Nuggets to host Wolves
The Denver Nuggets will open their first-round playoff series by hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves, with tickets and schedules now being listed. (shreveporttimes.com). Local ticket reports show markets moving as venues prepare for the opening weekend of postseason basketball. (shreveporttimes.com).
Denver will open its first-round National Basketball Association playoff series at home against Minnesota after finishing No. 3 in the Western Conference and drawing the No. 6 Timberwolves. (nba.com) The bracket locked in on Sunday, April 12, when the Nuggets closed the regular season at 54-28 and the Timberwolves finished 49-33. The league’s first round begins Saturday, April 18, though the National Basketball Association said the full game schedule would be announced after the regular season. (nba.com) (espn.com) (nba.com) Ticket listings for the series were already live by April 12, with resale guides published as Denver prepared to host the opener at Ball Arena. USA Today’s ticket page said the Nuggets would start the series at home against Minnesota. (usatoday.com) This matchup is familiar. The National Basketball Association’s playoff page called it a rematch, and Minnesota and Denver are meeting in the postseason for the third time in four years. (nba.com) (msn.com) Denver earned home court by climbing to the No. 3 seed, which guarantees Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 at Ball Arena if the series goes the distance. Minnesota avoided the play-in tournament by finishing sixth, which sent it straight into the bracket instead of the April 14-17 qualifying round. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) The regular-season numbers point to a tough draw for Minnesota. The National Basketball Association’s series preview said Denver won the season series 3-1, while Nikola Jokić averaged 35.8 points, 15 rebounds and 11.3 assists against the Timberwolves. (nba.com) The same preview said Denver brings the league’s top-rated offense into the series, with Jokić becoming the first player in league history to lead the National Basketball Association in both rebounds and assists per game. Jamal Murray also made his first All-Star team this season, giving Denver a second scorer with a strong playoff track record. (nba.com) Minnesota still enters with recent playoff experience of its own. The National Basketball Association said the Timberwolves reached the Western Conference finals in 2024 and 2025, with Anthony Edwards averaging 26.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 6.0 assists across 31 playoff games in those two runs. (nba.com) What comes next is straightforward: the play-in tournament runs first, the full first-round calendar follows, and Denver opens the series at home next weekend with Minnesota back in its path again. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2)
