New Orleans Pelicans vs Minnesota Timberwolves Prediction, 4/12/2026 Preview and Pick

Game: New Orleans Pelicans vs Minnesota Timberwolves

Date: Sunday, April 12, 2026

Location: Target Center in Minneapolis, MN

TV: FanDuel Sports Network

The New Orleans Pelicans (26-55) are hitting the road to Target Center on Sunday where they will take on the Minnesota Timberwolves (48-33).

The Pelicans stepped onto the hardwood against the Celtics and took a loss by a score of 144-118 in their last contest. In the matter of fouls, the Pelicans ended up with 19 and the Celtics totaled 26 fouls. They also converted 29 of 59 attempts from downtown. Boston ended up going 73.3% when shooting free throws by making 11 of 15 attempts. Additionally, Boston pulled down 44 rebounds (9 offensive, 35 defensive) and added 3 rejections. Boston recorded 35 assists and had 9 steals in this contest. In terms of the defense, New Orleans let their opponent shoot 54.2% from the field on 52 out of 96 shooting. They also distributed 22 assists in the matchup while forcing the other team into 14 turnovers and earning 6 steals. With regard to grabbing rebounds, they collected a total of 44 with 14 of them being offensive. At the free throw line, the Pelicans converted 21 of their 30 attempts for a percentage of 70.0%. New Orleans ended the game with a 45.8% FG percentage (44 of 96) and buried 9 out of their 32 three-point shots.

Jeremiah Fears is one player who was a major factor for this game. He had 36 points on 13 out of 29 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 44 mins played and totaled 3 rebounds. Jeremiah finished the game shooting 44.8% from the floor and also distributed 6 assists.

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New Orleans will enter this contest with a record of 26-55 for the year. They average 115.4 pts per game (16th in the NBA) while hitting 46.6% from the field. The Pelicans are shooting 34.8% on 3-point shots (909 of 2,614) and 78.3% from the free throw line. As a team, New Orleans is pulling down 43.8 boards per game and is sitting with 2,038 assists on the year, which has them ranked 22nd in basketball in terms of passing the rock. They are turning it over 14.2 times per contest and as a group they are committing 19.8 fouls every game.

When they are on the defensive end, the Pelicans are able to force 14.5 turnovers per contest while drawing 20.1 personal fouls. They are 25th in the NBA in allowing assists to the opposition with 2,275 conceded for the campaign. The Pelicans are giving up an opponent FG percentage of 47.7% (3,544 of 7,430) and they relinquish 45.8 boards per game as a team. They concede 35.1% on three-point shots and they are ranked 24th in the league in points per game allowed (119.9).

In their last game, the Timberwolves got the victory with a final of 136-132 when they played the Rockets. The Timberwolves snagged 18 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive rebounds for a total of 25 for the contest. They also gave up possession of the ball 8 times, while recording 7 steals in this game. The Rockets committed 18 personal fouls for the game which got the Timberwolves to the free throw line for 25 attempts. They were able to make 19 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 76.0%. With respect to shooting from downtown, Minnesota buried 15 of their 30 tries (50.0%). In all, the Timberwolves ended up shooting 51 for 89 from the field which gave them a rate of 57.3%. The Timberwolves permitted the Rockets to make 53 of 87 tries from the field which had them at 60.9% for the contest. They shot 21.1% from 3-point land by going 4 of 19 and finished the game at 22 out of 28 at the free throw line (78.6%). In regard to attacking the glass, Minnesota permitted Houston to get 39 in total (11 offensive).

Terrence Shannon Jr. ended up having an impact for the Timberwolves for this game. He buried 8 of 13 for the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 61.5%, but didn't pull down a rebound. Shannon Jr. tallied 23 points in his 28 minutes on the court and totaled 1 assist in this matchup.

Minnesota has a record of 48-33 this year. The Timberwolves commit 21.1 fouls per game and they go 75.2% from the charity stripe. They are getting an assist 26.0 times per contest (16th in the league) and they turn it over 14.9 times per game. Minnesota has accounted for 9,544 pts on the season (117.8 per contest) and they average 44.0 boards per game. As an offensive unit, the Timberwolves are connecting on 48.1% from the field, which has them ranked 7th in the league.

The Timberwolves on the defensive side of the court are 11th in basketball in points per game surrendered with 114.5. They have forced 15.1 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 46.2% from the floor (7th in the league). The Minnesota defense surrenders 35.6% on shots from beyond the arc (985 of 2,765) and their opponents are making 78.0% of their shots from the free throw line. They have given up 26.1 assists and 43.6 boards every game, which ranks them 10th and 15th in basketball.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Minnesota

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