Scoreboard watching: Where the Wolves sit in the West on Tuesday, April 1

Big games Tuesday include Minnesota at Denver and Golden State at Memphis. The ideal scenario Tuesday night is a Wolves win and a Warriors loss.

Mar 30, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) talks to center Rudy Gobert (27) during the first quarter against the Detroit Pistons at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

The Memphis Grizzlies continued sliding and the Los Angeles Lakers firmed their grip on the No. 4 seed Monday night, setting the stage for another big night of Western Conference action Tuesday night — including a showdown in Denver where the Minnesota Timberwolves will try to sweep the season series against Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets.

Key results Thursday in the NBA:

• Los Angeles Clippers 96, Orlando Magic 87
• Boston Celtics 117, Grizzlies 103
• Lakers 104, Houston Rockets 98

Entering play Tuesday, the Timberwolves (43-32) control the No. 7 seed in the West. They own the tiebreaker over the Clippers (43-32) and they're only a half-game behind sixth-place Golden State (43-31), and only one game behind fifth-place Memphis (44-31).

Three games separate the Wolves from the Lakers (46-29), who control the fourth seed.

Key games Tuesday in the NBA:

• Timberwolves at Nuggets, 9 p.m. CT
• Golden State Warriors at Grizzlies, 7 p.m. CT

Memphis has lost six of seven games overall while the Warriors have been red-hot with Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler playing together. Golden State is a 3.5-point road favorite. In Denver, the Nuggets are favored by 2.5 points.

If the Wolves lose, they'll slide into eighth place behind the Clippers. If Minnesota wins, it'll stay in seventh place no matter what. If Golden State beats Memphis and the Timberwolves defeat Denver, the Wolves and Grizzlies would wake up Wednesday with identical 44-32 records, though Memphis would control the tiebreaker.

If the Wolves win and the Grizzlies beat the Warriors, Minnesota would move into sixth place by a half-game over Golden State. That's the ideal outcome as it would put the Timberwolves a half-game behind Memphis for the No. 5 seed and only 2.5 games behind the Lakers for the No. 4 seed. They'd also trail the Nuggets by three games for the third seed.

Only six games remain for Minnesota after Tuesday, so every night is critical in the NBA.