Continued Dominance
Following a successful road trip, the Golden State Warriors will try to continue their dominance at home and over the woeful Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night.
Golden State (16-12) won 105-96 at Cleveland on Sunday to finish 3-2 on a road swing that included a 111-98 win last Wednesday over the Timberwolves (4-22), who have lost seven of their last eight and own the NBA’s worst record.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global have made Golden State -12.5 point spread favorites (NBA Odds) for today’s game, the over/under has been set at 187 total points (Matchup). Our public betting information shows that 79% of bets for this game have been placed on Golden State -12.5 View NBA Bet Percentages).
After opening the season with four straight losses at Oracle Arena, the Warriors have gone 7-1 there with the only loss coming in overtime to Southeast-leading Orlando on Dec. 3. Golden State, which is looking for its fifth straight home victory, has won four in a row there over the Timberwolves by an average of more than 18 points.
"I don’t know if we’re any good or not,” said Golden State coach Don Nelson, whose team is second in the league averaging 108.2 points per game but also is allowing an NBA-worst 106.4. "We’re able to win some games, put on a bad performance one night and a pretty good one the next.”
The Warriors shot 52.1 percent from the field versus the Cavaliers after shooting 38.6 in a 100-95 loss at New Jersey on Saturday.
Stephen Jackson scored 29 points and Baron Davis added 27 and 10 assists on Sunday for Golden State. The Warriors scored 38 in the first quarter and led by as many as 28 in the second half.
"Coming out in the first quarter and making shots always helps,” said Davis, who played 48 minutes despite a thigh bruise.
Jackson played nearly 45 minutes despite nursing a hyperextended knee. He’s averaging 24.5 points in his last four games and had 20 last week against the Timberwolves.
"I didn’t think I’d have either,” said Nelson of Jackson and Davis’ availability. "Shows you what I know."
Minnesota posted a season low for points with a 110-76 loss at New Orleans on Saturday to drop to 1-12 on the road. The Timberwolves failed to build off overcoming a 21-point deficit on Friday en route to their highest-scoring game this season, a 131-118 home win over Indiana.
Ryan Gomes had 20 points and Al Jefferson had 11 and 13 rebounds Saturday for Minnesota, which shot 38.8 percent after shooting 53.8 versus the Pacers. The Timberwolves also matched a season high with 21 turnovers.
"We didn’t have a lot of energy. I was afraid we might not,” Minnesota coach Randy Wittman said. "But that’s no excuse. We just got so careless with the ball. We started throwing the ball all over the place.”
The Timberwolves turned the ball over 16 times against the Warriors last week. Jefferson had 24 points and 14 rebounds in that contest and continues to be the team’s lone bright spot, averaging career bests with 20.3 points and 12.0 rebounds.
Minnesota has lost its last eight road contests since a 103-94 win on Nov. 26 at New Orleans.
By: Marc Young – theSpread.com – Email Us
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