Jaden McDaniels had 32 points and 10 rebounds and Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 24 points in a surprise start for the injury-ravaged Minnesota Timberwolves in a 110-98 victory over the Denver Nuggets in Game 6 on Thursday night that finished off another tense NBA playoff series between the rivals.

With their top three guards missing because of injuries, the Timberwolves went big with Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle and Naz Reid fueling a 64-40 advantage in points in the paint and an 50-33 edge in rebounding.

“This is what you don’t really teach. This is about will. It’s about heart, and that’s how we were able to overcome this great challenge,” said Gobert, who had 10 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.

Minnesota, the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference, will start the second round at San Antonio on Monday. The second-seeded Spurs beat Portland in five games in their first-round series.

Nikola Jokic had 28 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds to lead the Nuggets, but sidekick Jamal Murray struggled to get free from McDaniels and finished with just 12 points on 4-for-17 shooting. Cameron Johnson scored 27 points to lead Denver's 10-for-27 night from deep, but Jokic and the 3-pointers simply weren't enough to keep up with a fiercely motivated Timberwolves team.

“I’m just happy it’s over, happy we were able to come out on top,” McDaniels said. “Stuff was said. I’m just happy we were all able to prove our point, get the win, and move on to the next round.”

With Ayo Dosunmu joining Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo on the inactive list, the Timberwolves were missing a big chunk of their ability to create shots.

Winning this game was going to require extra doses of defense and energy, and they brought both. Shannon added an element of pure speed that the Nuggets couldn’t stop when he found space toward the basket. McDaniels, embracing the villain role, was a monster on both ends of the floor. The Timberwolves fed off the roaring crowd at every turn and consistently made up for their missing offense with hustle and desire.

Shannon’s three-point play with 1:43 left gave the Timberwolves a six-point lead, and McDaniels followed with the dagger shot — his signature mid-range pull-up was a swish from 19 feet to make it a seven-point game with 1:06 to play. Then he intercepted a harried pass by Jokic to get the ball back and start a parade to the line.

Since beating the Timberwolves in five games in the first round and cruising to the NBA championship in the 2023, the Nuggets haven’t found the production or spunk they’ve needed to supplement the three-time MVP Jokic. They extended the series with a decisive win in Game 5 on Monday, but Minnesota’s defense delivered again this postseason in neutralizing Jokic and rendering Murray an afterthought.

McDaniels tirelessly chased him around the perimeter. The four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year award winner Gobert kept giving Jokic a hard time in the paint with his long arms and superb anticipation.

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McDaniels tossed even more spice into this well-developed rivalry early in the series with his blanket “bad defenders” jab at the Nuggets, and none of the Timberwolves have made any secret of distaste for their opponent. Then their motivation soared off the charts when DiVincenzo went down in the opening minute of Game 4, and their franchise player Edwards followed him on the injured list. During a stoppage in the fourth quarter, DiVincenzo was shown with a big smile as he sat with his foot propped up in a cast behind the bench.

Aditi Gandhi spends a lot of time in the pool. The 17-year old started swimming when she was four, and she now swims competitively for her high school, the Blake School in Minneapolis.

When she’s out of the regular swim season, she also swims for a club team, so she spends at least a couple of hours in the pool almost every day.

And she loves it.

“It’s very calming mentally. It makes me physically feel good, and it's just a great way to keep in shape,” Gandhi said. “I've met some very close friends on the team as well, which has kept me going.”

However, swimming doesn’t always make her feel good.

“Me and my teammates, we would notice after long practices that we would start feeling very sick,” Gandhi told MPR News. “I would notice increased inflammation and pain after swimming, when swimming is actually supposed to take away your pain, because it circulates blood.”

Gandhi has a venous condition. While swimming should provide relief by increasing blood flow, she found, at times, being in the pool was actually making her condition worse.

She said she and her teammates often get other symptoms, too, like coughing or wheezing, eye redness and irritation, and runny noses after spending long periods of time in the pool.

She did some online research and found that chloramines were likely making her and other swimmers sick.

Chloramines cause that distinct and sometimes noxious pool smell that many of us think is chlorine — but it’s not, and it’s not a good sign.

Chloramines are gases that release when chlorine in pool water reacts with substances like urine, sweat and oils from swimmers’ bodies.

Experts say that most swimmers don’t shower before getting into the pool, and many of them urinate in the pool, too. Those substances, along with excess chlorine and poor ventilation around the pool, can cause the harmful gases to build up.

Breathing in chloramines can cause allergy-like symptoms, respiratory problems and even asthma.

Experts say that while those who don’t swim often face little risk, chloramine exposure is a real issue for frequent swimmers like Gandhi and her teammates.

Dr. Avery Michienzi, a toxicologist at the University of Virginia and a former University of Minnesota swimmer, says long term exposure to chloramine gas can be very harmful, especially for athletes who rely heavily on their lungs to get them to the finish line.

“(Chloramines) can lead to a breakdown of your respiratory tract and also lead people to have not only asthma issues, but also just increased susceptibility to viral infections,” said Michienzi.

Dr. Michienzi is a friend of Aditi Gandhi’s high school coach, who put the two in touch with one another to talk about ways to limit her and other swimmers’ exposure to chloramines.

Gandhi’s invention

But to prove they were the cause of her symptoms, Gandhi first needed a way to test for chloramines, which are tricky to measure in the air.

It requires specialized equipment that is hard to find outside of a lab, according to Dr. Ernest “Chip” Blatchley III, an environmental engineering professor at Purdue University.

“There's really no convenient, simple, inexpensive method that allows us to measure these things in real time,” Blatchley said.

That was until Aditi Gandhi sprung into action.

The high school junior invented a device, which is a small, plastic box that sits next to the pool and has sensors that continuously monitor chloramine levels in the air.

A display on the box tells you if levels are higher than normal.

Because it is difficult to measure chloramines in the air directly, her patent-pending prototype device instead measures them by proxy, detecting four variables in the air that are associated with chloramines.

“One sensor measures total volatile organic compounds, which are gas compounds, and equivalent CO2, which is like carbon dioxide, as well as temperature and relative humidity,” Gandhi said.

“If the four variables increase, then it's more likely to have chloramines in the environment,” said Gandhi.

If chloramine levels are too high, swimming pool personnel will know right away and can then take steps to lower them.

“The development of a tool that would allow us to measure the chloramines or, in her case, to measure a proxy for the chloramines — I mean, that's filling a need,” said Blatchley, who also advised Gandhi in her development of the device.

As a former competitive swimmer herself, Dr. Michienzi said she was especially excited to learn about Gandhi’s invention.

“I thought it was a very amazing, very impressive endeavor for a high school student to do, and I think something that could potentially have a big health impact as well," said Michienzi. “I was very excited about it.”

After winning a few science fair awards for her invention, Gandhi will next bring her chloramine detector to the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) competition in Phoenix, Ariz., the week of May 9.

She will also be the spotlight of a Council for the Model Aquatic Health Code (CMAHC) webinar, a nonprofit that partners with the CDC to prevent injury and illness in public pools.

Quinn Hughes led Minnesota to its first playoff series victory in 11 years, scoring twice in the Wild's 5-2 victory over the Dallas Stars in Game 6 on Thursday night.

Minnesota will face Presidents Trophy winner Colorado in the second round. The Avalanche have not played since sweeping Los Angeles on Sunday.

The Wild won a playoff series for the first time in 10 tries since 2015. The past eight came in the first round, including against Dallas in 2016 and 2023.

After Hughes broke a tie midway through the third period, Matt Boldy scored his team-leading fifth and sixth goals of the series into empty nets to seal it. Vladimir Tarasenko also scored and Jesper Wallstedt made 22 saves.

Hughes, acquired from Vancouver in December in the biggest trade in franchise history, took a shot from the left dot that deflected off the skate of Stars defenseman Ilya Lyubshkin and past goalie Jake Oettinger. Hughes also had an assist.

All three Wild goals came at full strength. Minnesota outscored Dallas 17-5 at even strength in the series, including 12-4 at five-on-five.

Wyatt Johnston and Mavrik Bourque scored for Dallas. Johnston had the league-high 10th power-play goal of the postseason for the Stars. Minnesota had three power-play goals in the series.

Lindsey Vonn is still recovering physically and emotionally from her frightening crash at the Winter Olympics. For now, the tough decisions about the future can wait.

She has undergone eight surgeries after suffering a complex left leg fracture — one that nearly led to a leg amputation — in the women’s downhill skiing race on Feb. 8. She needs at least one more to repair a torn ACL in that same knee.

So if the 41-year-old races again — and she’s not ready to make that decision — a return is at least a year and a half away, Vonn told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday.

“I just don’t want to jump to any conclusions or even speculate on what I might do,” Vonn said. “I may retire. I may never race again and that would be completely fine, but I’m not in a position emotionally to make that decision at this point.”

A return to retirement was an option after a comeback season

Vonn thinks she would have returned to retirement had she been able to complete a comeback season that rivaled one of the best of her career. She ended a six-year absence from the sport largely to race at Cortina, Italy, one of her favorite courses, and the venue for the Milan Cortina Games.

