A tripleheader of NBA playoff games on NBC and Peacock wraps up Monday night with the Denver Nuggets playing host to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 2.
The Nuggets won 116-105 in Game 1 by outscoring the Timberwolves 68-46 over the 2nd and 3rd quarters and building a lead as large as 15 points. Minnesota had led by 10 after the first quarter, but the teams were tied at halftime.
This series marks the third time in four seasons that Denver and Minnesota are meeting in the playoffs. The teams split their four meetings in the regular season.
See below for additional information on the Timberwolves-Nuggets game and how to watch the 2026 NBA Playoffs on NBC and Peacock.
Announcing team: Michael Grady (play by play), Brian Scalabrine (analyst), Austin Rivers (analyst), Grant Liffmann (courtside reporter)
Toronto Raptors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers, 7 p.m. ET, Peacock
Atlanta Hawks vs. New York Knicks, 8 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock
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Game 2 looms as pivotal given the history of these teams.
Denver has won seven of the past eight playoff series in which the Nuggets won Game 1, and the team is 8-0 in seires with a 2-0 lead.
Minnesota is 0-8 in series when the Timberwolves fall behind 0-2. In 2023, Denver took a 2-0 lead on Minnesota and won the series in five games.
In Game 1, the Nuggets relied on their 1-2 punch of Jamal Murray (30 points, seven assists, five rebounds, 16 of 16 free throws) and Nikola Jokic (25 points, 13 rebounds, 11 assists), who starred despite combining to shoot only 2 of 15 on 3-pointers.
Jokic started the postseason with a triple-double after 34 in the regular season, which tied his career high from last season.
The Timberwolves were led by superstar Anthony Edwards with 22 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and three blocks, but he made only 7 of 19 field goals. Minnesota made 14 fewer trips to the free throw line as Denver shot 30 of 33 at the stripe.
During the regular season, Denver had the fourth-most free throw attempts per game (25.8), and Minnesota committed the third-most fouls per game (21.2).
“I thought I got fouled on every single one of them," Murray said of the Game 1 fouls. "I don’t know what everybody is talking about. They were real fouls.”
NBC Sports will present up to 23 games in the First Round and 11 games in the Conference Semifinals across either NBC and Peacock, or Peacock and NBCSN. Playoff programming concludes with exclusive coverage of the Western Conference Finals on NBC and Peacock.
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Peacock’s NBA Playoffs coverage spans multiple rounds, including Round 1, the Conference Semifinals, and the Western Conference Finals, with coverage evolving as the postseason progresses.