Timberwolves oust reigning champs; Pacers knock off depleted Knicks; Xander Schauffele earns first major

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Good morning everyone, but especially…

THE WOLVES OF MINNESOTA

Against a huge pile of data that would have suggested the Timber Wolves were about to be free for that Memorial Day weekend barbecue, Minnesota delivered an epic second half on Sunday night that almost defied explanation. By now, you know that the visiting Wolves defeated the defending NBA champion Nuggets in Game 7, 98-90. The fact that this happened It’s impressive enough, but how did this happen looks like it’s going to be talked about – not just Sunday – but in the coming years. The official record will show that the following statements were actual game statistics.

• The Timberwolves trailed by 15 at halftime and trailed by 20 early in the third quarter.
• Antonio Eduardo it was a 6-for-24 shooting.
• Nikola Jokic scored 34 points and added 19 rebounds, while Jamal Murray had the best score of the game, 35 points.

Let’s face it, if you had listened just one of those three things, you wouldn’t have been blamed for thinking the wolves were cooked. But Edwards, who fought hard in the first half, ended up being suspended for a few crucial minutes. Our Colin Ward-Henninger explains how that bank helped him and likely propelled the Timberwolves to victory.

• Ward-Henninger: “Most 22-year-olds wouldn’t take kindly to a prolonged period on the bench during the biggest game of their career. Edwards almost certainly wouldn’t either, but his ability to put the struggles of the first half behind him helped lead to a remarkable second half from him and the Minnesota Timberwolves, giving Edwards a double boost in the process.

O Timberwolves advance to face Mavericks, who defeated the Thunder on a controversial foul in Game 6 on Saturday night. The first game of the Western Conference finals will be Wednesday at Minnesota. This one should be fun.

Honorable mentions

And it’s not a good day to…

THE DENVER NUGGETS AND THE NEW YORK KNICKS

Going into the weekend, when it comes to the NBA playoffs, one of those time-tested statistics we always hear is that the winner of Game 5 wins the series about 82% of the time… and then came May October 19, 2024. That 82% statistic was dropped twice in the space of a few hours. The reigning NBA champion Nuggets and those ill-equipped Knicks joined the ignominious list of teams who led the series 3-2 but failed to close the deal.

Yes, both teams were 0-2 in Games 6 and 7, the latter at home, but it’s not exactly like we couldn’t see that coming. The Nuggets weren’t exactly clicking on all cylinders this round. They lost Games 1 and 2 in their own gym and were ousted by Minnesota in that 45-point loss in Game 6. If there’s a surprise, perhaps it’s how, after Murray and Jokic, no other member of the Nuggets has scored more than seven points. Well, now let’s get to what Denver Can Do In The Offseason. It is also important to note that for a sixth consecutive season we will have a different NBA champion.

Earlier in the day, the Knicks met their fate, a 130-109 loss that wasn’t exactly surprising. Credit New York for making it this far due to its depleted roster. Then add Jalen Brunson’s broken hand and you can feel the air of Thanos-level inevitability. But let’s not take anything away from the Pacers. They need to bottle and sell whatever those Indy guys were drinking before the game because this stuff worked. The Pacers shot an astonishing 67.1% in the game, which is the highest point for team shooting in NBA history. Impressive, very impressive.

(Knicks fans, you might want to skip the next paragraph.) … Given the history between these clubs, you had to imagine that the iconic image of Reggie Miller mocking the Knicks choking after their 25-point fourth-quarter performance in his 1994 series would enter the scene. I just didn’t see the real picture winding its way to Tyrese Hailburton Hoodie after the game.

Anyway, like the Nuggets, it’s for next season for the Knicksas well as for Thunder.

Not-so-honorable mentions

Xander Schauffele exorcises demons to win first career course

In yet another example of inverted sporting history on Sunday, there would be no stumbles at the end of the round for Xander Schauffele, who set up the club after the first three days to claim the PGA Championship, which was his first career specialization. But don’t confuse Schauffele’s victory in Valhalla with not being a nail biter.

Bryson DeChambeau had the lowest round of the day, a 64, and finished the event just one shot behind. With the victory, Schauffele overtook Rory McIlroy for second place in the world rankings, but to say that the La Jolla, California native’s victory was expected is far from the reality of the situation. Let’s turn to CBS Sports golf writer Kyle Porter, who can talk about the history of the Schauffele slide better than most.

• Concierge: “Even when Schauffele led after 18, 36 and 54 holes, old stories persisted that he was allergic to major championship leads and cowered in front of the lights when they were at their brightest. How could they not? Schauffele sat in first or second place by entering the last round of a major championship or The Players three times in his career; even worse, he entered the first three rounds of the leaderboard three times;

In winning the Wanamaker Trophy, Schauffele had the lowest par score (21 under) in the history of any major. Still, victory came on the 72nd hole, and after Schauffele made birdie to end the day at 6-under 65 – after rounds of 62, 68 and 68 – Patrick McDonald captured exactly what was going through Schauffele’s mind yesterday.

• Schauffele: “I actually got kind of emotional after the shot came in… It’s been a while since I won, and I’ve actually kept saying that all week, I just need to stay in my lane. Man, it was hard to stay in my lane today I’ve tried all day to just stay focused on what I’m trying to do and keep all the holes in front of me. [club]home, but everything is fine now.”

Here are some more interesting notes from the weekend:

MLB Power Ranking tiers begin to solidify

How do we explain the split we have with MLB teams this season? … If you’re someone who had to sit at the kids’ table growing up, think of yourself as, perhaps, the Angels, Marlins, Reds or Rockies — you might get your chance one day, but not this year. No, those adult spots were reserved for the Braves, Dodgers, Orioles, Phillies and Yankees, who have been tearing things up (in the form of AL Central teams) lately.

The Phillies, Dodgers and Braves, last week’s #1, #3 and #4, are still in the top 5, said our Matt Snyder in his latest power rankingswhile the Yankees jumped from fifth to third place on the strength of a 6-0 week in which they outscored the Twins, a team they seem to own, 14-1 and the AL’s White Sox, 17-5, with back-to-back three-game sweeps.

What we will watch on Monday

Priests in Braves12:20pm on MLB Network
Sun in fever7pm on ESPN
Storm in Freedom7pm on ESPN3
Game 7: Oilers on Canucks9pm on ESPN
Diamondbacks at Dodgers10:10pm on MLB Network