1st Quarter Report
The Timberwolves have overcome an early deficit to take the lead back in this one. After one quarter, neither squad has the contest in the bag, but the Timberwolves lead 32-29 over the Cavaliers.
If the Timberwolves keep playing like this, they’ll bump their record up to 23-19 in no time. On the other hand, the Cavaliers will have to make due with a 34-7 record unless they turn things around.
Who’s Playing
Cleveland Cavaliers @ Minnesota Timberwolves
Current Records: Cleveland 34-6, Minnesota 22-19
How To Watch
- When: Saturday, January 18, 2025 at 9 p.m. ET
- Where: Target Center — Minneapolis, Minnesota
- TV: FanDuel SN – North Plus
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $25.00
What to Know
The Cleveland Cavaliers’ road trip will continue as they head out to face the Minnesota Timberwolves at 9:00 p.m. ET on Saturday at Target Center. The Cavaliers are strutting in with some offensive muscle as they’ve averaged 122 points per game this season.
The Cavaliers are headed into the contest having just suffered their biggest defeat since May 7, 2024 on Thursday. They wound up on the wrong side of a painful 134-114 walloping at the hands of the Thunder. Cleveland was in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 75-49.
Even though they lost, the Cavaliers were working as a unit and finished the game with 32 assists (they’re ranked fifth in assists per game overall). They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as the Thunder only posted 25.
Meanwhile, the Timberwolves didn’t have too much trouble with the Knicks on Friday as they won 116-99.
The Timberwolves can attribute much of their success to Anthony Edwards, who shot 8-for-13 from downtown and dropped a double-double on 36 points and 13 rebounds, and Naz Reid, who made all 6 shots he took from beyond the arc racking up 23 points plus eight rebounds. The matchup was Edwards’ third in a row with at least 30 points.
Cleveland’s loss ended a six-game streak of away wins and brought them to 34-6. As for Minnesota, their victory was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 22-19.
This contest is shaping up to be a blowout: The Cavaliers haven’t had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 122 points per game (they’re ranked second in scoring overall). It’s a different story for the Timberwolves, though, as they’ve been averaging only 109.9. The only thing between the Cavaliers and another offensive beatdown is the Timberwolves. Will they be able to keep them contained?
Looking ahead, the Cavaliers are the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by 7.5 points. They might be worth a quick bet since they’re sitting on a six game streak of covering the spread when playing as the favorites on the road.
Odds
Cleveland is a big 7.5-point favorite against Minnesota, according to the latest NBA odds.
The line on this game has moved quite a bit since it opened, as it started out with the Cavaliers as a 4-point favorite.
The over/under is 226.5 points.
See NBA picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get picks now.
Series History
Minnesota has won 6 out of their last 10 games against Cleveland.
- Mar 22, 2024 – Minnesota 104 vs. Cleveland 91
- Mar 08, 2024 – Cleveland 113 vs. Minnesota 104
- Jan 14, 2023 – Minnesota 110 vs. Cleveland 102
- Nov 13, 2022 – Minnesota 129 vs. Cleveland 124
- Feb 28, 2022 – Minnesota 127 vs. Cleveland 122
- Dec 10, 2021 – Cleveland 123 vs. Minnesota 106
- Feb 01, 2021 – Cleveland 100 vs. Minnesota 98
- Jan 31, 2021 – Minnesota 109 vs. Cleveland 104
- Jan 05, 2020 – Minnesota 118 vs. Cleveland 103
- Dec 28, 2019 – Cleveland 94 vs. Minnesota 88
