Ricky Dimon
The Oklahoma City Thunder were tested for a while in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday, but they asserted their dominance throughout the 2nd half to seize a convincing 1-0 lead in the series. Will the Timberwolves bounce back on Thursday night and tie things up heading back to Minnesota, or will the Thunder take complete control? Let’s get into our Timberwolves vs Thunder Same Game Parlay for the action, which tips off at 8:30 pm ET on ESPN. Make sure you also check out our NBA picks for tonight’s game as well as all the Conference Finals.
Thunder -7.5 (-112)
Over 214.5 (-110)
Alex Caruso Over 1.5 three-pointers made (+135)
Timberwolves vs Thunder Same Game Parlay odds: +625
Part of the value in a Same Game Parlay, of course, is that all of its components can be correlated if you so choose. That is the entire plan here, as OKC guard Alex Caruso draining at least a couple of threes would obviously work well with the Thunder covering in addition to the over cashing. Let’s break down all of the SGP legs.
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Oklahoma City Thunder -7.5 over Minnesota Timberwolves (-112)
Oklahoma City was downright bad in the first half of Game 1 but trailed by only 4 points at halftime. It was on in the second half, as the Thunder outscored the Timberwolves 70-40 over the final 24 minutes en route to a 114-88 victory. Just think what would have happened if the home team had not come out of the gates slowly on the heels of a 7-game series against the Denver Nuggets. I’m not saying the Thunder are going to win Game 2 by 50 because the Timberwolves can also be expected to raise their overall level, but asking the best team in basketball to cover a modest -7.5 spread at home should not be too much.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (31 points in the opener) brings his best pretty much every night, and now he may be playing with even more spring in his step after being named NBA MVP on Wednesday. At the other end of the floor, OKC showed why it was the Western Conference’s No. 1 scoring defense during the regular season at 107.6 ppg allowed. It limited Anthony Edwards to 18 points on 5-for-13 shooting. Give me this juggernaut of a team to win and cover in Game 2.
Read our full Timberwolves vs Thunder prediction for Game 2
Over 214.5 (-110)
It’s hard to think that the T-Wolves will be kept under the 90-point mark again on Thursday – and probably not even under the century mark. Edwards did not attack the basket at all in Game 1, recording just 1 layup or dunk and otherwise attempting nothing but jump shots. As a team, Minnesota went 15-for-51 from three-point range and committed 17 turnovers. I don’t care how formidable the Thunder’s defense is; the Timberwolves are almost certain to be much more competent offensively in Game 2. As for OKC’s offense, it had every answer for everything Minnesota threw at it in the second half. There is no reason for head coach Mark Daigneault to switch anything up on Thursday, so additional success for SGA and company can be expected. Let’s add the Over to our Timberwolves vs Thunder Same Game Parlay.
Find out our expert’s Timberwolves vs Thunder first basket best bet for tonight at +650 odds
Alex Caruso Over 1.5 three-pointers made (+135)
All 3 of Caruso’s made field goals in Game 1 came from the land of plenty. He was 3-for-4 from the field and 3-for-3 from deep. Success from three-point range is nothing new for the 31-year-old, who also shot the ball well in round 2 against Denver. Caruso has made multiple three-pointers in 6 of his last 8 contests dating back to the start of that series, including a 5-for-9 effort during a Game 1 loss to the Nuggets.
It’s also worth noting that the Texas A&M product sank 3 triples on Tuesday even though he logged only 22 minutes in what became a blowout late. Caruso figures to play more minutes in Game 2 if Minnesota can keep it at least somewhat competitive. He played 28, 24, 27 and 26 minutes off the bench in the last 4 games against Denver.
