Western Conference heavyweights Minnesota Timberwolves and the Golden State Warriors will continue their respective playoff pursuits in Thursday's meeting at Target Center.
Recovering from a rough start to 2025, the home side are looking to win a fifth game in six outings, while the visitors head into this one having lost four of their most recent five matches.
Match preview
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After three consecutive defeats to open the new year, the Minnesota Timberwolves responded with three wins on the bounce against the Los Angeles Clippers, the New Orleans Pelicans and the Orlando Magic before losing out to the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday.
With little time to dwell on an agonising defeat to the Grizzlies, Chris Finch's men took on a struggling Washington Wizards outfit at the Capital One Arena on Tuesday knowing that anything less than a victory would be deemed a bad result.
Leading by just three points after the opening 36 minutes of action, the Timberwolves knew they were in danger of suffering another fourth-quarter heartbreak should they fail to put the contest to bed and obliged with a commanding display in the final 12 minutes.
Unsurprisingly, shooting guard Anthony Edwards was the star of the show once again, tallying a game-high 41 points on 14-25 shooting, including 5-11 from beyond the three-point line, to go along with six rebounds and seven assists.
Now 21-18 for the campaign, the TWolves are currently eighth in the West ahead of arguably their most daunting run this term with games against the New York Knicks, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Grizzlies to follow after their next involvement.
Since coming out on top in this season's first matchup against the away side, Thursday's hosts have been beaten in the subsequent two encounters but now have the opportunity to even the season series, which could come in handy later.
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Off the back of wins over the Philadelphia 76ers and the Memphis Grizzlies by a combined margin of 42 to get 2025 underway, the Warriors have since undergone a downward spiral over the last eight days.
Consecutive defeats against the Sacramento Kings and the Miami Heat were followed by a temporary reprieve against the Detroit Pistons before Steve Kerr's men were beaten by the Indiana Pacers and most recently, the Toronto Raptors.
Having led for almost two-thirds of the entire contest last time out, the Warriors were pipped via a 6-0 run in the final two minutes of the contest, where they failed to score a single point after Kyle Anderson's go-ahead bucket moments earlier.
As a result, the Warriors find themselves outside playoff contention as things stand and facing the prospect of missing out on the postseason with a couple of teams in and around them starting to get themselves back on track.
Following four straight matches against Eastern Conference opponents, Thursday's visitors will now set out to take on one of their conference rivals, knowing a defeat here would leave them further behind in the race for a playoff berth.
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Team News
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Twenty-four-year-old Terrence Shannon Jr recently suffered a grade 2 mid-foot sprain and is set to miss about a month of action for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Meanwhile, Rob Dillingham remains a doubt for this one having not featured since coming off injured in his side's clash against the Atlanta Hawks on Christmas Eve.
Power forward Draymond Green was absent from the Warriors' defeat to the Raptors through illness but could be back in time to suit up for Thursday's encounter.
However, Jonathan Kuminga is a guaranteed absentee for the away side here as he ramps up his recovery from an ankle injury he suffered earlier in the month.
Guards Gary Payton II and Brandin Podziemski are expected to miss out here due to calf and abdomen injuries respectively, although both men are not far off making a return to action.
Minnesota Timberwolves possible starting five:
Edwards, DiVincenzo; McDaniels, Randle; Gobert
Golden State Warriors possible starting five:
Curry, Schroder; Hield, Wiggins; Jackson-Davis
We say: Timberwolves to win by 4+ points
Despite the return of Steph Curry last time out, the Warriors lacked real spark on the offensive side of things, and while the Timberwolves have been far from their best attacking-wise, we fancy them to get the job done.
Adepoju Marvellous
