22) has hit a wall in late January with five straight losses, last falling in a 99-98 nailbiter to Denver yesterday. The Pelicans managed to battle back from a 19-point deficit in the second half and had a chance to stun the west leaders in the final seconds. However, none of their shot attempts connected as the Nuggets survived. Nikola Jokic returned from a two-game absence to drop a triple-double in the win. CJ McCollum led the Pels with 20 points in the loss.
Rudy Gobert is dealing with a groin injury and is listed as questionable for Minnesota. Meanwhile, Karl-Anthony Towns is still out with his calf injury and there is no timetable for his return. For New Orleans, Zion Williamson is still out with his hamstring injury but is healing as expected and will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
New Orleans enters this game as a three-point favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook. The total is listed at 230.
Timberwolves vs. Pelicans, 8 p.m. ET
Pick ATS: Pelicans -3
Gobert not being 100% could be a significant blow for the Wolves as they’d be vulnerable against Jonas Valanciunas down low. Meanwhile, there will be a sense of urgency on the Pels’ side as they can ill afford to lose any more of these games in the absence of Williamson. I’ll take New Orleans to get the job done and cover at home here.
Over/Under: Over 230
The Pelicans have shot just 46.7% from the field during this current losing streak and it’s been a struggle for them to crack 100 points. Once again at home, I’ll predict that they’ll get things in gear for this one and push the pace offensively. Take the over.