“I don’t think there’s any matchups we’re trying to avoid or anything like that,” Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. said.

Nikola Jokic (15) of the Denver Nuggets awaits free throws by Aaron Gordon (32) during overtime of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 140-139 win at Ball Arena in Denver on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)After the immediate cascade of bitter emotions washed over them, after they stopped rehashing the disastrous finish and nursing their sore limbs, the Nuggets allowed a more optimistic perspective to set in.

Their double-overtime loss to the Timberwolves this week was inseparable from its context — the continuation of a humbling head-to-head losing streak — but they also could take solace in the point they had proven to themselves without their second- and third-leading scorers.

“I know there’s a lot of talk: ‘Do our guys not want to play (in the playoffs) against Minnesota? Are they scared of Minnesota?’ … We don’t fear anybody,” coach Michael Malone said late Tuesday. “I know we can beat anybody, on any given night, in any matchup.”

Psychological silver linings after a brutal loss might’ve seemed dubious from the outside, but they felt necessary within the hallways of Ball Arena, where the Nuggets, at minimum, wanted a dose of confidence. After all, they had failed that night to accomplish either of their more tangible goals, which are usually at odds with this time of year: maximizing playoff seeding and limiting physical strain on key players.

Checking one box often requires willingness to sacrifice the other. The loss to Minnesota was a perfect encapsulation of the tightrope walk. Malone was prepared to make that sacrifice by playing Nikola Jokic 40 consecutive minutes to end the game in pursuit of a win. It backfired. Jokic is averaging a career-high 36.7 minutes per game, two more than last season. Denver’s other starters were too taxed to play the next night as well.

It was enough to bring back memories of Game 7 last season, when Jokic and company seemed to be running on empty, helpless to fend off a Minnesota comeback.

Generally, though, Malone still feels this season is different. He oversaw an intentionally brief practice session last Monday before the Timberwolves game. Afterward, he was asked how he felt entering April about Denver’s preseason goal to feel more rested going into the playoffs than they did last year.

“I’ll give an unfortunate answer to that,” the 10th-year Nuggets coach said. “I think guys will be much better-rested than last year because of the injuries that we’ve had. You look at Aaron Gordon’s games missed. You look at Jamal (Murray). You look at Nikola missing the 10 days that he missed with multiple injuries that he’s been dealing with. So I know on paper Nikola’s minutes are probably at a career high, but I think overall … we’re in a good place.”

Malone has a point. Jokic’s per-game workload may be excessive, but his total minutes are still on track to finish comfortably below his career-high 2,737 played in the 2023-24 regular season. And that was fresh off an NBA Finals run into a short offseason.

While the Nuggets sacrificed rest to prioritize the standings on Tuesday, they had done the opposite in late March by playing it safe with a banged-up Jokic. The three-time MVP missed five consecutive games for the first time since December 2017, back when he hadn’t even made an All-Star Game yet.

“I think one through 10, everybody can beat everybody,” Jokic said. “So I think as a group, we need to be healthy and be as ready as possible. So I think seeding, yes of course, we want to (have home-court advantage).”

But if multiple starters are injured while hosting a series? “It’s not worth it,” he said bluntly.

Gordon had missed 31 games this season as of Friday, saying recently that his calf finally feels relatively fresh. Murray had missed five of the last nine, easing toward the playoffs while dealing with hamstring inflammation. Denver’s core four had combined to sit out 60 games, as opposed to 36 last season.

And so as the Nuggets arrived in Golden State for another critical game, they had used 10 different starting lineups in the previous 11 games, patching together a 5-6 stretch that was just enough to remain in the mix for third place.

As evidenced by the full-fledged approach to the Minnesota game, they haven’t lost sight of the other priority yet. The Western Conference standings remain in flux. The difference between third and fourth place could be massive.

“I think we’re trying to get the highest seed we can, you know?” Michael Porter Jr. said. “All these teams are so close, and down the stretch, home-court advantage could be a big thing, especially for us and how well we tend to play at home. … But at the end of the day, every team from the play-in teams to the No. 1 seed, it’s really tough. I feel like these playoffs (are) going to be very entertaining.”

If the Nuggets earn the No. 3 seed, their hypothetical path to the NBA Finals would likely avoid the Thunder and Lakers until the Western Conference Finals — and avoid one of those two opponents altogether.

If they finish as the No. 4 seed, their road could go through Oklahoma City in the second round and Los Angeles in the third.

If that’s part of their thought process, they’ll never admit to it.

“I don’t think there’s any matchups we’re trying to avoid or anything like that,” Porter said.

Even Minnesota, which remains a plausible first-round draw. Denver has lost six in a row head-to-head. But in the midst of an emotionally charged and physically draining night, it was easy to forget the Nuggets were missing Murray and Porter while the Wolves were missing Donte DiVincenzo and Naz Reid.

“When we beat them, we won the championship, so I think we can beat them (in a series),” Jokic said. “It’s players hurt, players are different. They are a good team. Give them credit. But I think we are good, too. In playoffs, everything is different. So it can happen. They can beat us, but I think we can beat them, too.”