Can the Minnesota Timberwolves clinch the tie-breaker against the Denver Nuggets?

The Minnesota Timberwolves face off against the Denver Nuggets at Target Center in Minneapolis in a game that could be key for both teams for the remainder of the 2023/24 season.

Nuggets, Timberwolves and Thunder fighting for Western Conference top spot

The Nuggets and the Timberwolves have been competing with the Oklahoma City Thunder at the top of the Western Conference, with plenty for all three teams still to play for before the regular season finishes on 14 April.

While none of the trio have clinched a playoff spot yet, Minnesota do have a big opportunity to steal a march on Tuesday’s opponents. Should they defeat Denver, they will clinch the tie-breaker in this season’s series between the teams, even though they still have to play each other twice in the next few weeks.

And that could well be important. With the teams having an identical record of 47 and 21 losses in their first 68 games, who is to say they won’t also have the same overall winning percentage after 82?

How can the Timberwolves clinch the tie-breaker against the Nuggets?

In the only match-up between the teams this season, the Timberwolves put in a dominant display to down the Nuggets 110-89 at Ball Arena all the way back at the start of November. Should they record a second successive win against the same opponents, they will be no worse than tied in head-to-head won-lost percentage come the end of the regular season, which is the first tie-breaker if the teams have an identical overall record.

Of course, Minnesota could then go on to win either of the next two meetings. However, even if they didn’t, they would still finish ahead of Denver.

What is the second tie-breaker in the NBA regular season?

The Timberwolves’ win over the Utah Jazz on Monday means they are already assured of finishing with a better division record (the second tie-breaker) than the Nuggets. Chris Finch’s team are 11-2 against Northwest opponents, with Nikola Jokic and Co currently at 6-5. No matter what happens from now on, Denver can’t overturn that particular deficit.

A win for the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday would therefore clinch the tie breaker against the Denver Nuggets, who would have to outperform their Western Conference rivals for the remainder of the season to clinch a higher seeding in the NBA playoffs.

The top two seeds will face play-in teams in the first round of the playoffs and will have homecourt advantage in the next round, provided they get through. And while being seeded first or second may not be make-or-break, but every little helps.