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Best NBA Over/Under Bet: Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Utah Jazz on Feb. 28

My Deadspin re-debut did not go as planned. A narrow one-goal overtime loss derailed our hockey over/under bet last night, but today I come back to you with another total—this one on the hardwood.

In the event of Anthony Edwards’ one-game suspension—after his two technical fouls in last night’s loss to the Lakers lifted his season total to 16—the Timberwolves’ budding superstar is forced by rule to sit out the next contest.

That comes tonight in Utah against the Jazz, where the two Northwest Division residents meet with a total of 226.5 points.

Don’t be fooled by Utah’s Western Conference-worst 14-44 record. While the Jazz aren’t anywhere close to sniffing a playoff berth in 2025, this is a club that could actually be decent if it could stay healthy.

Its quartet of solid talent—Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton, John Collins and Jordan Clarkson—have all missed numerous games this year. As it stands, Markkanen is the only one ruled out for tonight, while the other three are listed as game-time decisions.

The Wolves, meanwhile, will also be dealing with their own key absences. Aside from Edwards being out for disciplinary reasons, Minnesota won’t have Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle or Donte DiVincenzo due to injuries.

That means the Timberwolves’ leading scorer from tonight’s roster is Naz Reid with 14.9 points per game. Only one other player—Jaden McDaniels—is averaging double digits.

When fully healthy, both teams rank near the bottom third of the league in scoring. Utah is No. 19, averaging 112.2 points per game, with Minnesota right behind at 111.9.

Removing Edwards from the equation is about as meaningful as it gets compared to any other star in the league. Not only does the 23-year-old rank fourth in the NBA in scoring with 27.3 points per game, but his 20.8 field goal attempts per game also rank fourth.

In addition, Edwards ranks 10th in the NBA in free throw attempts, getting to the line 6.1 times per game. From an offensive perspective, there might be no more impactful player to his team than Edwards, which shouldn’t be too surprising.

The Georgia product has missed two games this season, and the results were felt on offense—the Wolves averaged just 108.5 points in those contests, and the under hit both times.

That’s exactly what we’ll be shooting for here. Minnesota is missing a massive amount of scoring and does not possess enough depth to account for it. The Jazz might be getting some of their injured players back in the lineup, but they’re still banged up.

All of this roster activity would seem to point to a lower-scoring affair at the Delta Center.

Pick: Under 226.5 (-110, BetMGM)

NBA Betting Record: 16-13, +0.74 unit
Over/Unders: 5-4
Everything Else: 11-9

Each bet graded as if it were to win one unit.

Follow me @MattZylbert on Twitter/X for potentially another pick(s) added there.


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Flyers strike in 3rd to snap Bruins' 8-game point streak

NHL: Boston Bruins at Philadelphia FlyersFeb 28, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers left wing Noah Cates (27) reaches for the puck against the Boston Bruins in the first period at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Flyers scored back-to-back goals to start the third period and held on to defeat the visiting Boston Bruins 3-1 on Saturday afternoon.

Travis Konecny and Jamie Drysdale both scored and assisted on each other’s goals for Philadelphia, which has won two of its three games since the Olympic break. Drysdale tallied the eventual game-winner with 8:05 left.

Sean Couturier added an empty-net goal with 55 seconds remaining, Christian Dvorak recorded two assists, and Dan Vladar was excellent with a 26-save performance to help the Flyers win.

Boston’s Charlie McAvoy extended his point streak to nine games with a third-period goal that cut the hosts’ lead to 2-1.

Jeremy Swayman made 14 saves for Boston, which entered on an eight-game point streak (5-0-3).

With the game scoreless through two periods, the Bruins looked to take a 1-0 lead 1:05 into the third as Hampus Lindholm’s point shot beat Vladar, but the goal was immediately waved off due to goaltender interference.

Instead, Konecny scored first at 3:41. After Dvorak’s shot into the zone hit a stanchion behind the net, he recovered the bounce and made a tight backhand feed to his oncoming linemate to bury into an open side of the net.

Drysdale doubled Philadelphia’s lead at 11:55 by slipping down the slot on a Konecny pass and firing an open wrist shot past Swayman’s blocker.

The Bruins found an answer from McAvoy 1:08 later. Pavel Zacha won the faceoff right to Hampus Lindholm, who found his fellow defenseman cutting to the net to make it a 2-1 game.

Swayman followed up that goal by stopping Konecny on a breakaway with 5:36 left, but Boston could not find an equalizer.

Philadelphia had a 7-6 shot advantage in a scoreless first. Swayman made one of his best early saves halfway through as Trevor Zegras fired a turnaround shot from the slot.

Vladar made two close-range stops on Morgan Geekie within the first eight minutes of the second period, including one early in Boston’s second power play. The first stop occurred when David Pastrnak set up Geekie for a one-timer in the slot at the 5:00 mark.

