The Dallas Mavericks went into Minnesota to to face a hard-nosed Timberwolves defense in Game 1 on Wednesday, and even without any sort of luck from beyond the arc found a way to win behind a stunning showing from their defense.

(Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)

Now, Luka Doncic and the Mavericks will look to hand the Timberwolves a back-breaking loss in Game 2 to take a commanding 2-0 series lead into Dallas this weekend. With the struggles they had in their own right on offense, however, can we truly expect either of these teams to separate all that much? Will we be subject to a low-scoring game?

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Let's get into to the best way to bet on Mavericks vs Timberwolves in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals on Friday.

Check out our page on the best NBA betting sites to get the lowdown on NBA betting and where to put your wagers.

DALLAS MAVERICKS VS. MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES FANDUEL ODDS FOR MAY 24th

MONEY LINE

• DALLAS MAVERICKS: +190
• MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES: -225

SPREAD

• DALLAS MAVERICKS: +5.5 (-106)
• MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES: -5.5 (-114)

OVER/UNDER (TOTAL)

• OVER 207.5 (-112)
• UNDER 207.5 (-108)

BEST ODDS FOR DALLAS MAVERICKS VS. MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES

• The best odds on the Dallas Mavericks can be found at Caesars, offering Mavericks +5.5 (-105).

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• The Minnesota Timberwolves enter this one as solid favorites across the board, with the best odds on Timberwolves -5.5 (-108) at DraftKings.
• FanDuel is the best place to bet the under, offering Under 207.5 (-108). The best odds on the over are at DraftKings, who has Over 207.5 (-110).

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DALLAS MAVERICKS VS. MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES INJURY REPORT

DALLAS MAVERICKS INJURY REPORT

• LUKA DONCIC - PROBABLE - KNEE, ANKLE
• MAXI KLEBER - OUT - SHOULDER

MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES INJURY REPORT INJURY REPORT

• MIKE CONLEY - QUESTIONABLE - CALF

WHY DALLAS MAVERICKS WILL COVER THE SPREAD

The Mavericks' offense may have been the driving force behind their success this season -- which has been the case for several years now -- but in an encouraging trend their defense has remained rock-solid against some fantastic offenses over the course of the NBA Playoffs.

Dallas has now posted a 110.6 Defensive Rating in 13 playoff games, a stunning mark considering how well the LA Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder can score the ball. It was always going to run into trouble against one of the best defenses in basketball this round, but with the work the Timberwolves have done offensively -- particularly around the perimeter -- allowing just 110.5 points per 100 possessions in Game 1 was quite the feat.

The Timberwolves were always going to have a bit of a leg up from 3 given the way Dallas has defended the arc all year, but even on a 36.7% shooting night and in a game they turned the ball over only 10 times, they struggled mightily for offense. The Mavericks held them to just 56% shooting at the rim, solidifying that their play inside on defense hasn't been a fluke, and in scoring at a 77.8% clip within four feet they did something few teams have been able to do, which is score on Rudy Gobert and a bevy of incredible interior defenders.

WHY MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES?WILL COVER THE SPREAD

The Timberwolves can at least take some positives from Game 1 that they not only took the lead back late from the Mavericks but continued to have success in shooting the 3. Given the fact that they've allowed 63.7% shooting at the rim during the playoffs according to Cleaning the Glass and were one of the very best in that zone during the regular season, you'd expect things to regress a bit to the mean on Friday -- even if Dallas continues to score well at the rim.

Minnesota also held Dallas to 25% shooting from the arc according to Cleaning the Glass, which throws away heaves and garbage time, and in allowing a decent enough 45.7% from mid-range its defense certainly did a great job against Dallas. The only sore spot is the rim and, again, with that being the backbone of this team all year long it shouldn't be too hard to turn things around there.

This is simply a case of the Timberwolves running into a surprisingly tough frontcourt that can defend better than Denver and perhaps they took the interior presence of Derek Lively II and company a bit lightly here. It's certainly not time to push the panic button quite yet, and ironically as we saw last round with the Nuggets it can take a game or two to adjust to a tougher matchup.

FINAL MAVERICKS-TIMBERWOLVES PICK & PREDICTION

It does seem impossible that we'll see the large disparity between these two teams at the rim continue with the way the Timberwolves have stopped shots at the rim, and if the gap is closed just a little bit there should be a great opportunity here for Minnesota to run away with Game 2.

The Timberwolves shot the 3 at a slightly concerning rate for Dallas, and there's still plenty of upward mobility with the struggles that their opponents have had in containing the outside shot. This is a team that has caught fire on numerous occasions from outside during the playoffs and at home, where they've shot almost four points better from 3 during the playoffs, the barrage should continue.

Look to Gobert and his frontcourt mates to shore things up and return to form, and for the Timberwolves to gain some early footing in this game as a result -- pulling away as Dallas becomes frustrated on offense.

FINAL THUNDER-MAVERICKS PICK & PREDICTION: MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES -5.5 (-108)

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