Leading Off: Herrera's Hr Streak, Kershaw Back, Mariners Dip

MINNEAPOLIS — Michael Porter Jr. stood beneath the path of the basketball, between a miracle shot’s birthplace and its resting place. Even before it sailed over his head, he was in full “Gladiator” mode, arms outstretched prematurely, basking in the glory of the arc. Minnesota was not entertained. “I just had a good angle to see the trajectory of the shot,” Porter told The Denver Post.

MINNEAPOLIS – Nikola Jokic has knocked out so many teams it is easier for him to identify them by the soles of their sneakers than their names. Anthony Edwards is the next big thing. Sunday he kept the Timberwolves tethered to hope. Jokic is one of the more recognizable silhouettes in the Mile High skyline.

The Denver Nuggets beat the Minnesota Timberwolves with a 115-107 victory in game 4 of their second-round NBA playoff series Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Sunday, May 12, 2024. The win secured a 2-2 tie in the series.

MINNEAPOLIS — Jamal Murray and Kevin Harlan perform a beautiful duet together. At the end of 20 series-shifting seconds, Murray planted his feet in front of the broadcast table and struck a pose while Harlan was leaning forward, enraptured by Murray’s swagger and shouting into a microphone being transmitted across the country. In those 20 seconds, the Nuggets had more than doubled their lead going into halftime of Game 4 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, a sequence that ultimately gave them enough separation in a 115-107 series-tying win Sunday night.

Initial thoughts from the Nuggets’ Game 4 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center in the Western Conference playoffs. 1. Ant-nother strong performance: There’s been one constant for the Timberwolves throughout this series. Anthony Edwards shows up. Every time. Ant-Man set the tone from the start, attacking the rim, pulling up in transition and doing just about whatever he wanted in the opening minutes.

The University of Denver women’s lacrosse team ran into a familiar roadblock Sunday afternoon. The Northwestern Wildcats eliminated the Pioneers from the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row, rolling to a 17-4 victory on their home turf in Evanston, Ill. The No. 1 overall seed netted 13 goals in the first half to take a commanding 10-goal lead into the break, then cruised from there to halt the Pios’ tournament run two wins shy of a return trip to the Final Four. The Wildcats (16-2) scored the game’s first five goals before Julia Gilbert got DU on the board with a goal with 6:54 left in the first period.