Which is the biggest blowout in NBA playoff history?

The Minnesota Timberwolves blew out defending NBA champions Denver Nuggets, 115-70, in Game 6 of their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series on Thursday. That means there will be a winner-take-all showdown on Sunday.

The 45-point margin by the Timberwolves is one of the 10 biggest blowouts in playoff history, coming in at eighth place. The biggest blowout in the NBA playoffs is 58 points, which took place in 1956 and 2009 by the Minneapolis Lakers and Nuggets, respectively.

Minneapolis beat the St. Louis Hawks, 133-75, in Game 2 of the 1956 NBA Western Division Semifinals. Ten Lakers players scored in double digits in the huge win, led by Hall-of-Famer Slater Martin with 19 points.

Dick Schinittker backstopped Martin with 18 and Ed Kalafat added 14 points of his own. George Mikan, Dick Garmaker, Lew Hitch and Clyde Lovelette each had 13 markers, while Chuck Mencel, Vern Mikkelsen and Whitey Skoog had 10 points apiece.

The Hawks, for their part, were paced by 14 points from Bob Pettit. But St. Louis only shot 24.2% (22-of-91) collectively from the field, which didn't help its cause.

Denver repeated the feat 53 years later, with Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups leading the team to a 121-63 victory over the New Orleans Hornets, who had Chris Paul in their fold, in Game 4 of their Western Conference first-round showdown.

The Mile High City squad shot a solid 56.6% clip from the field, going 43-of-76, led by the 27 points of 'Melo' and 17 of Billups.

Linas Kleiza had 14 points for Denver, with Nene adding 13 and Dahntay Jones and J.R. Smith scoring 12 each. Chris Andersen was the other Nuggets player in double digits, with 11 points.

David West top-scored for New Orleans with 14 points, while Paul only had four. As a team, the Hornets shot 31.5% (17-of-54) from the floor and 13.3% (2-of-15) from three.

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The rest of the top 10 NBA playoff blowouts

Third in the top-10 NBA playoff blowout list is the 56-point margin set by the Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain-led LA Lakers in their 126-70 victory over the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of the 1973 West Finals.

Next on the list, at fourth, is the 54-point blowout the Chicago Bulls dealt the Milwaukee Bucks, 120-66, in Game 6 of their 2015 Eastern Conference first-round clash. At fifth is the 50-point spread the Bucks had over the the Warriors, 136-86, in Game 5 of the 1971 West Finals.

At joint-sixth are the Orlando Magic and Lakers at 47 points each. The Magic beat the Boston Celtics, 124-77, in Game 1 of their 1995 East first-round duel, while the Lakers were 135-88 winners over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of their 1986 West first-round clash.

Next is the Minnesota Timberwolves' 115-70 win over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday.

Completing the list are 44-point wins of the Cleveland Cavaliers over the Boston Celtics, 130-86 (2017); Seattle Supersonics over the Phoenix Suns, 122-78 (1997); Lakers over the Nuggets, 153-109 (1985); and St. Louis Hawks over Detroit Pistons, 145-101 (1958).