The Minnesota Timberwolves will face the Brooklyn Nets on January 25 (Thursday) at Barclays Center Arena. This will be the first meeting between the two teams this season. The last time they faced each other was on April 4, 2023, when Minnesota won 107-102. Anthony Edwards scored 23 points, five rebounds, and three assists in that game. Spencer Dinwiddie had 30 points, three rebounds, six assists and one block for the Nets. The Timberwolves lead the all-time head-to-head matchups against the Nets 37-28.
Preview
The Timberwolves are currently in second place in the Western Conference and tied for the best record (31-13). They defeated the Washington Wizards 118-107 in their most recent game. Edwards scored 38 points, five assists and three rebounds in that match. Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert scored 27 points and 19 points, respectively. The win was important for Minnesota because they lost their previous two games against the Thunder and Hornets.
On the other hand, the Brooklyn Nets have continued their decline in the Eastern Conference standings and are currently in 11th place. They have lost their last two games, the most recent one against the New York Knicks. Mikal Bridges looked like a lone warrior in the game putting up 36 points, five assists and five rebounds. He will need the support of the whole team if the Nets want to win against the Timberwolves.
Starting lineup
Timberwolves point guard Mike Conley missed Wednesday’s game due to illness. Jaylen Clark is out with an Achilles injury. So the likely lineup of Timberwolves for the upcoming game is expected to involve Anthony Edwards, Nickell Alexander-Walker, Karl-Anthony Towns, Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert.
The Nets have few players on their injury report. Ben Simmons, Day’Ron Sharpe and Dariq Whitehead won’t be playing in the upcoming game. Cam Johnson is questionable with a left shoulder injury. The likely lineup of Nets for the game is expected to include Spencer Dinwiddie, Mikal Bridges, Lonnie Walker IV, Dorian Finney-Smith and Nic Claxton.
Also Read: NBA Players Who Have Been Charged For Sexual Assault
Prediction
The Timberwolves are favorites to win against the Nets. Although their performance has faltered a bit in the recent past, they have enough potential to pull out a win against Brooklyn. Both teams have two of the best defenders in the league. The game could be low-scoring, with the total being less than 217.5 points.