The winner of three Olympic medals, including a downhill gold in 2010, crashed just 13 seconds into the race and suffered a complex tibia fracture, shocking a star-studded crowd and ending a season in which she led the World Cup downhill standings and hadn’t finished worse than fourth in any race.

She’s returned from an assortment of injuries before — she has a titanium implant in her right knee — but this one was different. The pain was different. The eight surgeries are just one shy of the total she had for all the others combined.

“It’s a much different injury in that way, again, like the severity of the injury and understanding that I could have lost my leg and how bad things were,” Vonn said. “I can deal with a lot of pain, but this was so extreme. It’s not even been in the universe of pain with this injury as what I’ve had before.”

Vonn is making progress in and out of the gym, though not as quickly as she would like. She has moved beyond a wheelchair and now is on crutches — she is weary of both — and next week will be able to begin walking short distances.

‘Tell me I can’t and I'll prove you wrong’

She is able to travel again, making a trip to New York this week to discuss her support for the biopharmaceutical company Invivyd's “Antibodies for Any Body” campaign, and she has an upcoming vacation planned.

Beyond that, the future is hard to see.

Vonn said she hasn't spoken to her doctor about what a return to skiing would look like, saying they both prefer to focus on this phase of her recovery.

“Regardless, nothing would really happen until '27-28 because I still have one more surgery left to take out the metal and to replace my ACL. That still needs to happen,” Vonn said. “Once I get my ACL fixed, then that’s another six months, so I have at least I would say a year and a half ahead of me before I could really be back to 100%, even just training in the gym.”

Vonn knows there could be risks in a return, and family members don't want her to take them. It was only a day after her crash, when she was still in the hospital, that her father said her career would be over if it were up to him. Said Vonn: “He means the best. He forgot the cardinal rule with me is that if you don’t want me to do something, you shouldn’t tell me I can’t. Tell me I can’t and I’ll prove you wrong.”

A risk Vonn has ‘always taken happily,’ but she doesn't ‘want a do-over’

Vonn has never shied from taking chances — she raced in the Olympics a little more than a week after tearing her ACL — no matter how they turned out.

“Downhill skiing is one of the most dangerous sports in the world, and that’s a risk that I’ve always taken happily, and this is the result, and I don’t regret it,” said Vonn, who noted she had done all she could to be fully prepped for the race. “I don’t want a do-over.”

But she will at some point decide if she wants to race again.

For now, Vonn said she's focused simply on getting her leg healthy. Only after that's done can she start thinking about a career that may or may not be over.

“I’m still, like I said, in survival mode that I just want to get through this phase and be able to assess where I am in my life,” said Vonn, whose 84 World Cup wins are second-most among women, trailing only teammate Mikaela Shiffrin (110). "And take count of what I’ve done and take count of what could be and make decisions in a much better place than where I am now.

“I don’t want to make a decision now because I think that would be rash and probably too emotional and I don’t want to make a mistake, you know?”

Cole Young had three late-inning RBIs for the Seattle Mariners, including the go-ahead two-run single in the ninth that fueled a 5-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday.

Young reached for an outside pitch he slapped in front of the mound and just past the glove of Eric Orze (0-1), who watched the ball scoot past a diving second baseman Luke Keaschall with the infield drawn in. Orze retired only one of five batters he faced in the three-run inning for the Mariners.

Andrés Muñoz pitched a perfect ninth for his sixth save in seven attempts as the Mariners won for the eighth time in 11 games. The 22-year-old Young, who also delivered a tying double with two outs in the seventh, is batting .383 with 10 RBIs in 47 at-bats over his last 13 games.

Seattle (16-16) improved to .500 for the first time since April 3.

Victor Caratini's pinch-hit single with two outs in the eighth gave the Twins a 3-2 lead against Gabe Speier, who was hustled in from Seattle's bullpen when Matt Brash was pulled after two pitches as a precaution with discomfort in his side. Cooper Criswell (1-0) got the last out of the inning with the bases loaded.

The Twins went 3 for 22 with runners in scoring position while losing the last two games of the series.

Taj Bradley posted his fourth quality start in seven turns for the Twins, allowing only four hits and two walks over seven innings with seven strikeouts before their thin bullpen faltered again. Minnesota entered the afternoon with a 5.13 relief ERA, fifth-worst in the major leagues.

J.P. Crawford homered for the Mariners.

Brooks Lee hit a two-out, two-run single for the Twins off starter George Kirby in the fourth inning.

Up next

Seattle begins a three-game series at home against Kansas City on Friday.

Minnesota stays home to start a four-game series against Toronto on Thursday.

Minnesota trans athlete JayCee Cooper has reached a settlement agreement with USA Powerlifting, after the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that the organization violated her rights by barring her from women’s competitions.

The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled last year that the powerlifting organization violated the Minnesota Human Rights Act.

Cooper is represented by the nonprofit Gender Justice. Legal director Jess Braverman said in a statement that this is a victory for Cooper.

“In the settlement we’ve reached with USA Powerlifting, they have acknowledged that their policies excluding trans women athletes broke the law. They are also paying a sum for the harm they caused,” Cooper said.

Attorneys have not shared the amount of that sum or other details of the settlement agreement.

When the Minnesota Supreme Court issued its ruling last year, it didn’t entirely settle the case; it sent a business discrimination claim back to the district court. Powerlifting USA had argued that it had a “legitimate business purpose” under Minnesota law to bar trans women from women’s competitions. The settlement ends the court’s consideration of that claim.

In a statement, USA Powerlifting said the organization decided that “continuing to pursue legal resolution carried greater risks and costs than achieving a settlement.”

The organization maintained its concerns that Minnesota’s laws allowing transgender women to participate in women’s sports are unfair to other women.

“What the plaintiffs cast as a victory for transgender rights is a ruling that has forced Minnesota to take a step backward for women, fair competition and common sense,” former USA Powerlifting president and women’s powerlifting coach Larry Maile said in a statement.

Minnesota officials and advocates have pushed back on that claim, amid debates over Minnesota’s current laws allowing high school students to play sports consistent with their gender identity. The state Legislature and attorney general have maintained that its policies are consistent with Title IX and protect trans athletes from discrimination.

The federal government filed a lawsuit against the state challenging those laws in March.

Braverman said Cooper’s case is a win for the state’s trans-inclusive sports policies.

“We celebrate this victory, but we also remain vigilant,” Braverman said. “We will continue to ensure that all Minnesotans, including transgender Minnesotans, can participate in sports, schools, employment, and health care without facing discrimination because of who they are.”

Powerlifting USA said it’s still deciding on its next steps for operating in Minnesota to comply with the court ruling.

So much for the complaints raised last summer about the PWHL's expansion process favoring the league’s newest franchises in Seattle and Vancouver.

After a five-month, 120-game regular season featuring record crowds, women’s hockey enjoying a significant post-Olympic boost and with more expansion on the horizon, the Walter Cup playoff semifinalists are made up exclusively of the league’s old guard.

The four-team field is led by the Minnesota Frost seeking to three-peat. They open their best-of-five series at Montreal on Saturday against the Marie Philip-Poulin-led Victoire, who have failed to carry over regular-season success into the playoffs in each of the league’s first two seasons.

The Boston Fleet return following a one-year absence, with a new coach, Kris Sparre, and following Hilary Knight’s offseason departure to Seattle. Boston opens its series at home on Thursday facing the Ottawa Charge — the PWHL’s two other teams to reach the final, before losing to Minnesota.

“The experience absolutely helps,” captain Kendall Coyne Schofield said of the Frost, who still feature a veteran core despite the offseason departures of key defenders Sophie Jaques and Claire Thompson to Vancouver.

“We have a handful of players in the room who have won. And if they haven’t won in the PWHL, they’ve won before coming to the PWHL,” Coyne Schofield said. “And those who haven’t played in a best-of-five series yet, I think they’ll figure it out quickly.”

Lower seeds have had the edge

If the past means anything, records and standings don’t matter. The lower-seeded team has won each of six playoff series, with Minnesota winning the Cup twice after finishing fourth.

This year, the Frost finished third only to be selected by the two-time regular-season champion Victoire as their semifinal opponent. In doing so, Montreal avoided a rematch of its four-game semifinal series loss to Ottawa last year.

“There’s no team in this league that is easy to beat,” coach Kori Cheverie said, without providing insight into Montreal's decision to choose Minnesota. “We landed on Minnesota, and we’re looking forward to that opportunity.”

Montreal swept its four-game regular-season series against Minnesota — with two wins in overtime.

Though the Victoire and Fleet each finished with 62 points, Montreal had the tiebreaking edge in having one more win. Boston struggled in going 0-0-4 against Ottawa this season.

Victoire (22-6-2, including 6 OT wins) vs. Frost (16-9-5, 3 OT wins)

Montreal closed the season on a 15-1-2 run, and went 11-1-1 at home (not including neutral site games). The Victoire allowed a league-low 41 goals and feature Canadian national team goalie Ann-Renee Desbiens, who led the PWHL in most every category, while finishing second with seven shutouts.

