The Minnesota Timberwolves head into Ball Arena tonight for a pivotal Game 5 with a chance to eliminate the Denver Nuggets and advance to the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs. After dismantling Denver in consecutive home games to take a 3-1 series lead, Minnesota has successfully stifled the Nuggets' offense, holding them to under 100 points in three of the four games so far. Added to the tension of it being an elimination game is the fact tonight’s game comes one game after Nikola Jokić and Julius Randle were ejected after a late-game altercation.
The task of eliminating Denver, however, is a tall one. The Timberwolves will be without their starting backcourt as their superstar, Anthony Edwards (knee) and his running mate Donte DiVincenzo (Achilles) have been declared out of tonight’s game. Minnesota will look to Ayo Dosunmu to replicate his heroic Game 4 performance, where he stepped in for the injured Edwards and scored a career-high 43 points in 42 minutes to keep the Nuggets at bay.
The Nuggets are dealing with their own significant health concerns. Key "connector" Aaron Gordon is officially questionable with persistent left calf tightness that clearly limited his explosiveness and minutes in the previous game. Without Gordon at full strength and already missing Peyton Watson (hamstring), the Nuggets will need to work all the harder to attack the Timberwolves with more than just Jokic and Jamal Murray.
Because of the absence of Edwards and the fact Game 5 is in Denver, though, the Nuggets take the court as favorites. To force a Game 6, Denver must find a way to crack the Timberwolves' tenacious defense while of course capitalizing on the absence of Anthony Edwards.
Lets take a closer look at tonight’s matchup and take into consideration lineups, injuries, and other factors affecting the line and total.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch tipoff, odds courtesy of DraftKings recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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The latest odds as of Monday courtesy of DraftKings:
Moneyline: Minnesota Timberwolves (+380), Denver Nuggets (-500)
This game opened Nuggets -10.5 with the Game Total set at 224.5.
Be sure to check out DraftKings for all the latest game odds & player props for every matchup this week on the NBA schedule!
Anthony Edwards (knee) has been declared OUT of tonight’s game
Donte DiVincenzo (Achilles) has been declared OUT of tonight’s game
Aaron Gordon (calf) is questionable for tonight’s game
Peyton Watson (hamstring) has been declared OUT of tonight’s game
The OVER has cashed in 53 of the Nuggets’ 86 games this season (53-33)
The OVER has cashed in 38 of the Timberwolves’ 84 games this season (38-48)
Ayo Dosunmu averaged 14.8 points per game during the regular season but is now leading the Timberwolves through 4 games of the postseason averaging 22.8 points per game
Rudy Gobert is averaging 11.0 rebounds per game in this series after grabbing 27 in the 2 games in Minneapolis