The Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets will close out the Christmas Day NBA slate in a Western Conference matchup on Thursday night. Both of these teams enter Christmas Day in the top five in the Western Conference standings and will try to get a huge win over a division rival in this matchup. Before the action begins from Ball Arena, continue reading for my analysis of this matchup, as well as my Timberwolves vs Nuggets prediction.
Our Timberwolves vs Nuggets Pick
| Pick: | |
| Confidence: | 3/5 |
Game Snapshot
- Matchup: Minnesota Timberwolves @ Denver Nuggets
- Date & Time: Thursday, December 25, 2025, 10:30 p.m. ET
- Venue: Ball Arena, Denver, Colorado
- Broadcast: ABC
Key Storylines
Denver enters this Christmas clash with some notable absences. Aaron Gordon (hamstring) and Christian Braun (ankle) are both out, and forward Cam Johnson is expected to miss some time following a knee injury suffered in their most recent loss to Dallas. These injuries cost Denver depth around Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. But the Nuggets are 21-8 even with those injury issues and will try to get back into the win column here.
Minnesota has been solid this month, stringing together three straight wins, including victories over New York and Oklahoma City. Anthony Edwards has been the driving force for the Wolves’ offense, consistently putting up elite scoring numbers. Edwards is averaging 28.7 points per game and will have to be great to offset the offensive production of Jokic. The Joker has had a ton of success against Rudy Gobert historically. If the Wolves can’t figure out a way to keep Jokic from burning Gobert in this game, it could be a long night for Minnesota in the Mile High City.
Head-to-Head & Betting Trends
- Denver has a 2-0 lead in the season series against the Timberwolves.
- Both of the Nuggets’ wins over the Wolves this season have come in Minnesota. This is the first meeting between these teams in Denver this year.
- Denver is 17-12 against the spread so far this season.
- Minnesota is 12-18 against the spread for the year.
- The Nuggets have gone over the total in 19 of their first 29 games.
- The under has cashed in 17 of Minnesota’s first 30 games.
Best Player Props to Watch
| Player | Prop |
|---|---|
| Anthony Edwards | |
| Nikola Jokic | |
| Jamal Murray |