Overshadowing Montreal’s regular-season dominance through three seasons is the Victoire having yet to win a playoff series. Aside from losing to Ottawa last year, they were swept by Boston in 2024, with all three games decided in overtime.

“Obviously, coming into the playoffs, we’ve struggled,” said Poulin, who returned for the regular-season finale after missing 10 games with a lower-body injury. “But every year is a new year, it’s a new team, and we’re truly excited.”

The Frost scored a league-leading 91 goals. Led by MVP candidate Kelly Pannek and her PWHL-leading 16 goals and 33 points, Minnesota had the league's top-three point producers rounded out by Taylor Heise (30) and Britta Curl-Salemme (29).

Minnesota features the veteran goalie tandem of Maddie Rooney (9-5-2) and Nicole Hensley (7-4-2).

Fleet (21-5-4, 5 OT wins) vs. Ottawa (17-12-1, 8 OT wins)

Boston features a mix of experience and youth and is led by goalie Aerin Frankel, who backstopped the U.S. to a gold medal at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics.

Frankel set a PWHL record with eight shutouts and finished mere percentage points behind Desbiens with a 1.17 goals-against average and .953 save percentage.

Megan Keller, who scored the U.S. gold medal-clinching goal in overtime against Canada, led PWHL defenders with 22 points. Defender Haley Winn finished second in the rookie scoring race with 19 points, and led all rookies in averaging 26:45 of ice time per outing.

The mid-season addition of forward Jessie Eldridge in a trade with Seattle provided the Fleet scoring depth to complement Alina Muller and Susanna Tapani.

The Charge closed 4-0 and clinched their playoff berth with a season-ending 3-0 win over Toronto. And they get a boost in welcoming back coach Carla MacLeod, who returns after taking a five-game leave to focus on her breast cancer treatments.

Ottawa is led by captain Brianne Jenner and a blueline group that includes Emily Clark and Jocelyn Larocque.

In net is Gwyneth Philips, Frankel’s Team USA backup.

Philips was the PWHL’s playoff MVP last year after allowing 13 goals in eight outings, and finished this season third with 16 wins, fourth with a .931 save percentage and fifth with a 2.12 goals-against average.

Julio Rodriguez hit three doubles, scored twice and drove in two runs, and Josh Naylor had a homer and four RBIs on Tuesday night as the Seattle Mariners beat the Minnesota Twins 7-1.

Four Seattle relievers combined to retire the last 12 Twins hitters. Eduard Bazardo (2-1) pitched a scoreless sixth inning.

Minnesota starter Joe Ryan (2-3) gave up two runs in six-plus innings. Byron Buxton homered and singled for the Twins, who have lost 10 of 12.

Mariners starter Logan Gilbert gave up one run in five innings in his first start since a line drive got caught in his jersey last Wednesday, leaving him with a bruised stomach and a cut on his left hand.

Seattle led 2-1 in the eighth when J.P. Crawford drew a leadoff walk, Rodriguez hit a one-out double and Naylor hit a no-doubt homer to right field off Cole Sands.

Rodriguez added a two-run double in the ninth.

Buxton led off the fifth by hitting Gilbert's first pitch to deep left for his seventh homer of the season and second in as many nights. Trevor Larnach just missed a home run on the next pitch, driving it high off the wall in right-center for a double. But Gilbert stranded him at second, one of six runners in scoring position the Twins left on base between the third and sixth innings.

Seattle tied it with a two-out rally in the sixth, when Rodriguez laced a double down the left-field line and scored on Naylor's single.

Cole Young's two-out RBI single in the seventh made it 2-1.

The Mariners will send RHP George Kirby (4-2, 2.97 ERA) to the mound against Twins RHP Taj Bradley (3-1, 2.91) in Wednesday's series finale.

Mats Zuccarello and the Minnesota Wild are now in the position that they try to be in every season in the NHL playoffs.

Things feel a bit different now, with the Wild going home for Game 6 on Thursday night with a chance to eliminate the Dallas Stars and advance to the second round for the first time since 2015.

“I think it’s important just to stay calm. You know, don’t overthink it,” said Zuccarello, the 16-year NHL veteran in his seventh season with the Wild. “Don’t read whatever you guys (media) say about we haven’t gotten out of the first round in a couple of years. Just calm and collected.”

Zuccarello scored the first goal less than four minutes into Game 5 on Tuesday night in Dallas, which was the 38-year-old top-line forward’s return from a three-game absence with an upper-body injury. The Wild, in their 12th playoff appearance over 14 seasons, went on to a 4-2 win for a 3-2 series lead.

The only other time Minnesota has ever had a 3-2 series lead was that first round in 2015, when they beat St. Louis in six games. The Wild have since lost nine consecutive playoff series, including to Dallas in 2016 and 2023.

“We’ve got to just look to control our emotions in Game 6 and in front of our home crowd, a place where we had a good feeling leaving last time,” said forward Marcus Foligno said, who is in his ninth season. “I think it's a little bit different. I think we have a lot of leadership and guys that are experienced. ... It’s a close group but a really hard working group and a confident one right now.”

Wild captain Jared Spurgeon and fellow defenseman Jonas Brodin are the only two current players who have taken part in a postseason series victory in Minnesota. Spurgeon was then a 25-year-old in his fifth of his 16 NHL seasons — all with the same team. Brodin's status is uncertain for the potential clincher at home after leaving Game 5 with a lower-body injury.

If Minnesota can't wrap up the powerhouse first-round series at home, where it won Game 4 in overtime, a deciding Game 7 would be Saturday in Dallas.

The series winner will advance to play well-rested top-seeded Central Division foe Colorado, which finished off a sweep of its first-round series against the Los Angeles Kings last Sunday.

Kirill Kaprizov had two assists on Tuesday night, two days after his 29th birthday, before an empty-net goal with two minutes left. His second goal in this series was the 17th playoff goal of his career, breaking a tie with Zach Parise for the most in franchise history. His ninth career multipoint playoff game also surpassed Parise.

Matt Boldy, the 25-year-old budding standout, had the tiebreaking power-play goal in the final minute of the second period after having one taken away because of a goalie interference challenge at the end of the first.

Jesper Wallstedt, their 23-year-old rookie who has started every game in net over Filip Gustavsson in this series, had 20 saves in Game 5. He has allowed only three goals against the Stars in five-on-five situations, with neither coming that way.

“We’re very confident of where we’re at. ... Now we get to bring the series home,” Wallstedt said. “I’ve never played in a game of that type of magnitude. I’m very excited. I’m looking forward to it so much.”

The Denver Nuggets rediscovered both their offensive identity and their defensive intensity just in time to save their season.

Nikola Jokic snapped out of his prolonged funk with a triple-double, Spencer Jones provided a spark while subbing for injured Aaron Gordon, and the Nuggets staved off elimination with a chippy 125-113 win over the injury-riddled Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 of their playoff series Monday night.

“I think we're a multidimensional team that can win a variety of ways,” said Jones, who scored 20 points and keyed a third-quarter spurt that gave Denver its big cushion.

The Timberwolves, who trailed by 27, were without their starting backcourt of Anthony Edwards (hyperextended knee) and Donte DiVincenzo (ruptured Achilles), both of whom got hurt in Game 4, and they briefly lost center Naz Reid to a rolled right ankle late in the third quarter Monday night.

DiVincenzo underwent surgery Sunday, and Edwards is out indefinitely — but an MRI confirmed the absence of structural damage, meaning he could return to action if the Timberwolves advance.

Game 4 star Ayo Dosunmu added 18 points for Minnesota, but Rudy Gobert was finally neutralized. He scored his only bucket with 20 seconds remaining in the third quarter with the Wolves trailing by 25.

Jokic had 27 points, 16 assists and 12 rebounds for Denver, which trimmed its deficit to 3-2 in the best-of-seven series. Jamal Murray scored 24 points as the Nuggets, who led the NBA in scoring, enjoyed a breakout after being held under 100 points twice in Minneapolis.

Jokic posted his 23rd playoff triple-double, third on the career list, as the Nuggets stopped a three-game skid and played the way they did most of the regular season in securing the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.

Game 6 is Thursday night in Minneapolis.

“They’re a championship team. They have championship DNA," said Julius Randle, who led Minnesota with 27 points. "They’re going to come out and have a sense of pride on their home court. They did that tonight. So, credit to them. We get to go back to Minnesota and have a chance to close it out.”

The Nuggets need to win the next two games to become just the 14th of 299 teams facing a 3-1 deficit to come back to win an NBA playoff series. Denver was the last team to accomplish the feat, doing it twice in the bubble in 2020, against the Jazz and Lakers.

The Wolves started out sloppy with nine first-quarter turnovers and finished with 25. Jokic swished a 29-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Denver a 60-51 halftime lead.

“It’s just a good win and then you move on,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said. “Tomorrow we’ll sit down and talk with the guys, get them right, give us a chance to go through things on Wednesday and try to win on Thursday.”

Jones, who scored 11 points in the first four games of the series, had 11 in a six-minute stretch in the fourth quarter when the Nuggets pulled away. He sank a trio of 3-pointers and added a breakaway dunk after learning just before tipoff that he'd start in place of Gordon (calf).

