Minnesota
Loons take 1-0 lead in MLS Cup first round with victory over Real Salt Lake
It didn’t take a genius to predict that Minnesota United and Real Salt Lake would take Game 1 of their best-of-three first-round series to penalty kicks — not after the teams had drawn all four of their last four matches in the past two seasons.
It also didn’t take a genius to predict that Dayne St. Clair would come out on the winning side of the shootout, given his sterling record against penalties in his career.
Justen Glad and Braian Ojeda both airmailed their penalties over the goal in the penalty shootout, with Ojeda hitting the crossbar, giving the Loons a 5-4 victory in the shootout, following a scoreless 90 minutes.
“When one guy misses, and with my record, I think they’re probably thinking in their head, ‘Well, he’s due for a save on this next one, so I’ve got to put the ball in the top corner,’ ” said St. Clair. “Today, the crossbar was a good friend of mine, so hopefully me and him continue to be in a good relationship.”
All week, Minnesota United manager Eric Ramsay stressed to his team that the goal of the team’s trip to Real Salt Lake was simple: Avoid a return trip for Game 3. It took Minnesota keeping another clean sheet in Utah, and a nerve-racking set of penalties, but now the Loons can clinch the series with a win at home on Saturday.
Whatever the result of the shootout, the goalkeepers were the heroes for both sides. St. Clair and RSL goalkeeper Zac MacMath traded astonishing saves throughout the second half.
The first half contained perhaps only one good chance for both teams combined, but in the second half, the game opened up. Robin Lod created a pair of chances in the first five minutes of the second half, but the Loons couldn’t convert either.
First, Lod stole a pass, beat a defender, and got Kelvin Yeboah open for a shot in the penalty area that flew straight at keeper MacMath. Moments later, Lod fed Carlos Harvey in behind the defense on the right, but while Harvey’s chip beat MacMath, it bounced wide of the far post of the goal.
Minnesota
Nuggets-Timberwolves takeaways: Jaden McDaniels backs up his talk, as Minnesota dominates Game 3 with defense
This wasn’t close. With the Denver Nuggets missing Aaron Gordon with a calf injury, the Minnesota Timberwolves jumped out to a 25-11 first-quarter lead in Game 3 and never looked back. The Wolves came away with a 113-96 victory and a 2-1 series lead behind a team effort and a dominating defensive performance that included holding Nikola Jokić to 27 points on 7-for-26 shooting.
Let’s get to some takeaways.
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The Minnesota Timberwolves defended
The Nuggets led the NBA this season in points per game (122.1 PPG). The Nuggets led the NBA this season in offensive rating (121.2). The Nuggets scored 96 points in Game 3.
Minnesota pressured and sped up the Nuggets right from the jump. By the end of the first quarter, the Nuggets were 3 for 21 from the field (1 of 9 from 3). Active ball pressure bogged the Nuggets’ attack down, physicality disrupted their off-ball movement. The Wolves flew around all night long to keep the Nuggets in a box. Denver had only 12 assists as a team in Game 3. For comparison, Jokić averaged 10.7 a night in the regular season.
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Rudy Gobert protected the paint and contested versus Jokić. Jaden McDaniels and Donte DiVincenzo hounded Jamal Murray. Denver’s dynamic duo combined to shoot 12-for-43, a credit to the Wolves’ game plan and execution.
Ayo, look at this team effort
If you wondered what the ceiling was for Minnesota after it added Ayo Dosunmu at the trade deadline, it was on display in Game 3. His ability to defend and attack in transition always jumped off the page, but on Thursday night we saw a command within what Minnesota wanted to do. His drives were consistent, his paint touches were important and his ability to punish Denver’s defense was key. He and DiVincenzo allowed the Wolves to find a flow in the second quarter.
Think about this: Anthony Edwards played only 23 minutes, with eight of those coming in the second half, and I did not feel that until typing this very sentence. That was the impact of the team effort from Minnesota.
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McDaniels set the tone with his Game 2 postgame comments. It’s one thing to talk the talk, it’s another thing to walk the walk, and he ended up strutting like Oba Femi in this one. The ball pressure and screen navigation against Murray were one thing, but the cuts, drives and dunks were another.
It would be hyperbole to call this Gobert’s most impactful game, but it was a reminder of his impact for Minnesota. There was a confidence from Gobert (see: left-hand hook), a command as far as keeping the flow going, and a trust from his teammates to make the right play.
Where does Denver go from here?
Losing Gordon was a big blow, but the contrast between the group we saw in Game 1 and Game 3 was startling. Jokić/Murray shooting aside, this was one of the rare occasions we didn’t feel the force of Denver’s offense. All of its off-ball actions, cuts and movement were disrupted.
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Ball movement became a stagnant adventure. Transition attacks did not feel as dangerous. Pressure points were not hit. The defense that looked great in Game 1 and slipped in Game 2 disappeared Thursday night.
The Nuggets have to get back to (at the very least) their identity to deal with this Wolves team. The offense has to keep the pressure on, getting the ball where the Nuggets want, and playing with their tempo. And the defense cannot be what we’ve seen the last two games. The formula is there, but the effort has to match. Never forget that Wolves can detect their prey.
Minnesota
Minnesota woman detained by ICE needs emergency surgery for tennis ball-sized ovarian cyst, lawmakers say
Minnesota lawmakers are calling for the humanitarian release of a woman detained earlier this year, amid Operation Metro Surge, who is suffering from a tennis ball-sized ovarian cyst.
Federal immigration agents arrested 23-year-old Andrea Pedro-Francisco in Burnsville on Feb. 5, just days before she says she was scheduled to have surgery.
Pedro-Francisco moved to Minnesota seeking asylum with her mother back in 2019. Right now, she is being held in a detention center in El Paso, Texas.
State lawmakers — including practicing ER physician Sen. Alice Mann, D-Edina — held a news conference Thursday morning at the Capitol to push for Pedro-Francisco’s immediate release.
“An ovarian cyst this big can put weight on the ovary and cause the ovary to twist onto itself, cutting off the ovary’s blood supply. This is a medical emergency,” Mann said. “This can impact fertility, and we are talking about a 23-year-old. If not treated, this can lead to infection and even death.”
Also on hand Thursday was North Dakota-based pastor Ellery Dykeman, who said he met with Pedro-Francisco last week in the detention center. Dykeman said she looked thinner than he had seen her in pictures.
Dykeman said Pedro-Francisco told him she is forced to climb up to a third-level bunk despite immense pain extending from the right side of her abdomen to her back.
Earlier this month, Democratic Minnesota Congresswoman Angie Craig said her team is tracking 20 medical cases with improper care within ICE detention. A quarter of them have serious conditions, her office says.
WCCO has reached out to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for comment.
Minnesota weather forecast. (FOX 9)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Most of Minnesota will be under a marginal risk of severe weather on Thursday, with rain and rumbles expected.
Thursday weather forecast
Local perspective:
A line of storms is expected to develop in west-southwest Minnesota on Thursday and grow in coverage as well as intensity tracking east into the early evening.
Large hail and damaging winds are the prevalent threats, but an isolated tornado is also possible along the line.
Isolated showers are expected to form in the western part of Minnesota on Thursday morning.
Rain chances in the Twin Cities area increase in the afternoon, as a line pushes through with possible thunderstorms.
Stay Sky Aware with FOX 9 for the latest.
The Source: This story uses information from the FOX 9 weather forecast.
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