Nuggets in Driver’s Seat to Capture Western Conference Crown

Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets goes to the basket against Monte Morris #23 and Rudy Gobert #27 of the Minnesota Timberwolves during the first quarter at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on April 10, 2024. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

The top seed for the NBA’s Western Conference could come down to the final day of the regular season.

The Denver Nuggets are hanging onto first place by one game over the Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves.

The defending champions are in the driver’s seat after picking up a huge 116–107 win over Minnesota on Wednesday night to maintain the lead in the conference.

Denver forward Nikola Jokić, the favorite to win a third MVP trophy, finished with 41 points with 11 rebounds and seven assists. He made 16 of 20 shots against the Timberwolves, who entered the game as the NBA’s best defense.

Jokić also won the matchup against Rudy Gobert, who is one of the league’s top defenders.

“That was a very impressive win,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “We knew what was at stake, the battle for No. 1 and now we have two games to go to keep it. You went out and took it to them on national TV—very impressive performance. The fourth quarter, they only had 27 points. … We’re going to see that team again in the playoffs. Great job of playing with pace.”

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Jokić leads the team in scoring (26.6), rebounds (9.0), and assists (1.3).

Despite the big win against the Timberwolves, the Nuggets (56–24) might still have to win their final two games to stay atop the standings. Denver finishes the season with two games on the road against the San Antonio Spurs and Memphis Grizzlies.

A home-court advantage would be huge for the Nuggets, who are a Western Conference-best 33–8 at Ball Arena in downtown Denver. Last season, Denver earned the No. 1 seed and went 10–1 in the playoffs en route to the franchise’s first NBA title.

Oklahoma City is also pushing hard for that top spot in the conference but now the Thunder need some help. The Thunder helped their cause with a 127–89 victory over the Spurs on Wednesday night. It was the Thunder’s third straight win.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City 26 points in 26 minutes, Josh Giddey scored 20 points with 12 rebounds and seven assists, and Gordon Hayward added 18 points.

The Thunder was led by their defense and led 34–11 at the end of the first quarter—the fewest points they have allowed in any quarter this season.

Oklahoma City is also getting huge production from Rookie of the Year candidate Chet Holmgren, who is averaging 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks, He also shoots 37.2 percent from 3-point range and makes 61.9 percent of his shots from inside the perimeter.

The Thunder have the luxury of finishing the regular season at home against the Milwaukee Bucks and the Dallas Mavericks. Both games are huge for Oklahoma City to keep pace with Denver and potentially edge the Timberwolves for the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference playoffs if the Nuggets win their final two games.

Oklahoma City has at least clinched home-court advantage in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.

“We’re not going to white knuckle the last week of the season and watch the standings because we haven’t done that all year,“ Daigneault said after the game against the Spurs. ”We’ve just really focused on being the best team we can be, and that’s what we’ll continue to do all the way through to 82.”

The Timberwolves hurt their chances of earning the top seed with the loss to the Nuggets. However, Minnesota still has a glimmer of hope to have the best record in the Western Conference or earn the No. 2 seed in the postseason as a consolation prize.

Anthony Edwards leads Minnesota in scoring with 26.3 points per game, and Gobert averages almost 12.9 rebounds.

Minnesota could get a boost this weekend as Karl-Anthony Towns could be available to play after missing time with a knee injury. The Timberwolves finish the season at the Target Center with games against the Atlanta Hawks and Phoenix Suns.

The Timberwolves players know they have to stay mentally and physically tough over the final two games and into the postseason.

Minnesota and Oklahoma are tied for second place at 55–25.

“We have to play through it,” Gobert said. “There’s going to be fatigue in the postseason too. We’re going to have to find it deep inside. Each one of us is going to have to find it and go to have to do what it takes for the team to win, and tonight, when fatigue hits us, sometimes we don’t make the best decisions out there.”

Sixteen teams in total make the NBA playoffs—eight teams from both the Eastern and Western Conference. The top six seeds in each conference advance based on the regular season record. The final two seeds in each conference are determined by the NBA Play-In Tournament.

The rest of the Western Conference playoff field will also come down to the final weekend of the season.

The Los Angeles Clippers, Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans, Suns, Sacramento, Los Angeles Lakers, and Golden State Warriors are vying for one of the spots in the playoffs.

The NBA play-in tournament is slated from April 16–19. The rest of the playoffs begin on April 20.