Jaden McDaniels, whose layup in the final seconds of Game 4 drew the wrath of Jokic and led to a dustup that resulted in ejections and fines and only added more fuel to an already-heated playoff rivalry, got into early foul trouble and scored 13 points. He was razzed by the Ball Arena crowd every time he touched the ball.

“We just ended up losing the day,” McDaniels said, “but we’re going to win the next one.”

McDaniels embraces the villain role after Game 5 brings boos

McDaniels got more pushback from the Denver Nuggets and their fans as he heard constant boos from the crowd all evening.

All it did was embolden McDaniels, the Timberwolves forward who's worked his way under the skin of Nuggets Nation through his words and his actions.

Following a 125-113 loss to Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series on Monday night, McDaniels insisted he wouldn’t be back in Denver anytime soon.

“We just ended up losing the day, but we’re going to win the next one,” said McDaniels, whose team leads the best-of-seven series 3-2 heading into Game 6 on Thursday night in Minnesota.

McDaniels labeled the Nuggets “all bad defenders” after Minnesota won Game 2. Denver didn't have much of a response in the lead-up to Game 3 — or during the game itself.

On Saturday, McDaniels again drew the ire of the Nuggets — more specifically, Jokic — after scoring on a layup in the final seconds of the game. Jokic raced down the court and confronted him as players gathered around. The dustup resulted in e jections and fines but no suspensions.

This time, the Nuggets had a response. So did the Ball Arena crowd, which booed McDaniels each time he touched the ball.

"I love this environment, everyone hating me,” McDaniels said. “I feed into it. It just brings the best out of me.”

McDaniels finished with 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting in just more than 27 minutes of action. He also had four of the Timberwolves' 25 turnovers. The miscues may be understandable, though, as the team works on playing without Donte DiVincenzo (ruptured right Achilles tendon) and Anthony Edwards (knee).

“It’s really just the gravity they carry,” McDaniels said. “I feel like we still did a good job.”

At times, the game got a little chippy — and he was sometimes at the center of it. Such as in the fourth quarter with some pushing and words with Jonas Valanciunas.

There was also Christian Braun hanging on the rim after a dunk and pointing in the direction of McDaniels. That drew Braun a technical and revved up the crowd.

“It's all fun to me. I don’t really care. I feed into it,” McDaniels said. “We've just got to get the job done next game, and then there’s no more talking.”

The Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets are preparing for Game 5 of their playoff series Monday night. If the Wolves win, they advance to the Western Conference Semifinals. That’s after a decisive victory Saturday, when they beat Denver by 16 points. It came at a cost — injuries for two starters and fines for a member of each team.

Joining Minnesota Now to talk about this and other Minnesota sports stories, are our sports contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson.

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The PWHL regular-season champion Montreal Victoire bucked the standings by choosing to open their semifinal playoff series facing the third-place — and two-time defending Walter Cup champion — Minnesota Frost, the team announced Sunday night.

In selecting Minnesota, Montreal also set the other best-of-five semifinal matchup of second-place Boston Fleet facing fourth-place Ottawa Charge.

Montreal finished with 62 points and in a tie for first with Boston in the standings, but held the tiebreaker in having more overall wins, 22 to the Fleet’s 21. The PWHL has had its regular-season champion pick its opponent since the league launched three years ago.

And so far, the top team’s choice has backfired, including last year, when Montreal opted to play third-place Ottawa and lost the series in four games. In 2024, Toronto chose to play fourth-place Minnesota, and lost that series in five games.

The Fleet will open their series against Ottawa at Boston on Thursday night. The Victoire will open their series at Montreal on Saturday.

In choosing Minnesota, Montreal avoided a rematch of last year’s grueling semifinal series against the Charge in which all four games were decided by one goal — including the Victoire’s 3-2 win that required four overtime periods.

This year, Montreal swept its four-game season series against Minnesota, with two decided in overtime. The Victoire allowed a league-low 41 goals and finished second with 78 goals scored. Minnesota scored a league-leading 91 goals and were tied for fourth in allowing 73.

Ottawa won all four meetings against Boston, with three ending in shootouts and the other in overtime. And the Charge clinched the PWHL's fourth and final berth with a season-ending 3-0 win over Toronto on Saturday.

The regular-season standings haven’t mattered much in the past two PWHL playoffs, with the lower-seeded team winning each series.

Minnesota finished fourth in the standings each time before rolling to win the championship. The Frost beat Boston in five games to win the inaugural title in 2024. The following year, they defeated Ottawa in four games.

The left knee of Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards remained structurally intact when he was injured during Game 4 of his team's Western Conference first-round playoff series, but he is likely to miss multiple weeks, a person with knowledge of the situation said Sunday.

Edwards has a bone bruise and also hyperextended the knee, said the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team had not announced details or a return-to-play timeline.

ESPN and The Athletic first reported the diagnosis on Edwards.

Edwards was hurt in the first half of Minnesota's 112-96 win over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night, a victory that gave the Timberwolves a 3-1 lead in that series. But the Wolves also lost fellow starting guard Donte DiVincenzo in that game with a torn Achilles tendon, meaning his season is over and his 2026-27 season is likely in great jeopardy as well.

Game 5 of the series is Monday night in Denver.

DiVincenzo was having surgery to repair the Achilles on Sunday in New York, the Timberwolves announced. That timeframe — surgery one day after the injury — follows what Boston’s Jayson Tatum did after he suffered the same injury in last season’s playoffs. Tatum started rehab quickly and missed about 10 months, returning for the final stretch of this season. If DiVincenzo follows the same timeline, he could be back before the end of next season.

Edwards is one of the NBA's most dynamic players, someone who — if he had met the league's eligibility criteria by playing in a few more games — would have been a lock to make the All-NBA team for a third consecutive season.

He averaged 28.8 points in the regular season, third best in the NBA behind Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers and reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Edwards also averaged five rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.

Edwards was fourth in scoring for the U.S. Olympic team that won a gold medal at the Paris Games in 2024. He missed 21 games this season, by far the most of his career.

This injury happened with him on the defensive end, while he was contesting a layup attempt by Denver's Cam Johnson. Edwards leaped in an effort to block the shot, and when he landed his left leg appeared to be at an unusual angle. His knee buckled, and when he hobbled off the floor he seemed unable to put much if any weight on that leg.

Timberwolves forward Julius Randle said he didn't see DiVincenzo before leaving the arena, and he had a quiet exchange with Edwards when he saw him in the locker room.

“I just dapped him up,” Randle said. “There's not much to say in those moments. ... Somebody who's going through those situations is processing a lot.”

Matt Boldy scored on a deflection with 28.9 seconds left in the first overtime and the Minnesota Wild beat the Dallas Stars 3-2 on Saturday in Game 4 to tie the first-round NHL playoff series.

Jared Spurgeon took a shot that Boldy, unmarked in front of the net, tipped with his stick shaft to guide the puck past goalie Jake Oettinger. After losing Game 3 in double overtime and facing defeat again until Marcus Foligno tied it on a second-effort tip-in with 5:20 left in the third period, the Wild showed their resilience.

“The frustration in our room is nonexistent, I would say, not a difficult thing to do,” Boldy said. “It wasn’t much of a difficult thing to do to get our rest the last couple days and come back with a good attitude.”

Boldy, who had a goal waved off in regulation when teammate Joel Eriksson Ek pushed Miro Heiskanen into Oettinger and another discounted in overtime because he made a kicking motion at the puck, has three goals in the series after giving the Wild their first postseason overtime win at home in 12 years.

“I almost touched the roof, I got so excited,” said goalie Jesper Wallstedt, who made 43 saves. “It felt like we were so close, so many times, and it finally went in. It’s such a nice feeling.”

Game 5 is in Dallas on Tuesday night.

“We just couldn’t get any puck luck," Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. "We’re just going to have to start to finish off some.”

Jason Robertson and Heiskanen scored on the only two regulation power plays for the Stars, who continued their special teams mastery of the Wild and are 8 for 19 in the series.

Brock Faber had the first goal for the Wild, who were again without first-line right wing Mats Zuccarello due to an upper-body injury that occurred in Game 1 and felt his absence on their flagging power play. The Wild were 0 for 4 in regulation, with just one goal in their last 15 opportunities.

The power-play disparity has been stark, much like in the first round in 2023 when Dallas downed Minnesota in six games.

Ryan Hartman was whistled for goaltender interference just 4:31 into the game, and Robertson responded by snapping in a rebound after Matt Duchene — who has seven points in four games — muscled a shot from just outside the crease that ricocheted off Wallstedt.

The Stars, who are playing without top center Roope Hintz, have managed to get shots through the screens and attack the net far more effectively on the man advantage.

After the Wild had two empty power plays in the first period with just three seconds between them, the home crowd that has seen this script many times before booed the last group off the ice.

Even strength is where the Wild must live if they're going to mount a comeback. They're up 9-4 in 5-on-5 goals, including Faber's wrister that tied it later in the first period by glancing off Heiskanen's glove.

Oettinger, who stopped 40 shots in another steely performance in his home state, deserved better on that.

“Jake made some incredible saves,” Robertson said.

