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Scoreboard watching: Where the Wolves sit in the West on Thursday, April 3

  • There's a three-way tie between the Wolves, Clippers and Grizzlies.
  • Minnesota is within 2.5 games of the 4-seed and 3-seed.

Joe Nelson

Apr 1, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) talks with referee CJ Washington (12) in overtime against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
Apr 1, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) talks with referee CJ Washington (12) in overtime against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
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It's Thursday, April 3 and the Minnesota Timberwolves are in sixth place in the Western Conferene playoff race. Let's do some scoreboard watching to keep tabs on where they sit in the race and what's on deck Thursday night.

Key results Wednesday in the West:

  • Rockets 143, Jazz 105
  • Spurs 113, Nuggets 106
  • Clippers 114, Pelicans, 98

Entering play Thurdsay, the Timberwolves (44-32) control the No. 6 seed in the West. They're tied with the Clippers (44-32) and Grizzlies (44-32), but Minnesota owns the tiebreaker thanks to a better winning percentage in games against each other.

  • Wolves: 3-2 (3-0 vs. LAC, 0-2 vs. MEM)
  • Clippers 3-3 (0-3 vs. MN, 3-0 vs. MEM)
  • Grizzlies 2-3 (2-0 vs. MN, 0-3 vs. LAC)

The Wolves are only a half-game behind the Warriors (44-31) for the 5-seed and 2.5 games behind the Nuggets (47-30 and Lakers (46-29) for fourth and third, respectively.

Key games Thursday in the West:

  • Timberwolves at Nets, 6:30 p.m. CT
  • Grizzlies at Heat, 6:30 p.m. CT
  • Warriors at Lakers, 9 p.m. CT

Minnesota is a 13.5-point favorite against the Nets and it should be win No. 45.

The Grizzlies are 2.5-point road favorites against Miami. That doesn't make a ton of sense based on the simple fact that the Grizzlies have lost eight of their last 10 games and Miami has won six straight, including a 21-point blowout over the Celtics on Wednesday night. The back-to-back plays a role but the Heat are at home and hot.

The Warriors are 1.5-point underdogs on the road against the Lakers.

The ideal outcome Thursday night would be Minnesota and the Warriors winning, and the Grizzlies losing? Why? Because the Wolves would wake up Friday still in sixth place, but only a half-game behind the fifth-place Warriors and only 1.5 games behind the Lakers for the 4-seed.

Only six games remain for Minnesota, so every night is critical in the playoff race.

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Joe Nelson
JOE NELSON

Joe Nelson has more than 20 years of experience in Minnesota sports journalism. Nelson began his career in sports radio, working at smaller stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before moving to the highly-rated KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. While there, he produced the popular mid-morning show hosted by Minnesota Vikings play-by-play announcer Paul Allen. His time in radio laid the groundwork for his transition to sports writing in 2011. He covers the Vikings, Timberwolves, Gophers and Twins for On SI.

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