FRISCO, TEXAS — In three days, FC Dallas will open up the 2024 Major League Soccer season at home against the San Jose Earthquakes.
Just over 100 days ago, FC Dallas ended their season with a loss to Seattle Sounders FC in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
And in the past 100 days, history has been made.
Returning to the Cotton Bowl again for the first time in 15 years was special. Announcing a partnership with S.L. Benfica just over a week ago will have major implications on the talent development side in terms of the club’s future.
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And signing Petar Musa from Benfica, for nearly $10 million? That’s pretty historic.
In fact, it’s a club-record signing.
But you won’t be seeing Musa play on Saturday—you will have to wait a few weeks for that.
Dallas has not beaten San Jose since Aug. 14, 2022, and have tied them their last three matchups.
With opening day right around the corner, will Dallas fans get a win to cheer about over the club’s former head coach, Luchi Gonzalez? Or will the Quakes spoil the home opener in North Texas?
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Find out on Saturday, Feb. 24 when it kicks off at 7:30 p.m.
The Dallas Mavericks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 117-116 on Saturday night to advance to the Western Conference Finals but had to wait until Sunday night to know their opponent. With a 98-90 win in Game 7 over the reigning champion Denver Nuggets, the Mavericks will be playing the Minnesota Timberwolves next round with a trip to the NBA Finals on the line. The Timberwolves made the largest halftime comeback in Game 7 history to advance.
This is a matchup of two of the younger superstars in the NBA, as Luka Doncic will face off against phenom Anthony Edwards. The Timberwolves have a stifling defense, having the NBA’s best defensive rating throughout the regular season, though the Mavericks had the best defensive rating over the last 20 games of the season.
READ MORE: Dallas Mavericks Rally To Advance to Western Conference Finals: 3 Game-Changing Plays
It’s only the second-ever matchup between these two franchises, a Dallas Mavericks’ sweep in three games in 2002 as Dirk Nowitzki established himself as a better number-one option over Kevin Garnett. This is only Minnesota’s second-ever appearance in the Western Conference Finals as a franchise, matching Luka Doncic’s career, with their other appearance coming in 2003.
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Minnesota won the season series 3-1, though all of those games came before February and Dallas made their trades to bring in Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington. Because of that, it’s not certain how Dallas will matchup, but I’d imagine Daniel Gafford will guard Rudy Gobert, P.J. Washington will guard Karl-Anthony Towns, Derrick Jones Jr. will guard Anthony Edwards, Luka Doncic will guard Jaden McDaniels, and Kyrie Irving will start on Mike Conley. Doncic will have to deal with a pesky defender once again, as he’s likely to draw the McDaniels assignment.
Anthony Edwards has been impressive these playoffs, averaging around 30 PPG. His ascension along the steady-handedness of the veteran Mike Conley has been electric to watch. Derrick Jones Jr. will have his hands full with this matchup.
The Mavericks will need their bigs to show up in this series. They were able to dominate a smaller Oklahoma City Thunder team on the glass but it’ll be much harder to do that against a massive Minnesota frontline, featuring Gobert, Towns, and Sixth Man of the Year winner Naz Reid. If Dallas could get Maxi Kleber back from his shoulder sprain in this series, it could go a long way, just to give them more versatility and match up with Towns’ skillset.
Game 1 will start at 7:30 p.m. CST from the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
READ MORE: Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving Tandem Instrumental in Deep Playoff Run
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Stick with MavericksGameday for more coverage of the Dallas Mavericks throughout the NBA Playoffs
A 25-year-old man faces a capital murder of multiple persons charge for his alleged role in two women’s shooting deaths in Old East Dallas.
Saadiq Shabazz was booked Saturday night into the Dallas County jail and is being held on a $3 million bond, records show. It was unclear whether he had an attorney.
Officers responded about 3 a.m. Saturday to the 2400 block of North Washington Avenue, near Lemmon Avenue, and found three gunshot victims, police said at the time.
Two woman, identified by police as 22-year-old Jalisa Lockett and 24-year-old Amaya Lockett, died at the scene while a man was taken to the hospital and listed in stable condition.
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Shabazz was arrested later that day but details, such as what led police to identify him as a suspect, were not immediately clear.
This investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with information can contact Detective Josue Rodriguez at 214-605-1557 or josue.rodriguez@dallaspolice.gov and reference case No. 077110-2024.
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Dallas man’s death one of police restraint cases in AP investigation series
2 women killed in shooting, man wounded in Old East Dallas, police say