Wallstedt has been a bulwark all series. The Wall of St. Paul thwarted plenty more prime chances, but playing 4-on-5 doesn't help. After Faber took a high-sticking penalty, Heiskanen zipped a shot from the slot that eluded Wallstedt's shoulder and scraped the top of the net.

Stars defenseman Nils Lundkvist left during the second period after taking an inadvertent skate to the face by Michael McCarron as Lundkvist was being called for tripping McCarron. Lundkvist suffered a deep laceration and didn't return. He'll get further examination in Dallas, Gulutzan said.

Minnesota Frost’s Kelly Pannek from Plymouth secured the PWHL’s Points Leader Award and Top Goal Scorer Award for the 2025-26 regular season, which concluded on Saturday with a loss to the Vancouver Goldeneyes 4-3.

The 30-year-old two-time Olympic gold medalist set a league record with 33 points in 30 games, including her league-leading 16th goal of the season scored Saturday. The previous record was 29 points.

Pannek had a 22-point increase from last season, becoming the ninth player in PWHL history to reach 60 career points.

Minnesota’s alternate captain led the league in power-play points with 10 and tied for the second-most assists at 17.

Frost forward Taylor Heise of Lake City, Minn., finished second in the points race with 30.

Frost lose 4-3 after OT battle

Defenseman Sophie Jaques scored at 1:24 of overtime to give the expansion Goldeneyes the 4-3 victory in the final regular-season game for both teams.

Jaques took a pass from Hannah Miller and fired a shot over goalie Marlene Boissonnault’s shoulder for her ninth goal of the season.

Jenn Gardiner had goal and two assists for Vancouver. Sarah Nurse and Miller also scored, and Emerance Maschmeyer stopped 28 shots. The Goldeneyes closed with four straight victories to finish seventh in the eighth-team PWHL at 9-3-4-14.

Pannek and Klara Hymlarova scored third-period goals for the Frost to force overtime. Kendall Coyne Schofield also scored for Minnesota in its fourth loss in a row. The two-time defending champion Frost finished third at 13-354-9.

Minnesota will open the best-of-five semifinal series Thursday in Boston or Saturday in Montreal.

Donte DiVincenzo's season is over with an Achilles tendon injury and the severity of Anthony Edwards' left knee injury remains unclear, an emotional Minnesota coach Chris Finch said Saturday night after the Timberwolves' playoff win over the Denver Nuggets.

DiVincenzo was lost 1:19 into Game 4, the nature of his injury immediately suggesting that it was an Achilles issue. Edwards was lost late in the first half, and even without their starting guards the Timberwolves — behind 43 points from Ayo Dosunmu — beat the Nuggets for a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference quarterfinal series.

“I feel completely devastated for Donte,” Finch said.

Edwards’ left knee appeared to buckle as he landed after contesting a layup late in the second quarter. He was helped to the locker room and the Timberwolves ruled him out for the rest of the game with a left knee injury.

DiVincenzo appeared to injure his lower right leg in the game’s opening minutes when he slipped to the court as he raced to chase a ball. He immediately waved to the bench for help and put little to no weight on his right foot as he was helped to the locker room, and he eventually left the arena in a wheelchair.

“Losing those two guys is really tough, tough emotionally for our guys,” Finch said.

Edwards came into Saturday averaging 23 points and eight rebounds in the series, as the sixth-seeded Timberwolves look to upset the third-seeded Nuggets. DiVincenzo averaged 14.3 points and made 11 of 22 3-pointers in the first three games.

The Timberwolves held off the Nuggets 112-96 to win their third game of the series. They play the Nuggets again Monday night.

“I was heartbroken,” Dosunmu said in the televised on-court postgame interview when asked about the injuries to DiVincenzo and Edwards. “This is for them. Ant, Donte, they mean so much to the organization. I’m sending them prayers. I hope for a speedy recovery. I hope they’re fine, but this game, personally, was for them.”

Timberwolves vs. Nuggets Game 4

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The roaring start for Kirill Kaprizov and the Minnesota Wild in this first-round NHL playoff series has given way to struggling special teams.

If the Wild are going to snap back after two straight losses to the Dallas Stars, they need Kaprizov to find another gear.

After their 6-1 victory in Game 1, fueled by a goal and two assists from their star left wing, the Wild scored only five times in the next two games, with no goals and one assist for Kaprizov. Meanwhile, their power play has converted just one of 11 opportunities since producing two goals in the opener in Dallas.

Even if the lineup and strategy for that group is completely different than playing 5 on 5, there's clearly carryover from man advantage to even strength the Wild have experienced in the last two games in unhelpful fashion.

“It’s easy to play after, you know, if you have some chance and you start feeling more. Then you keep going more,” Kaprizov said after practice on Friday. "We need to play better on power play.”

Getting his good friend Mats Zuccarello back would sure help.

The 38-year-old right wing has been held out of the last two games after taking an elbow to the head from Stars defenseman Tyler Myers. Wild coach John Hynes said Zuccarello's status for Game 4 remains uncertain, to be decided soon before the puck drop on Saturday.

Zuccarello, who had three assists in Game 1, has long forged a unique chemistry on the first line with Kaprizov since they became teammates five seasons ago.

“But a lot of the times, even talking with Kirill, his style of game shouldn’t change, or it doesn’t need to change when he plays with Zuccy or not,” Hynes said.

Prolific scorers being quieted in a series by a tough and targeted opposing defense is part of the lore of the NHL postseason, of course. Connor McDavid didn't have a point in the first two games that Edmonton split with Anaheim. Nathan MacKinnon has not scored yet, though Colorado has a 3-0 lead on Los Angeles.

The Avalanche actually have scored more short-handed (once) than with the man advantage (none) in nine power plays against the Kings.

“I’d like to see it sustained more. I’d like to see it get more dangerous,” coach Jared Bednar said. “The intensity of the penalty kills this time of the year is high. At some point, you’ve got to make a play and put one in the back of the net.”

Bednar wasn't speaking for Hynes, his counterpart in the stacked Central Division, but he could've been. The Wild, for their part, weren't having it in the aftermath of the double-overtime defeat in Game 3 when asked if their faith in the power play was flagging.

“This whole narrative that we’re frustrated and all this, that’s not true,” right wing Matt Boldy said. “We’re still confident in our group. Let’s nip that in the bud now because it’s made up.”

Getting a vintage performance from Kaprizov in Game 4, with or without Zuccarello, would go a long way toward putting that to rest.

“When Kirill is at his best, he’s playing a fast game. He’s skating, he’s moving his feet, he’s driving plays deep in the offensive zone and off the rush. He’s getting to the inside. He’s difficult to play against below the goal line,” Hynes said. "He’s a really threatening guy, and I think when he does that he’s a dynamite player, right?”

The Minnesota Vikings traded edge rusher Jonathan Greenard to the Philadelphia Eagles for two third-round picks, one this year and one next year, in a future-looking move on the second night of the NFL draft on Friday.

The Vikings sent the 2024 Pro Bowler and one of their three seventh-round picks this year, 244th overall, to the Eagles for the 98th overall selection this year and a third-rounder in 2027.

“We just felt like we had a really good D-line, but we wanted to elevate it to another level,” Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said.

The 28-year-old Greenard, who had been seeking a new contract and a trade if he didn't get one from the Vikings, subsequently agreed to a four-year, $100 million contract extension including $50 million in fully guaranteed money, his agent Drew Rosenhaus confirmed.

Greenard was scheduled to carry a salary cap hit of more than $22 million this season, creating space the Vikings can take advantage of in the future as they attempt to reset their roster following a 9-8 finish and the firing of general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.

“He’s a leader. He’s a captain. He’s an impact player. It’s something that we understand is not making the Minnesota Vikings a better team today, but there’s a lot of factors involved, particularly the economics," interim general manager and executive vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski said. "We have just spent so much money the last several years that it’s not sustainable for us to move forward. Our salary cap situation has been very, very challenging.”

The Eagles had a need after letting edge rusher Jaelen Phillips leave in free agency. Greenard was expendable given the emergence last year of 2024 first-round draft pick Dallas Turner and the overall excellence when healthy of fellow outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel. Greenard was limited to 12 games in 2025 by a shoulder injury. He had three sacks, after tallying 12 sacks in his Vikings debut in 2024. Greenard signed in free agency after four seasons with the Houston Texans, who drafted him in the third round in 2020 out of Florida.

The trade gave the Vikings a fifth top-100 selection in the draft this year, plus four waiting in 2027. They took Florida defensive tackle Caleb Banks in the first round (18th overall) and Cincinnati linebacker Jake Golday (51st overall) in the second round after moving down two spots in a trade with Carolina. They upgraded a sixth-rounder to a fifth-rounder in that swap with the Panthers.

The Vikings used the pick from the Eagles at No. 98 to take safety Jakobe Thomas from Miami.

Jaden McDaniels and the Minnesota Timberwolves flexed even more of their defensive muscle against the flagging Denver Nuggets, seizing a 2-1 lead in the first-round NBA playoff series with a dominant 113-96 victory on Thursday night.

