How the Nuggets and Timberwolves ended up in a must-win season finale

The Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves will play each other in their final game of the regular season. The winner makes the playoffs. The loser will watch them from home.

A loss for either team would dash the lofty postseason hopes each had before the season started.

The Timberwolves were dubbed immediate contenders when they signed Jimmy Butler over the summer. And immediate contenders they became.

Butler’s presence allowed the Wolves to morph from a perennial lottery team to a fixture in the Western Conference playoff picture. At one point, they were right behind Houston and Golden State at No. 3 in the West.

It was a torn meniscus on Feb. 23, and it was the worst possible news for a Wolves team at the time tied for the sixth-best record in the league. Butler missed 17 full games with that injury, and Minnesota went 8-9 during that stretch. By the time he returned April 6, the Timberwolves had fallen from No. 4 to No. 8 in the West standings.

Minnesota won the two games since Butler’s return, but now finds itself in a must-win scenario.

Just like Minnesota, Denver made a splashy acquisition over the summer that boosted its odds of making the playoffs. The Nuggets picked up Paul Millsap, whose offensive and defensive versatility was an interesting fit next to Nikola Jokic.

Denver got off to a decent start at 9-6. At the time, that was the fifth-best record.

Thirteen minutes into Denver’s Nov. 19 matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers, Millsap tore a ligament in his left wrist. It was his non-shooting wrist, but the injury required surgery that sidelined the all-star forward for longer than three months.

Millsap missed 44 games recovering from that surgery. The Nuggets managed to went 24-20 during that stretch, barely staying afloat without one of their best players. Denver then went 7-8 while reintegrating him into the game plan. The Nuggets are 6-0 since then, all victories against playoff opponents.

The Nuggets and Timberwolves both endured debilitating injuries to key players, but both teams are now at full strength for the most important game of the season. The Wolves lead the season series, 2-1, but Millsap was injured in both of Minnesota’s victories while Butler was hurt in Denver’s lone win.

No one knows which way this one will go, and that adds to the mystique of it all. It’s a must-win scenario for both teams, and it’s a game you absolutely can’t miss.