Just wait until the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild are playing in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. They set quite a tone in a preview that came with a week left in the regular season. The Central Division foes were already locked into a first-round matchup.
Paolo Banchero had 20 points and eight rebounds, Desmond Bane added 18 points and six assists and the Orlando Magic beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 132-120.
Byron Buxton had three hits and the Minnesota Twins batted around in a six-run first inning against Framber Valdez before holding off the Detroit Tigers 8-6.
Taj Bradley outdueled Tarik Skubal and Ryan Jeffers drove in two runs as the Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers 4-2. Bradley gave up one run on six hits with no walks and 10 strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings as the Twins won their second straight.
Vladimir Tarasenko scored the go-ahead goal in the second period, Matt Boldy had a goal and an assist, and the Minnesota Wild twice benefited from replay reviews in a 5-2 victory over the skidding Seattle Kraken.
Ayo Dosunmu scored 24 points and Julius Randle and Bones Hyland each added 19 as the Minnesota Timberwolves picked up a critical 124-104 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night.
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