The Denver Nuggets had the No. 1 seed in the West in their hands after beating the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday. Then Victor Wembanyama arrived.
The NBA Rookie of the Year favorite led the last-place Spurs to a stunning 121-120 victory over the defending champions on Friday, posting 34 points on 12-of-27 shooting with 12 rebounds, five assists and two blocks. That included a supernatural 17-point stretch in three minutes, plus a crucial block from Nikola Jokić in crunch time.
The winning basket was provided by Devonte’ Graham, who pushed Jamal Murray in transition. to put the Spurs in the lead with 0.9 seconds remaining.
If the Nuggets had taken care of business against the Spurs 21-60, they would have been well-positioned for the top seed in the West. After beating the Timberwolves, Denver was one game ahead of Minnesota and the Oklahoma City Thunder with two remaining, both against non-playoff teams. All they had to do was win.
Now the three teams are tied 56-25. Instead of only needing to defeat the Memphis Grizzlies 27-54 on Sunday, the Nuggets need both teams to lose on Sunday because they hold no tiebreakers. The Thunder will face the Dallas Mavericks at home, while the Timberwolves will face the Phoenix Suns at home.
Here’s how the tiebreakers work, via Andrew Lopez of ESPN:
All three teams win or lose: 1. Thunder, 2. Timberwolves, 3. Nuggets
Thunder and Timberwolves win, Nuggets lose: 1. Timberwolves, 2. Thunder, 3. Nuggets
Thunder and Nuggets win, Timberwolves lose: 1. Thunder, 2. Nuggets, 3. Timberwolves
Timberwolves and Nuggets win, Thunder lose: 1. Timberwolves, 2. Nuggets, 3. Thunder
The Nuggets have the easiest opponent of this trio, but arguably the worst position.
This article will be updated with the full playoff picture after tonight’s games.