Who’s Playing
Minnesota Timberwolves @ Orlando Magic
Current Records: Minnesota 19-17, Orlando 22-16
How To Watch
- When: Thursday, January 9, 2025 at 7 p.m. ET
- Where: Kia Center — Orlando, Florida
- TV: NBATV
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $25.75
What to Know
The Minnesota Timberwolves are taking a road trip to face off against the Orlando Magic at 7:00 p.m. ET on Thursday at Kia Center. Both have allowed few points on average, (the Timberwolves: 107.7, the Magic: 103.2) so any points scored will be well earned.
The Timberwolves are headed into this one after the oddsmakers set last week’s over/under low at 221.5, but even that wound up being too high. They came out on top against the Pelicans by a score of 104-97 on Tuesday. The score was all tied up 54-54 at the break, but Minnesota was the better team in the second half.
Among those leading the charge was Anthony Edwards, who shot 7-for-11 from beyond the arc and almost dropped a double-double on 32 points and nine rebounds. His evening made it three games in a row in which he has scored at least 30 points.
Meanwhile, the Magic made the experts look like fools on Monday as the team pulled off a huge upset of the Knicks. They walked away with a 103-94 win over New York.
The victory made it two in a row for Minnesota and bumps their season record up to 19-17. As for Orlando, their win bumped their record up to 22-16.
Keep an eye on the arc in Thursday’s match: The Timberwolves have made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having averaged 15.1 threes per game. It’s a different story for the Magic, though, as they’ve been averaging only 11.5. Given the Timberwolves’ sizable advantage in that area, the Magic will need to find a way to close that gap.
Going forward, the Timberwolves are the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by 5.5 points. For those looking to play the spread, watch out: Minnesota is expected to win, but their 9-16-1 record against the spread as such isn’t exactly encouraging.
Odds
Minnesota is a solid 5.5-point favorite against Orlando, according to the latest NBA odds.
The line has drifted a bit towards the Timberwolves, as the game opened with the Timberwolves as a 4-point favorite.
The oddsmakers are predicting a defensive showdown and set the over/under low at 202 points.
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Series History
Orlando has won 7 out of their last 10 games against Minnesota.
- Feb 02, 2024 – Orlando 108 vs. Minnesota 106
- Jan 09, 2024 – Minnesota 113 vs. Orlando 92
- Feb 03, 2023 – Orlando 127 vs. Minnesota 120
- Nov 16, 2022 – Minnesota 126 vs. Orlando 108
- Mar 11, 2022 – Orlando 118 vs. Minnesota 110
- Nov 01, 2021 – Orlando 115 vs. Minnesota 97
- May 09, 2021 – Minnesota 128 vs. Orlando 96
- Jan 20, 2021 – Orlando 97 vs. Minnesota 96
- Mar 06, 2020 – Orlando 132 vs. Minnesota 118
- Feb 28, 2020 – Orlando 136 vs. Minnesota 125