Less than a minute after Vladar’s second stop on Geekie, Swayman returned to the highlight reel at the other end of the ice. Konecny’s wraparound put the puck on goal before Swayman robbed Dvorak with the glove on a rebound effort coming to the doorstep.

After Boston’s first man advantage came up empty, Vladar made another big save as Sean Kuraly separated from the Flyers’ defense for a breakaway with 5:43 left in the second.

–Field Level Media

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Heat rally in 4th quarter to take down Rockets

NBA: Houston Rockets at Miami HeatFeb 28, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) argues with Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) during the first quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Bam Adebayo posted a double-double, and Andrew Wiggins ignited a fourth-quarter rally after returning from an in-game injury to lead the Miami Heat to a 115-105 victory over the visiting Houston Rockets on Saturday.

Adebayo paired 24 points with 11 rebounds to help the Heat snap a two-game skid. Pelle Larsson (20 points) and Tyler Herro (18) contributed to the balanced scoring attack for the Heat, who also received double-digit efforts from Jaime Jaquez Jr. (14 points) and Kel’el Ware (13 points and a game-high 15 rebounds) off the bench. The Heat shot 50% overall from the floor.

But it was Wiggins, who took an elbow to the jaw from Rockets center Alperen Sengun and needed stitches in his cheek to close the gash, who led a critical fourth-quarter surge. He assisted on a Ware alley-oop and a Larsson 3 to put the Heat ahead 100-92 before his transition dunk resulted in a three-point play and a 111-103 lead with 2:24 remaining.

Wiggins finished with 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and three blocks.

Kevin Durant scored a game-high 32 points and added eight assists for the Rockets. Amen Thompson (20 points, 11 rebounds) and Tari Eason (10 points, 11 boards) added double-doubles, while Reed Sheppard chipped in 14 points and five assists for Houston.

The Rockets turned an early run, capped by a Sheppard 3, into a 14-4 lead, only for the Heat to respond with an 8-0 rally. Adebayo hit a 3-pointer to give Miami a 27-26 lead, and the Heat carried a 32-28 advantage into the second quarter after hitting 6 of 13 from beyond the arc in the first.

Miami extended its lead to double digits on a Ware tip-in, and led 41-28 before the Rockets scored their first basket of the second quarter with an Aaron Holiday 3-pointer at the 7:07 mark. That ended a 19-2 run by the Heat and sparked another Houston rally, featuring Sheppard and Durant combining to hit three 3-pointers and tie the game at 48.

The Rockets led 52-51 at the intermission after Miami missed 7 of 8 3-pointers in the second.

–Field Level Media

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Braeden Carrington explodes for 32 points as Wisconsin routs Washington

NCAA Basketball: Wisconsin at WashingtonFeb 28, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Wisconsin Badgers guard Braeden Carrington (0) shoots a three point shot over Washington Huskies guard Zoom Diallo (5) during the second half at Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Braeden Carrington came off the bench Saturday to score a career-high 32 points and Wisconsin knocked down 17 3-pointers to earn a 90-73 Big Ten Conference road win over Washington in Seattle.

Nick Boyd added 22 points, nine rebounds and five assists for the Badgers (20-9, 12-6 Big Ten), while Nolan Winter chipped in 13 points and nine rebounds. Wisconsin canned 44.7 % of its 38 3-point attempts, with Carrington going 9 of 15.

Freshman Hannes Steinbach led the Huskies (14-15, 6-12) with 22 points and 11 rebounds, his 18th double-double of the season and the most by a Big Ten player since Jared Sullinger of Ohio State collected the same total 29 years ago. Zoom Diallo scored 21 points.

Washington made 46% from the field but simply couldn’t mute the Badgers’ potent perimeter game. Bouncing back from an 85-71 upset loss Wednesday night at Oregon, Wisconsin earned a 39-35 edge on the boards and committed only six turnovers.

The final margin flattered the Huskies a bit. The Badgers led by as many as 28 points in the second half and cleared the bench by the time Washington scored the final seven points to make the margin more respectable.

Wisconsin set an early tone by stepping up its defense from the loss at Oregon. It held the Huskies without a field goal for a 6:04 stretch of the first half and opened up a 17-4 lead with 13:28 left when Carrington converted a 3-pointer.

Steinbach made two foul shots with 6:51 left to pull Washington within 22-14 but the Badgers pulled away when Carrington hit a 3-pointer and fed Winter for a layup and a 27-14 cushion.

With Boyd canning a short jumper from the baseline, Wisconsin went into halftime with a 36-21 advantage. The Huskies made only 7 of 28 field goals in the first 20 minutes and were outrebounded 25-17.

Boyd led the charge with 14 points in the half, sinking 7 of 14 shots from the field.

–Field Level Media

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