McDaniels had 20 points and 10 rebounds, Ayo Dosunmu added 25 points and nine assists off the bench, and Donte DiVincenzo had 15 points and four steals as the surging Timberwolves built a 27-point lead in the third quarter and finished with a 68-34 advantage in points in the paint.

Rudy Gobert followed his inspired Game 2 effort against Nikola Jokic by stifling the three-time MVP again on an ugly 7-for-26 shooting night, and the Timberwolves established a postseason franchise record by allowing the Nuggets just 11 points in the tone-setting first quarter.

“The shooting really put us behind the 8-ball to start the game,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said. “We only gave up 25 points in the first quarter. That’s actually a very good number. We just had a hard time making shots tonight. Our physicality offensively has got to get better."

Jokic finished with a too-little-too-late 27 points and 15 rebounds for the Nuggets, who were missing Aaron Gordon to a calf injury and all the energy he provides from his starting power forward spot.

“He’s the greatest offensive player I’ve guarded in my whole career,” Gobert, the four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year who had 10 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks, said of Jokic. “Just trying to enjoy the challenge.”

Jamal Murray had 16 points on just 5-for-17 shooting as the league's best 3-point shooting team during the regular season struggled again from deep. The Nuggets have hit 30% of their 3s in the series, going 33 for 109.

But the Timberwolves did even more damage with the ball.

“They’re kind of pushing the pace, playing faster,” Jokic said. “Don’t let us set our defense, and then just driving the ball and trying to be aggressive.”

McDaniels, who flatly answered a question about Minnesota's offensive strategy after Game 2 by labeling all of Denver's players “bad defenders,” proved to be more prescient than reckless with his assessment. Rather than irking the Nuggets, he had himself and his teammates fired up as the series shifted to their home court.

The Wolves turned loose their primary wing players — McDaniels, DiVincenzo and Dosunmu — to repeatedly attack the basket as they raced around the Nuggets at every turn in the first half on the way to a 61-39 lead.

“We're being decisive," Dosunmu said. "That's what it's all about.”

McDaniels delighted the crowd with a 3-pointer from the top of the key and a one-handed slam in traffic over Jokic and Spencer Jones down the stretch in one of his finest performances in the postseason for Minnesota. Several fans clutched signs honoring McDaniels and his blunt "bad defenders" quote, a cheeky tribute that made even the stone-faced sixth-year player smile afterward.

“I thought it was a very emotionally sound game for him," Gobert said. "That’s huge for him to just stay locked in, stay present, not getting frustrated.”

The Minnesota Vikings selected Florida defensive tackle Caleb Banks with the 18th pick in the first round of the NFL draft on Thursday night, adding some interior bulk and athleticism with a raw prospect whose recent injury likely pushed him down the board.

The 6-foot-6, 327-pound Banks cracked the fourth metatarsal bone in his left foot in February while practicing for the 40-yard dash the night before the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis. He had surgery on it last month, his second procedure in six months. Injuries to his left foot caused him to miss games in both 2023 and 2025 for the Gators.

The Vikings signed veteran defensive tackles Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave in free agency last year but cut them both for salary cap savings last month. Neither Allen nor Hargrave generated much of a pass rush in defensive coordinator Brian Flores' system. If Banks is healthy, he could form a sturdy tandem for the future with budding standout Jalen Redmond.

After finishing 9-8 amid persistent quarterback problems with both health and performance, the Vikings missed the playoffs and fired general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.

Longtime salary cap executive Rob Brzezinski has taken over the role on an interim basis, in charge of fostering consensus between the coaching staff and the scouting department in the preparation for and direction of the draft. Brzezinski spoke several times this spring of the importance of not prioritizing a pick for present need over long-term value, making clear the Vikings in this transition would be content to let the talent fall to them and focus on restocking their depth with four top-100 picks.

The Vikings will take three picks into the second night of the draft on Friday, 49th overall in the second round and 82nd and 97th overall in the third round.

Minnesota Wild right wing Matt Boldy was sidelined for about half of the first period of Game 3 of the first-round NHL playoff series against Dallas after face-planting on the ice following a hit to the head from Stars captain Jamie Benn.

Boldy's return for the second period gave the Wild a big lift, before a late fade in a 4-3 loss in double overtime.

Just after the expiration of a Dallas power play early in the game, Benn left his feet as he converged on Boldy in the Wild zone and appeared to cross-check him with his stick in the back of the head. Boldy struck the ice face-first and stayed face down for several seconds, until a whistle came.

He slowly climbed to one knee, looking woozy before skating off. No penalty was called. After sitting down on the bench during the stoppage, Boldy was eventually taken up the tunnel for further examination, a mandatory practice for concussion evaluation.

The Wild were already playing Game 3 without forwards Mats Zuccarello and Yakov Trenin because of upper body injuries they suffered over the first two games they split in Dallas, making Boldy's absence appear dire. The U.S. Olympic team member had a career-high 42 goals with 43 assists during the regular season.

But the 2019 first-round draft pick skated out for warmups before the second period to a loud road from the crowd, who soon after started chanting his last name following a highlight-reel assist.

He weaved through four Stars skaters and drew a crowd behind the net before zipping the puck back into the slot for Joel Eriksson Ek to knock in and tie the game at 2. The slick stick work was reminiscent of his highlight-reel goal for Team USA at the Olympics earlier this year when he sliced between two Canada defenders to score.

“Just trying to make a play," Boldy said. "I didn’t think I had a shot, so I just tried to get around them. Ek did a great job getting open.”

Midway through the third period, Boldy nearly gave the Wild a two-goal lead, but Matt Duchene executed a textbook backcheck to avert the short-handed score. Then Duchene tied it with Dallas still on a power play a few seconds later.

“I tried to get to it,” Boldy said. “Sometimes they go in. Sometimes they don’t.”

Mark Vientos blooped a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning and the New York Mets snapped their 12-game losing streak Wednesday night, beating the Minnesota Twins 3-2 after getting one superstar back only to see another exit with a similar injury.

Juan Soto went 1 for 3 with a single and a walk in his return from a strained right calf, but shortstop Francisco Lindor was removed with left calf tightness after laboring around the bases while scoring from first on Francisco Alvarez's go-ahead double in the fourth.

Byron Buxton tied it 2-all with a leadoff homer in the sixth against Clay Holmes, his second longball in two nights.

Brett Baty, who came off the bench to replace Lindor in the lineup, drew his second walk of the game with two outs in the eighth against Taylor Rogers (0-1). Alvarez coaxed a nine-pitch walk from Justin Topa before Vientos dumped an RBI single into shallow right field.

In the sixth, Vientos blatantly ran through a stop sign rounding third and was easily thrown out at home plate for the final out of the inning.

Luke Weaver (2-0) retired Luke Keaschall with the bases loaded to end the top of the eighth and struck out three batters in a one-hit ninth to secure New York's first victory since April 7 at home against Arizona.

The 12-game skid was the team's longest since August 2002.

Connor Prielipp, the Twins' top pitching prospect, needed 82 pitches to get through four innings in his major league debut. But the 25-year-old left-hander showcased a good slider and limited a slumping New York lineup to two runs and four hits with six strikeouts and no walks.

Holmes allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings.

Batting cleanup, Lindor drove in a run by legging out an infield single with two outs in the first. Victor Caratini's sacrifice fly tied the score in the fourth.

All-Star right-hander Joe Ryan (2-2, 3.29 ERA) pitches Thursday night for Minnesota in the series finale against RHP Christian Scott, who will be called up from Triple-A Syracuse to make his first major league start since Tommy John surgery in 2024.

The Minnesota Timberwolves got the superstar bump they needed from Anthony Edwards to win Game 2 at Denver and square up their intensifying first-round playoff series with the Nuggets.

Edwards contributed 30 points, 10 rebounds, two blocks and a loud voice of encouragement for his teammates. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch had already been reassured by Edwards' influence as the four-time All-Star left the court following a lackluster performance in Game 1.

“He was calm and gave confidence to the guys,” Finch said, reflecting on the series opener after practice on Wednesday. “When we were down early and big, he was really into them with the right messages, to stay calm but to do the things that were asked to be done — put a little bit more work in, be a little smarter with the fouling, all that kind of stuff. So I thought that was really key.”

Edwards was instrumental in urging Rudy Gobert on to a dominant defensive effort against Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic. He has also demonstrated his leadership by playing through the right knee pain that sidelined him for 11 of the last 13 regular-season games.

“It definitely uplifts me. I feel like I can’t let him down. If he’s out there battling, then there’s no excuse why I can’t give my best and make the extra effort plays and just go out there and compete at the highest level,” teammate Julius Randle said.

For the Timberwolves to beat the team that has recently become their biggest rival three more times and reach the second round, they will need a steady supply of Edwards' energy on both ends of the court, on the bench and in the locker room.

The Nuggets are sure to bring their own moxie on the road to Minnesota for Game 3 between these well-matched opponents on Thursday. The other Game 3s on Thursday are New York at Atlanta and Cleveland at Toronto.

Over the last four years, including the regular season and playoffs, the Timberwolves and Nuggets have each won 15 of their last 30 meetings.

