Minnesota Timberwolves vs Houston Rockets Prediction, 1/16/2026 Preview and Pick

Game: Minnesota Timberwolves vs Houston Rockets

Date: Friday, January 16, 2026

Location: Toyota Center in Houston, TX

TV: ESPN

The Houston Rockets (23-14) are welcoming the Minnesota Timberwolves (27-14) at Toyota Center on Friday.

The Timberwolves took the court against the Bucks and notched a win by a score of 139-106 in their last game. Minnesota ended with a 59.8% field goal percentage (55 of 92) and buried 22 of their 42 3-point attempts. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Timberwolves buried 7 of their 12 shots for a rate of 58.3%. With respect to getting rebounds, they compiled 44 with 9 of them being offensive. They also recorded 37 assists for the matchup as well as forcing the other team into 20 turnovers and getting 9 steals. Regarding defending, Minnesota allowed 48.2% from the floor on 41 out of 85 shooting. Milwaukee distributed 29 dimes and had 12 steals for the game. Additionally, Milwaukee had 32 boards (9 offensive, 23 defensive) and added 2 blocks. Milwaukee finished the game at 57.9% at the free throw line by knocking down 11 of their 19 tries. They also made 13 of their 36 tries from 3-point land. In regard to fouls, the Timberwolves walked away with 16 while the Bucks had 14 fouls.

Julius Randle is a guy who played a role for the contest. Randle finished shooting 66.7% from the field and dished out 6 assists. He was on the court for 30 mins and pulled down 8 boards. He ended up with 29 points on 12 of 18 shooting.

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Minnesota enters this matchup with a record of 27-14 on the season. They are losing possession via turnover 14.2 times per game and as a team they commit 21.4 fouls every game. As a team, Minnesota is collecting 44.8 boards per contest and has earned 1,108 assists for the campaign, which is 10th in the league in terms of passing the rock. The Timberwolves are connecting on 37.4% on three-point shots (582 of 1,558) and 75.3% from the free throw line. They have an average of 120.3 points per outing (3rd in the league) while going 48.6% from the floor.

When they are on the defensive end, the Timberwolves are forcing 15.0 turnovers per contest while drawing 21.3 personal fouls. They surrender 35.3% on shots from downtown and they are 11th in the league in opponents points per game (114.6). The Timberwolves defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 46.0% (1,700 of 3,694) and they surrender 43.1 rebounds per game as a squad. They are ranked 15th in basketball in allowing assists with 1,057 surrendered so far this year.

The last time they took the hardwood, the Rockets walked away with a victory by a final of 119-113 when they faced the Bulls. The Rockets were able to corral 38 defensive rebounds and 12 offensive boards totaling 50 in the matchup. They also turned the ball over 9 times, while getting 5 steals in this game. The Bulls had 19 personal fouls in this contest which took the Rockets to the free throw line for 29 shots. They were able to bury 22 of them for a clip of 75.9%. In terms of shots from beyond the arc, Houston knocked down 7 of 24 attempts (29.2%). When the final whistle blew, the Rockets went 45 out of 88 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 51.1%. The Rockets permitted the Bulls to knock down 41 of 94 tries from the floor which had them sitting at 43.6% in the game. They wrapped up this game 32.4% from distance by shooting 12 out of 37 and ended up going 19 out of 23 from the free throw line (82.6%). When discussing cleaning up the glass, Houston allowed Chicago to pull down 40 in all (14 on the offensive side).

Kevin Durant was important for the Rockets for the game. Durant earned 28 points in his 40 minutes of playing time and accounted for 4 dimes for the game. He knocked down 12 of 23 in this matchup for a field goal rate of 52.2%, and earned 10 rebounds.

Houston has a win-loss record of 23-14 for the season. As an offense, the Rockets are hitting on 48.2% from the floor, which has them ranked 6th in the NBA. Houston has scored 4,364 pts on the season (117.9 per contest) and they average 49.1 boards per game. They are assisting teammates 25.1 times per contest (22nd in the NBA) and they cough up possession 15.6 times per game. The Rockets are responsible for committing 19.6 fouls per contest and they hit 76.7% from the free throw line.

The Houston defense gives up 35.4% on 3-pointers (465 of 1,312) and opponents are converting on 75.6% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have allowed 24.2 dimes and 38.1 rebounds on a nightly basis, which ranks them 2nd and 1st in the NBA. The Rockets on the defensive end are ranked 3rd in the league in PPG allowed with 110.8. They are forcing 13.5 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 46.2% from the field (8th in the league).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Minnesota

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