The Denver Nuggets and the Minnesota Timbrwolves have had one of the NBA’s most heated rivalries over the last three years, but Minnesota has taken over as the dominant team in the matchup.
After the Nuggets knocked the Timberwolves out in the first round of the 2023 playoffs, the Timberwolves got their revenge in 2024. After a very competitive series, Minnesota erased a 20-point deficit in Game 7 in Denver to advance to the Western Conference Finals.
There’s a chance that loss is still in the minds of the Nuggets, because the rivalry has been extremely one-sided so far in 2024-25. The Timberwolves have won all three meetings this season by a combined 52 points, including a pair of blowout victories. The two teams will conclude their regular season series on Tuesday night in Denver.
Ahead of the matchup, Nuggets head coach Michael Malone didn’t hold back on the recent meetings and challenged his squad to match the intensity from the other side, according to Vic Lombardi.
Good stuff from Michael Malone here. He’s tired of losing to the @Timberwolves. He says the TWolves get up to play the @nuggets. Wants the Nuggets to do the same. pic.twitter.com/CMblrcSxX7
— Vic Lombardi (@VicLombardi) March 31, 2025
“It’s easy to say we’ve gotta do something different, but we also have to play a hell of a lot harder,” Malone said. “I think they approach these games like a rivalry and I think we’ve approached these games like it’s another game. … You throw everything else out the window. This team’s beaten us five games in a row. Hopefully, that can resonate within our guys and we can come out with the proper mindset tomorrow.”
This game will certainly be big for the mentality of the Nuggets, especially going into a situation where they could potentially play the Timberwolves in the playoffs for the third consecutive season.
However, it is also big for standings purposes. At the moment, the Nuggets are in the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference, which would keep them away from the Oklahoma City Thunder until the Western Conference Finals. The Nuggets currently have a 1.5-game lead over the Lakers for that spot, so they need to continue stacking wins in order to stay there.
On the other side, the Timberwolves are in the No. 7 spot and are trying to climb out of the play-in picture. This is the kind of game that, late in the season, has a chance to change how the standings look heading into the postseason.
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