The Western Conference Finals move to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Saturday night, where the desperate Timberwolves are slight home underdogs vs. the Thunder.
The latter are heavily favored to not only win this series, but also win the NBA Finals. But they have a tough task on Saturday night, as the Timberwolves are 4-1 at home this postseason, with each of those wins coming by double-digits.
In both Games 1 and 2 of this series, Minnesota started off strong before wilting in the second half amid unrelenting pressure from the Thunder, who are one of the deepest, most athletic teams in recent memory.
Will Anthony Edwards find his shooting touch at Target Center and make this series interesting going into Game 4? Or will the Thunder once again prove too much for the Wolves over 48 minutes?
Thunder vs. Wolves Game 3 Betting Odds
DK FD bet365
OKC spread -2.5 (-112) -2.5 (-114) -3 (-110)
MIN spread +2.5 (-108) +2.5 (-106) +3 (-110)
OKC ML -142 -146 -150
MIN ML +120 +124 +125
Total 218 (o-112; u-108) 218 (o-110; u-110) 218 (o-110; u-110)
How to Watch Thunder vs. Timberwolves Game 3
Tipoff: 8:30 p.m. ET
Channel: ABC
Thunder vs. Wolves Game 3 Player Props
Anthony Edwards 4+ Made Threes (+130 at bet365) -- 0.75 units
This is a bit of a gut play, but we trust Minnesota's best player to rediscover his touch tonight.
Edwards is just too good of a shooter (39.5 percent in the regular season; 36.1 in the playoffs), and his volume is too consistent, for him not to have a breakout 3-point shooting night at some point in this series.
This year's NBA regular-season leader in both 3-point attempts (811) and made threes (320) stayed hot in the first two rounds of the playoffs, making 35 of 91 total 3PA (38.4 percent) vs. the Lakers and Warriors in the Western Conference quarterfinals and semis.
He's struggled from outside against the Thunder, though. He had a 3-for-8 night in Game 1 followed by a 1-for-9 performance in Game 2.
But given that he made at least four 3-pointers in six of 10 playoff games before this series, with five or more made 3's in 5/10 games, the law of averages says that Edwards is due to knock down a handful of triples tonight.
More importantly, a close look at his attempts in both Games 1 and 2 offers good reason to believe he's going to start cashing in.
In Game 1, his 3-for-8 3pt shooting night included a 70-foot heave at the second quarter buzzer. Most of his seven legitimate attempts were clean looks on pull-ups, including one in transition and four as the pick-and-roll ball handler, as OKC chose to go under screens and live with Edwards' attempts.
While those shots didn't fall, it's not as if the Thunder were preventing him from getting open.
In Game 2, it was more of the same (including another heave from beyond halfcourt), as Edwards just missed several open looks, including a couple wide-open shots that he rarely misses.
Don't expect Edwards, who is 18-for-38 (47.3 percent) from 3 in home playoff games this year, to continue to clank open 3-pointers.
Thunder vs. Wolves Game 3 Pick, Best Bets
While I expect Edwards to make sure tonight's game stays interesting for a while, the Thunder just have so many more viable options than the Timberwolves right now.
That's especially true if Julius Randle continues to struggle. After draining 5-of-6 3-pointers in the first half of Game 1 to go into the break with 20 points, Randle has scored 14 total points on 5-for-16 FG shooting over the last six quarters. He's also turned the ball over nine times this series, and his combined plus-minus in Games 1 and 2 is a horrific -32.
Defensively, Minnesota doesn't appear any closer to finding an answer for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is averaging 34.8 points per game in six OKC-MIN meetings this year.
Still, I do like the desperate Wolves on the first-half moneyline in Game 3, as a strong start in front of their home crowd shouldn't catch anyone off guard.
The Thunder are a great bet to cover the tight spread, though (even if Minnesota summons its A-plus game).
Lastly, OKC strikes me as a near-lock to go over 110 points in every game of this series thanks to their depth, so we'll once again take them to go over their team total.
Thunder vs. Timberwolves Game 3 Best Bets:
Wolves 1H ML (+100 at FD, bet365) -- 1 unit
Thunder -2.5 (-112 at DK) -- 1 unit
Thunder TT Over 110.5 (-105 at DK) -- 1 unit
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This story was originally published May 24, 2025 at 11:55 AM.