NBA Basketball BETTING PREVIEW - Minnesota Timberwolves @ Oklahoma City Thunder

NBA Basketball

2025-05-28 - Minnesota Timberwolves at Oklahoma City Thunder

A Sports Betting Preview by FirstDown

Minnesota Timberwolves @ Oklahoma City Thunder
United States : NBA Basketball Playoff Western Conference Finals Game 5
Wednesday 28th May 2025 - Scheduled 8:30pm
1:30am (British Time)

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Preview

They came out looking to make a statement in Game 4, which they did, but perhaps most impressive about the Oklahoma City Thunder is the way they managed to take every big haymaker thrown at them by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

They are still a young team and so it would have been a challenge, especially on the road, but the Thunder kept making the big plays at the big moments and ultimately that was enough to hold on for a victory and, most importantly, a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference Finals.

The first of three close out opportunities is in front of the home fans with both teams heading back to Oklahoma City and you do have to wonder if the Timberwolves have much left in the tank. They did almost everything right in the two games played at home, but the team could not make the stops needed and, for a second season in a row, the Timberwolves look to be coming up one Round short of the NBA Finals.

No one will be giving up just yet and the Timberwolves may look to make a couple of adjustments in their bid to keep this Series alive and bring it back home.

However, it cannot be ignored about how much the Minnesota Timberwolves put into the last game.

The bench produced historically strong numbers and the NBA Playoffs have long proven that role players find things that much tougher on the road than they do when playing at home. So it may be asking a lot of those bench players to make the same impact again, while the Oklahoma City Thunder have been much more solid at home throughout this post-season run.

After seeing what happened in Game 3, the Thunder may be more prepared to deal with what should be an early onslaught from the desperate Timberwolves. Oklahoma City have shown they have players who can step up though and they will take confidence from the fact that both home wins over Minnesota have been very comfortable in the Western Conference Finals.

Favourites and the hosts have both been trending very well in Game 5 of the recent Conference Finals and those teams are 14-4 and 13-5 against the spread respectively.

And those teams looking to close a Series who are favoured by at least 4.5 points have turned in a 10-3 record against the spread in the last thirteen Conference Finals games with that situation set.

With that all considered, the Oklahoma City may weather the early storm and grind down the belief of the Minnesota Timberwolves through the first three Quarters. The pumped up home crowd can then push the hosts home with a win and a cover as they look to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012.

Prediction

Lay the points with the top Seed in this potential close out spot.

The Pick :

Oklahoma City 117-107 Minnesota Timberwolves

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll back Oklahoma City Thunder - 8.5 Points at -115 with Bookmaker.eu