“Who doesn’t love a big game? Who doesn’t want to wake up for a game with a lot of excitement, a lot of back and forth in it?” Timberwolves sixth man Naz Reid said.

Denver Nuggets at Minnesota Timberwolves

When/Where to watch: Game 3, 9:30 p.m. EDT (Prime Video)

Series: Tied 1-1.

Betting line: Nuggets by 2 1/2.

What to know: With so much recent drama between these division rivals — who are facing off in the postseason for the third time in four years — and plenty of chippy play on the court over the first two games, this series is just getting started. After erasing a 19-point deficit early in the second quarter to win 119-114 in Game 2, Minnesota took some momentum home from the Mile High City. Edwards recorded his sixth 30-point game against Denver in 14 playoff meetings, and guard Donte DiVincenzo was all over the court with a game-high plus-20 rating and 16 points. He's 10 for 16 from 3-point range in the series. The Nuggets claimed to be unbothered by the postgame barb from Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels, who said Minnesota's best offensive strategy was to continue to directly attack the Nuggets because they're “all bad defenders.”

New York Knicks at Atlanta Hawks

When/Where to watch: Game 3, 7 p.m. EDT (Prime Video)

Series: Tied 1-1.

Betting line: Knicks by 1 1/2.

What to know: The Knicks were outscored 28-15 by the upstart Hawks in the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden in Game 2, a one-point loss to stew on as they seek to regain home-court advantage in the series. Even in the Game 1 win, the Knicks saw a 19-point lead with a little more than three minutes left shrink to eight in the closing seconds. “We've got to play better with the lead,” point guard Jalen Brunson said. The Hawks have plenty of reason for optimism as they come home, considering they split the first two games with little beyond the clutch play of veteran C.J. McCollum to relish from their performance.

Cleveland Cavaliers at Toronto Raptors

When/Where to watch: Game 3, 8 p.m. EDT (Prime Video)

Series: Cavaliers lead 2-0.

Betting line: Cavaliers by 3 1/2.

What to Know: The Cavs are seeking a 3-0 lead in a first-round series for the second straight year. If they get there, they would set an NBA postseason opponent record with a 13th straight playoff win over the Raptors. Donovan Mitchell has scored at least 30 points in six of his last seven playoff games, averaging 33.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists during that span. Cleveland is 21-7 when its lineup includes James Harden, who became the second player in franchise history with at least 28 points and five steals in the 115-105 win in Game 2 on Monday. Toronto point guard Immanuel Quickley has missed the first two games with a left hamstring strain and remains questionable. Raptors All-Star Brandon Ingram is aiming to bounce back after going 3 of 15 from the field and only scoring seven points in Game 2. “He’s our go-guy guy. We trust him and believe in him. We know he’s going to get shots to drop,” Scottie Barnes said.

Alex Carpenter and Gabrielle David scored nine seconds apart, Anna Wilgren added a goal for her third in two games, and the Seattle Torrent beat the Minnesota Frost 5-4 on Wednesday night for their first victory in the series.

Seattle (8-1-4-16) secured three draft-order points to take the top spot in the Gold Plan standings for a chance at the first overall pick in the PWHL entry draft.

Minnesota (13-3-4-9), which had already clinched third place, had won the previous three games against the Torrent in regulation by a total of 13-3.

Carpenter, who entered with at least one point against every PWHL team this season except for Minnesota, knocked in a loose puck to tie it at 2-all in the second and David sent a shot over goaltender Nicole Hensley.

Captain Hilary Knight gave Seattle the lead for good by finishing off Theresa Schafzahl's nice pass 2:29 into the third.

Minnesota forward Kelly Pannek capped the scoring with 12.5 seconds left and she became the first player in PWHL history to reach 30 points in a season.

Taylor Heise scored two goals for Minnesota and Grace Zumwinkle added another as each player reached 13 goals this season.

Minnesota plays at Vancouver on Saturday in a regular-season finale.

Seattle plays its final game of the season on Saturday when it hosts Montreal.

Wyatt Johnston scored on a power-play deflection at 12:10 of the second overtime to give the Dallas Stars a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild early Thursday for a 2-1 lead in the first-round series.

Matt Duchene tied it for Dallas on a power play midway through the third period, seconds after his backcheck on Matt Boldy averted a short-handed goal that would’ve put Minnesota up by two.

After the Wild failed to convert two overtime power plays, finishing 1 for 7 with the man advantage, the Stars took advantage of their opportunity after Danila Yurov’s delay-of-game penalty. Miro Heiskanen's shot was knocked in by Johnston for his third goal in three games — and his sixth winning goal in four career postseasons.

“It’s kind of a little blurry, but just trying to get to the net and just trying to get my stick on the puck,” said Johnston, who had a career-high 45 goals during the regular season.

The game ended at 12:54 a.m.

Radek Faksa had a close-range chance in the second overtime he poked behind Wild goalie Jesper Wallstedt, but the puck skidded straight across the crease.

Wallstedt polished off the first Stars' power play by snapping his glove around Mikko Rantanen’s shot and smothering Esa Lindell’s bad-angle attempt. Johnston then spoiled a brilliant 32-save performance by Wallstedt with his deflection.

“We definitely played well enough to win," Wallstedt said. "It’s small margins. It’s a ‘D’ shot that double tips and hits twice and goes over my shoulder. Yeah, it’s bounces, but that’s what it is.”

Seconds after the audible thump from Stars goalie Jake Oettinger’s blocker save on Brock Faber’s slap shot, the Wild had another prime opportunity to win it in the first overtime when Hughes drew a tripping penalty on Sam Steel. But even with Faksa playing most of that penalty kill without a stick, the Wild failed to generate much pressure. Jamie Benn’s holding penalty on Nick Foligno gave them another try to crack Oettinger, who finished with 28 saves.

“I had my head down, looking out of one eye, just like, ’Good Lord, get through this,'” Duchene said.

The Wild killed four penalties between Rantanen’s power play tip-in just 1:25 into the game and Duchene’s crowd-quieting snap shot that slipped between defenseman Jared Spurgeon and the near post. That included 40 seconds of a 5-on-3 after Boldy’s delay-of-game penalty late in the second period.

As soon as he left the box, Spurgeon saw an opening to start a rush that Michael McCarron finished with his first goal in the NHL playoffs to give the Wild a 3-2 lead.

Jason Robertson scored after a slick stretch pass by Duchene to put the Stars up 2-0 in the first period.

Marcus Johansson scored on a power play to start the rally less than five minutes later, and Joel Eriksson Ek had the tying goal in the second after a brilliant setup by Boldy. The U.S. Olympian, who had a career-high 42 goals during the regular season, weaved through four Stars skaters and drew a crowd behind the net before zipping the puck back into the slot for Eriksson Ek to knock in.

Entering these playoffs, the winner of Game 3 after a split of the first two games in a best-of-seven went on to win the series nearly two-thirds of the time (245 of 369) in NHL history.

The Wild, who have not advanced in the postseason since 2015, fell on the flip side of that ratio in each of their last three appearances. They won Game 3 to go up 2-1 on Vegas last year, on Dallas in 2023 and on St. Louis in 2022, before being eliminated with three straight losses every time.

This was the third time in Wild history they reached double overtime, including a 3-2 win at Dallas in Game 1 of their first-round series with the Stars in 2023.

The Wild, who have a 4-14 series record in their underwhelming playoff history, have lost 17 of their last 23 postseason home games.

“Whether we won tonight or lost tonight, this series isn’t over,” Hughes said. “It’s a really good hockey game. We had our looks. They had their looks. Just leave it at that.”

Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier will likely miss the first month of the WNBA regular season to complete her rehabilitation following left ankle surgery.

The Lynx announced the timeline update on Tuesday for Collier, who had the procedure done on March 24. The team said the five-time All-Star's rehab was progressing as expected, with an anticipated return to on-court activity in early June. Collier was on crutches with a walking boot when she appeared at the team's practice facility last week to discuss her new contract.

Minnesota opens the regular season on May 10 against Atlanta and has eight games in May, with three on the schedule during the first week in June.

The 29-year-old Collier averaged a career-high 22.9 points per game last season while shooting 53.1 percent from the floor, 40.3 percent from 3-point range and 90.6 percent from the foul line, becoming the first player in WNBA history to post 50/40/90 shooting splits while averaging 20-plus points per game. She finished second to A'ja Wilson in the league MVP voting in each of the last two years.

Collier injured her left ankle in Game 3 of the 2025 WNBA semifinals against Phoenix, ending her season. The No. 1 seed Lynx lost the series to the Mercury in five games.

Wyatt Johnston scored goals on a ricochet and a roller, Matt Duchene had a tiebreaking power-play goal and an assist, and the Dallas Stars beat the Minnesota Wild 4-2 in Game 2 on Monday night to even their Western Conference first-round playoff series.

The Stars went ahead to stay with a power play winding down about four minutes into the penalty-filled second period when Duchene made a quick pass to Mikko Rantanen and then got the puck back just in front of the crease. That made it 2-1 in the kind of physical game expected between the Central Division rivals.

