The first-round series between the Lakers and Timberwolves heads to Minnesota for a Game 3 matchup on Friday night. This 2025 NBA Playoffs series is knotted, 1-1, after the teams also split four regular-season matchups. L.A. won Game 2, 94-85, as it held Minnesota to its season-low in points. Los Angeles went 50-32 in the regular season and were 19-22 on the road. Meanwhile, Minnesota was 49-33 on the year and 25-16 at home. This is the third all-time postseason meeting between the franchises, with the last coming in 2004, and the Lakers prevailed 4-2 in both prior meetings.

Tip-off is at 9:30 p.m. ET from the Target Center in Minneapolis. Minnesota is a 3.5-point favorite in the latest Timberwolves vs. Lakers odds from SportsLine consensus, an increase from opening as 1.5-point favorites. The over/under for total points scored is 207.5. The over/under for total points scored is 208.5. Minnesota is at -166 on the money line (risk $166 to win $100), while L.A. is priced at +139 (risk $100 to win $139). Before making any Lakers vs. Timberwolves picks, you NEED to see what the SportsLine Projection Model has to say.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past six-plus seasons. The model enters the first full week of the 2025 NBA playoffs on a sizzling 156-116 roll on all top-rated NBA picks dating back to last season, returning nearly $4,000. It is also 22-11 (67%) on top-rated NBA against-the-spread picks this season. Anyone following could have seen HUGE returns!

The model has simulated Timberwolves vs. Lakers 10,000 times and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning Over on the point total, and it also says one side of the spread hits almost 60% of the time!

Who wins Lakers vs. Timberwolves, and which side of the spread hits in almost 60% of simulations? ... Join SportsLine right now to find out which side of the spread you should be all over, all from the model on a 156-116 roll on top-rated NBA picks!