Nuggets first-round opponent decided after they roar back to win in regular-season finale

The Game 82 sequel was a lot more meh than the original — at least at the start. It took until the end against the Minnesota Timberwolves for the fireworks to flare. The Nuggets played like there were no stakes involved for most of the game but roared back late to close the game on a 15-0 run and beat Minnesota 99-95.

Minnesota led by as many as 11 in the second half. A pair of 3s from Will Barton and Paul Milsap helped slice the lead to two with 1:30 to go. Jamal Murray connected on a go-ahead 3 with 31.5 seconds. It was all part of a monster run that delivered Denver the 2 seed.

The Nuggets will face the San Antonio Spurs in a first-round series that will begin this weekend. They have home-court advantage against Gregg Popovich and Co, which means the first two games of the series will be at Pepsi Center.

Nikola Jokic had 29 points and 14 rebounds. Murray had 17, while Harris contributed 14. Denver shot 10 of 33 from 3 but won anyway.

The Nuggets won 54 games, which is tied for their second-most wins ever since they made the switch to the NBA from the ABA in 1967.