Dallas goalie Jake Oettinger stopped 28 shots, including a point-blank attempt by Kirill Kaprizov with 2 1/2 minutes to play when the Wild were on a power play after Dallas was penalized for too many men on the ice.

Brock Faber scored his first two playoff goals and Quinn Hughes had two assists for Minnesota, which won the opener 6-1 on Saturday but missed a chance in its 15th playoff appearance to take a 2-0 series lead for the first time.

“From our end anyway, it was a playoff game. I thought they played two, we played one,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. “So it’s more of what we look like, more of the way we are, but you can still see how tight it is.”

Jason Robertson, who like Johnston had 45 goals in the regular season, also scored for Dallas. Nils Lundkvist had two assists.

“It was good just to show each other what we can do, and not get kind of pushed out of the series,” said Robertson, who has scored in both games. “We’re going to try to ride the momentum into Game 3.”

The series shifts to Minnesota on Wednesday night.

Johnston, the 22-year-old center already in his fourth postseason and 58th playoff game, put Dallas up 1-0 midway through the first on his shot that ricocheted off the boards behind the net and then went off the left skate of goalie Jesper Wallstedt and just inside the post. Lundkvist got the primary assist for pushing the puck with his skate back to Johnston.

“Guess you try to hit the net," Johnston said. “Good things happen when you do that.”

The Stars were on another power play in the final minute when Johnston — from a crowd in front of Oettinger — knocked the puck to the other end, with it rolling and swerving just inside the right post of an empty net.

Wallstedt, the rookie who has started both games ahead of playoff-experienced Filip Gustavsson, also had 28 saves.

“He was solid through the whole game,” Wild coach John Hynes said.

Right after Duchene and Rantanen combined on the power-play goal, another scuffle broke out in the corner and both of them ended up in the penalty box. That gave Minnesota a man advantage, though Oettinger kept Dallas ahead with a glove save on a shot by Boldy during the ensuring power play. Minnesota finished 0 for 4 on the power play.

“A hard-fought game by both teams,” Hynes said. “Obviously a tight-checking, hard-fought game by both teams, and you know, we won the first one, they won the second one.”

The second period ended right after Marcus Foligno got a double minor for roughing, when he basically put interfering Thomas Harley in a headlock and took him down to the ice near the boards.

Already without forward Mats Zuccarello because of an upper-body injury after he had three assists in the series opener, when he took an elbow, the Wild lost another forward. Yakov Trenin took a crushing blow at center ice from Colin Blackwell late in the first period. After staying face-down on the ice momentarily, he was helped off and never returned.

Hynes said only that Trenin had an upper-body injury.

A big early deficit in Denver didn't bother the Minnesota Timberwolves, who two years ago staged the biggest Game 7 comeback in NBA history, clawing out of a 20-point hole to beat the Nuggets and advance to the Western Conference finals.

This time, they overcame a 19-point deficit, rallying past the Nuggets 119-114 on Monday night behind 30 points from Anthony Edwards and 24 from Julius Randle to tie their first-round playoff series at one game each.

“Just coming together, staying poised within those moments," Edwards said.

Jamal Murray scored 30 points for Denver, which had won 13 straight games since losing on March 18. The Nuggets jumped out to a 44-25 lead early in the second quarter only to see a potential laugher quickly turn into a head-scratcher.

After outscoring the Wolves 39-25 in the first, the Nuggets watched Minnesota flip that exact score in the second period.

“So, basically same quarters, first and second, just opposite teams,” said Nikola Jokic, who had 24 points, 15 boards and eight assists for the Nuggets.

After a slow start, Edwards looked much better than he did during his 22-point effort in Game 1, when his rust from a bum knee was apparent. This time, he drove to the basket more instead of settling for jumpers, fueling the comeback.

“He was awesome. It was unbelievable,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “Also in that (first) period when we were down, he was great on the bench. Great leadership, positive. He recognized he needed to get into attack mode and get downhill a little bit more. He did that."

Denver blew a chance to take control against its Northwest Division rival. The Nuggets are 8-0 in their history when winning the first two games of a playoff series, and the Wolves are 0-8 when dropping Games 1 and 2.

Edwards turned the ball over with 31 seconds left and Christian Braun got fouled at the other end after Jokic passed up a floater to tie it. Braun missed one of two free throws, leaving Denver trailing 115-114 with 19 seconds remaining.

Randle then sank two free throws and Donte DiVincenzo added a breakaway dunk to cap the comeback.

“I trust C.B. to make free throws,” Denver coach David Adelman said. “It rimmed out. That happens in the NBA. You're going to have moments that you don't want to remember. That's a tough moment for C.B. after playing such a good game."

Murray sank a 51-foot 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to tie it at 64. Jokic came on strong after a quiet start, scoring 16 points in the third quarter when Denver took a 93-90 lead. But the Nuggets' All-Star duo shot a combined 2 for 12 in the fourth quarter as the Wolves evened a best-of-seven series that shifts to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Thursday night.

“I feel like we had the game in hand,” Murray said, “and then we just didn't make our shots.”

Jaden McDaniels, who added 14 points for the Wolves, said the key to Minnesota's bounce-back was going "after Jokic, Jamal, all the bad defenders. Tim Hardaway, Cam Johnson, Aaron Gordon, the whole team, just go at them. Yeah, they’re all bad defenders.”

Before tipoff, Finch complained for a third straight day about the free-throw disparity in Game 1, when the Nuggets outscored Minnesota 30-14 from the stripe. He cracked that maybe his players need to “start flopping, too.”

Each team went to the line 30 times Monday night.

The Timberwolves and the Wild play tonight in each of their second games of their best-of-7 series. The Minnesota Timberwolves lost in their first game against the Denver Nuggets. Meanwhile, the Minnesota Wild had a strong start against the Dallas Stars.

Joining Minnesota Now to talk about the teams playoff runs and other sports news are sports contributors Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.

Subscribe to the Minnesota Now podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

We attempt to make transcripts for Minnesota Now available the next business day after a broadcast. When ready they will appear here

A defining moment of Jessie Diggins’ career lasted only a few seconds. A final sprint, an outstretched ski and an ecstatic sports call: “Here comes Diggins!”

That iconic race finish at the 2018 Winter Olympics wasn’t just a turning point for the Afton native’s path to become America’s most decorated cross-country skier. That moment redefined what was possible for competitive cross-country skiing in the U.S.

“But there is so much more to winning than being the first one to cross the finish line,” Diggins said.

More than 2,000 fans gathered Sunday at Allianz Field in St. Paul to celebrate Diggins’ nearly two-decade career, following her retirement earlier this spring. The event — billed as “Here Comes Diggins” — was her first major public appearance in Minnesota since her final competition in which she captured her fourth World Cup championship.

The energy inside Allianz Field felt more like a festival than a farewell. That’s especially because many attendees wore Diggins’ signature glitter face paint and sparkly hair, a tradition she used to remind herself and others to have fun during grueling races.

In her speech to the crowd, Diggins reflected on a career that stretched from varsity high school races as a seventh grader to the nation’s, then the world’s, biggest competitions.

Starting in middle school, Diggins rose quickly through the ranks of a sport that, at the beginning of her career, was barely visible in the U.S. — especially compared to European ski powerhouse nations like Norway, Sweden and Finland.

By her retirement, Diggins had stood on 90 World Cup podiums, won multiple Tour de Ski competitions and earned four Olympic medals.

It was her viral gold medal win in 2018 that roused Americans who had not previously paid attention to the sport.

Diggins wowed her fans with nonstop excellence season after season. She stood out to fans through the grit and joy she brought to each race, glitter streaking her cheeks and hair.

That same year Diggins went viral, she opened up publicly about her struggles with eating disorders. Eating disorders are common in elite sports, but have long been stigmatized.

Diggins partners with Minnesota’s The Emily Program to share her challenges and to stress the importance of reaching out for help. She knows all too well about that need after she experienced a relapse in her 30s.

In a state where skiing is woven into winter culture, she became a symbol of what Minnesota athletes could achieve on a global stage. Attendees at Sunday’s celebration, including Meghan Gage-Finn, said she made the niche sport feel personal.

“We’ve looked up to Jessie Diggins for a long time. I know the kids have admired her, and we’ve watched her career,” Gage-Finn said. “We love skiing. It’s a sport we can all do as a family. So we just feel really honored we can come out and be part of the celebration today.”

Gage-Finn’s daughter, Larkin Finn, said that as a young skier, she looks up to Diggins.

“She seems like someone who doesn’t really care about her results and just having fun, which I think is cool,” Larkin said.

Alongside Diggins’ remarks at Allianz Field, there was a highly popular glitter station and a long line to get the chance to meet Diggins and congratulate her on her career.

“I’m retiring, not going to the moon,” Diggins said to the crowd. “I want to stay involved in skiing and in the community. And thank you for making this so special for me, to celebrate racing with joy and racing with heart and racing with grit.”

Diggins said that she doesn’t know exactly what’s in store for her retirement, but she’s already signaled interest in continuing her work in mental health advocacy and eating disorder awareness.

“Please keep wearing glitter at your races and big moments,” Diggins said. “I’m going to keep wearing glitter, too.”