How to watch Timberwolves-Nuggets for free on Christmas

This is the end of the line for Christmas basketball.

After four huge matchups earlier today, Nikola Jokić’s Denver Nuggets will host Anthony Edwards’ Minnesota Timberwolves in the 10:30 p.m. ET nightcap at Ball Arena.

Prior to today, the Western Conference power players have already met twice in the 2025-26 regular season; Denver won both of those contests.

In the first showdown, Jamal Murray popped off for 43 points in a decisive 127-114 victory on Oct. 27. Nearly three weeks later, Denver won 123-112 behind Joker’s 27-point, 12 rebound and 11 assist triple double.

When asked what went wrong for himself and the Wolves that evening, Edwards said “I don’t know. Nothing they did, I just gotta make my shots. Just that simple, yeah, I just missed a bunch of shots. Go to the gym tomorrow, hopefully make them.”

Timberwolves vs. Nuggets: what to know

When: Dec. 25, 10:30 p.m. ET
Where: Ball Arena (Denver, Colorado)
Channel: ESPN
Streaming: DIRECTV (try it free)

If you’d like to catch this hard-edged hardwood battle on the tube, we have everything you need to know and more below.

Timberwolves vs. Nuggets start time:

The Timberwolves vs. Nuggets Christmas game tips off at 10:30 p.m. ET today (Dec. 25).

How to watch Timberwolves vs. Nuggets for free:

If you don’t have cable, you’ll need a live TV streaming service to stream the game for free.

DIRECTV is our top pick for watching basketball live for free — its five-day free trial includes ESPN (plus every other channel you’ll need for the NBA season including local channels). When the trial is over, you’ll pay as low as $49.99/month and gain access to over 90 live channels.

If you aren’t ready to commit to a full-on subscription, you can try a Sling Orange Day Pass. Priced at $4.99, you’ll get 24 hours of access to all Sling TV Orange has to offer, including ESPN. Sling also offers weekend and week-long passes for its Orange plan, which offer between three and seven days of access.