With 10 days left in the NBA regular season, the Nuggets, Timberwolves, and Thunder are in a fierce three-way battle for the top spot in the Western Conference standings.
The three Northwest Division rivals are separated by less than one game heading into Wednesday's matchup, with Denver placing particular emphasis on a late-night matchup with the conference's fourth-place Clippers in Los Angeles.
Depending on seeding, the Nuggets and Clippers could meet in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs.
There's still a lot to figure out before then, but Denver (53-23) is in position to earn the West's top seed for the second year in a row.
The Nuggets will need to finish at least one game early, as both Minnesota and Oklahoma City already have head-to-head tiebreakers with Denver.
How badly do the Nuggets want that?
Under normal circumstances, Thursday would be a natural day of rest for Nikola Jokic, but the former MVP said he plans to play in all of the Nuggets' remaining games to secure the top seed.
Meanwhile, the Clippers could be without Kawhi Leonard on Thursday.
Leonard missed Tuesday's loss to the Kings in Los Angeles with knee soreness, but the Clippers have little hope of moving up from their current No. 4 seed, although Leonard will use their star for the remainder of the regular season. Unlikely. 100 percent.
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Thursday's opponents have faced each other three times this season, but not since early December, when the Clippers won their first series after two losses in Denver.
In fact, the December win erased an eight-game deficit against the Nuggets into the 2021-22 season.
There's more urgency for the Nuggets to seek cover from Denver, who has won six of their last seven road games, given the Clippers' health.
Play: Nuggets -4 (-108, FanDuel Sportsbook).
