Stanzel’s Sports Takeout — BREAKING NEWS: 4.24.26
Enjoy your rest tonight, a couple big Game 4’s Saturday back-to-back. Wild, down 2-1, at 4:30 at GAC. Wolves try to take a commanding 3-1 lead at 7 at Target Center.
Wolves Bury Nuggets Early in Game 3
The Wolves never gave the Nuggets a chance in Game 3. Minnesota held Denver to six points in the opening 10 minutes and 11 in the first quarter en route to a tour-de-force 113-96 win. Minnesota leads the series 2-1 over the stunned Nuggets.
Four-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert dominated three-time MVP Nikola Jokic inside, and Jaden McDaniels frustrated the Denver backcourt. The Nuggets, who hadn’t shot below 40 percent all season, shot 34 percent from the field. Minnesota scored 68 points in the paint.
The tone was set early, as Denver missed 18-of-21 shots in the first quarter and turned the ball over four times. The Wolves missed 10-of-11 3-pointers but had a 25-11 lead thanks to nine points and three offensive rebounds from McDaniels. McDaniels, who drew some eyeballs when he said the Nuggets were “all bad defenders”, talked the talk, finishing with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Gobert was incredible all night. The Nuggets were better without Jokic on the court, honestly. Gobert was a +18, scoring 10 points, grabbing 12 rebounds and counting Jokic twice among his three block victims. Jokic was a -21 and missed 19 field goals. He still got 27 points, mind you…
Hard to get this far and not mention Ayo Dosunmu. With Anthony Edwards (24 minutes) saddled with foul trouble and still nursing a knee injury, Dosunmo poured in a career playoff-high 25 points off the bench to lead the Wolves.
The Nuggets played without injured Aaron Gordon.
The Wolves should expect a much better effort from Denver on Saturday.
Vikings Select DT in Round One
It’s never great to hit the NFL Draft weekend without a general manager. Such is life for the Vikings. VP of Football Ops Rob Brzezinski is running this draft, and last night the Vikings took defensive tackle Caleb Brooks out of Florida with the 18th overall pick. The Vikings have nine picks this year - last year they had only four - and four of them this weekend come in the top 100.
Mets Win Two Straight Against Twins
The Mets snapped their 12-game losing streak Wednesday against the Twins, and after a 10-8 win last night they’ve won two in a row. The Twins, meanwhile, have lost six of seven.
The Twins, if you’ll remember, traded pretty much their entire bullpen last season, so it’s not a huge shock they’re having a hard time closing out games.
Last night in Flushing, the Twins rallied from a 7-2 deficit after four innings to tie things up 7-7 in the eighth behind a grand slam from Ryan Jeffers. But Andrew Morris, a New York City native, allowed two of his first three batters to reach base. Lefty Anthony Banda then walked a batter and gave up a game-deciding, three-run triple to Bo Bichette.
Joe Ryan started last night and was victimized by Jeffers, his catcher. A passed ball on a strikeout led to three Mets runs in the second inning.
The Twins visit the Rays for three this weekend.
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