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The Minnesota Timberwolves will take on the Denver Nuggets in Game 5 of their playoff series Tuesday night. Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. ET from Ball Arena in Denver and will air on NBA TV. The Timberwolves are coming off their first win of the series avoiding the sweep at home.
The Nuggets are dealing with no injuries while the Timberwolves have quite a few. Kyle Anderson, Jaden McDaniels, and Naz Reid are all still out, while Jaylen Nowell is questionable with a knee injury.
The Nuggets are 9.5-point favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook and the point total sits at 221.5. On the moneyline, the Nuggets are -450 while the Timberwolves are +360.
Timberwolves vs. Nuggets, 9 p.m. ET
Pick ATS: Timberwolves +9.5
I don't expect the Timberwolves to win this game, but they should keep it close. It’s an elimination game and they don't want their season to end. We will see the guys play a little harder than usual like they did in Game 4. I think it’s a tight game and the Nuggets get a few buckets late to seal the victory.
The Nuggets won their two home games by a combined 38 points. They don't want to keep this series going and give the Timberwolves another chance to play at home. Look for Denver to win tonight, but Minnesota will cover this spread.
Over/Under: Under 221.5
Games in this series have only gone under that total once. I think tonight is another defensive game. In the last game, the teams went over this total by one point largely because the game went into overtime. In elimination games, we typically see more defense as teams are on their heels doing everything they can to keep a series going. I don't think either team scores 120+ in this game, which should result in the under hitting.