When the San Antonio Spurs lost to the Denver Nuggets in the final game of the regular season, the prevailing assumption was that the teams would rematch in the conference semifinals. The Minnesota Timberwolves had other plans; despite losing Donte DiVincenzo to a torn Achilles in the first two minutes of Game 4 and Anthony Edwards to a bone bruise in his knee in the second quarter of that contest, they closed out the Nuggets in six games to earn a series with the Spurs.

Game 1 will begin at 9:40 p.m. ET in San Antonio, and after missing just two and a half games with the injury, Edwards is set to make his return. What was already set to be a dramatic battle between two of the West’s best teams (and France’s two best centers) will now become even more competitive and intense.

The Spurs are 9.5-point favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook (-345 on the Moneyline) to win tonight’s contest, with the point total set to 220.5. The Timberwolves are +275 on the Moneyline.

For the playoffs, DraftKings is running a 30% Same-Game Parlay Profit Boost on SGP’s of at least four legs with at least +300 odds. Below, I’ve laid out my favorite qualifying SGP for you to consider.

Best Same Game Parlay for Timberwolves at Spurs Game 1

Minnesota Timberwolves +9.5

Minnesota won the regular season series, as the teams split the two games in which San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama played and the Timberwolves picked up a 13-point victory in the game that he missed. This iteration of Minnesota isn’t quite as strong as the version that played out an epic battle between Wembanyama (39 points) and Edwards (55) on January 17, since DiVincenzo and Ayo Dosunmu (calf) are both out, but the Timberwolves have proven their bona fides in the playoffs. As dominant as the Spurs were in the first round, their net rating was only 9.8 points per 100 possessions better than Minnesota’s, and for all of Denver’s struggles, it is certainly better than the Portland Trail Blazers. In Wembanyama’s career, he only has one double-digit win over the Timberwolves in nine games.

Victor Wembanyama 28+ Points

Just because Minnesota has an elite defense and rosters arguably the best defensive player in league history (four-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert) doesn’t mean Wembanyama shouldn’t be expected to put up huge offensive numbers. He had 35 points in his postseason debut in Game 1 against the Trail Blazers and 18 in the second half of Game 4 after returning from his concussion, and Portland was just 1.0 points per 100 possessions worse defensively than the Timberwolves during the regular season. Additionally, he scored at least 29 points in both of the teams’ regular season matchups. Gobert missed one of those matchups, but Wembanyama still recorded 17 points on six-for-12 shooting in 20.2 partial possessions when matched up with his compatriot.

Anthony Edwards 3+ Three-Pointers Made

It isn’t yet known whether Edwards will be on any sort of minutes restriction in his return from his bone bruise, but even if he’s hampered at all, his jumper should make him a consistent offensive threat regardless. Edwards shot 39.9% from three-point range this season and made at least three triples in 40 of his 61 games (including two of his three contests against San Antonio), so the -131 odds for this leg represent pretty good value. Plus, the Spurs didn’t do a great job defending the three-point line in the first round, allowing the second-most corner threes and the third-most wide-open threes among the 16 first round participants. It’s still a winning formula because Wembanyama erases virtually everything in the paint, but Edwards should have the opportunity to impart some damage from deep. He might be especially incentivized to shoot, since his hampered knee would likely affect his drives.

Dylan Harper O2.5 Assists

Despite De’Aaron Fox’s signing a max contract extension in the offseason and Stephon Castle’s winning the 2024-25 Rookie of the Year award, it’s arguable that Harper is the team’s second-most important player in the long term, given his connection with Wembanyama (a plus-27.6 net rating that was far better than the Frenchman’s marks alongside either Fox or Castle). He carried a heavy load in Game 3 with Wembanyama sidelined, going off for 27 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists. During the regular season, Harper dished out at least three dimes in 49 of his 69 games, and his minutes load has gone up in the playoffs. As long as his teammates convert his passes into assists at a similar rate as they did in the regular season (11.2%), he should have no trouble reaching three assists, even with slightly diminished passing responsibility. Minnesota should be a good matchup; during the first round, it allowed the fifth-most assists per game.

Parlay Odds: +950