The Lakers and Timberwolves each won one game in Los Angeles and are looking to take a 2-1 series lead in Friday’s Game 3. Each of the first two games was wildly entertaining, and it should be another great contest on Friday night in the late game. The Target Center in Minneapolis will be jumping for Game 3, which has a 9:35 p.m. ET tip-off. Let’s take a look at my Lakers vs. Timberwolves best bets for Game 3 on DraftKings Sportsbook.
In the bigger picture, the Wolvers are three-point home favorites with the total set at O/U 207.5 points. The injury report looks good for both teams to have their regular rotations, so let’s take a look at what we can learn from the first two games as we look forward to Game 3.
Lakers vs. Timberwolves best bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Anthony Edwards 30+ Points (+155)
The Wolves earned a split in L.A. despite Edwards not being at his best. He had 22 points and 25 points in the two games, but he is still clearly the team’s go-to option since he took exactly 22 field goal attempts in each of the first two games.
He finished the regular season on a great run with 30+ points in four of his last seven games, including his most recent home game, when he dropped 43 points in 40 minutes against the Jazz. Obviously, the Lakers are a much tougher opponent than the Jazz, but Edwards still has a good chance to step up in this huge matchup.
Edwards scored 30+ points in four of Minnesota’s last five home games in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, and he’s a proven playoff performer. In such an important game at home, look for him to be even more aggressive on Friday and try to have a legacy game and push his team to a strong lead in the series.
Rui Hachimura over 1.5 three-pointers (-115)
Hachimura played big minutes in each of the first two games of this series. He played 30 minutes and hit three three-pointers in Game 1 but didn’t make any three-pointers in Game 2. He did play 34 minutes, though, and still had multiple three-point attempts.
In his last nine games dating back to the regular season, Huchimura has averaged 2.2 three-pointers per game and made multiple three-pointers in six of those nine contests.
He has made two or more three-pointers in eight straight games in which the Lakers were underdogs, making this one of my Lakers vs. Timberwolves best bets for Game 3.
Jaden McDaniels over 19.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists (-120)
McDaniels was a huge difference-maker in Game 1, racking up 36 PRA (Points + Rebounds + Assists), but he only had 13 PRA in Game 2 as the Lakers’ defense shifted their focus his direction. He still took 11 shots but went just 3-for-11 (27.3%) from the field.
This line is low enough, though, that he doesn’t have to go off like he did in Game 1 to end up over this amount. In the regular season, he averaged 19.9 PRA per game overall and 20.7 PRA in his 41 home games.
He struggled a bit down the stretch at the end of the regular season, but he found his form in Game 1 and still had a big enough workload in Game 2 to expect a Game 3 performance that pushes him past this number.
