NBA

Mavericks 116, Timberwolves 107

Minnesota had the league’s best defense this season, but as it turns out, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are the perfect antidote to an elite stop unit. I predicted the Timberwolves to win this series in seven games — a fair battle between two seemingly evenly-matched foes — but this series has been far from that.

For Dallas, the story of course starts with Doncic, an all-empowering offensive juggernaut that finished this contest with 33 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Irving was right there with possibly the sport’s best player, scoring 33 of his own.

The status of Dereck Lively looms large for the Mavs — especially in a potential NBA Finals versus Boston — but the center will probably return sooner rather than later from his neck injury. Dallas hasn’t made the Finals since 2011, so Tuesday night will surely be full of anticipation for the organization.

Through three games of this series, a material amount of the gap between the two teams has been related to readiness for the moment. Karl-Anthony Towns is 28 and the longest-tenured Timberwolf, but you wouldn’t know it from these Western Conference Finals. Towns put up another stinker last night, shooting 5-for-18 on an out-of-control night for the Minnesota big.

Anthony Edwards, like Towns, hasn’t risen to the moment, but he was himself in this game, tallying 26 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, though he didn’t match Doncic’s level. That would normally be okay — Edwards is just 22 and shouldn’t have to be a top-five player — but the stakes this deep in the playoffs are high and the occasional out-of-body performance is usually needed to win the title.

Minnesota’s back is obviously against the wall for Game 4, and we’ll learn a lot about the team’s fortitude. No result would surprise me — but the Timberwolves will face a long summer if defeated tomorrow night.

MLB

Tigers 14, Blue Jays 11

The 23-29 Blue Jays need more breaks to go for, not against the team. Wasting a four-hit game by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. certainly qualifies as a break going against the club.

Reds 4, Dodgers 1

The 23-30 Reds are still in a hole, but showed some of their capabilities this weekend with a sweep over the Dodgers. More than anything, Cincinnati just needs to get healthy; underperforming players will regress to the mean.

Even at 33-22, it still feels like the Dodgers are underachieving, no? I suppose that’s an expected outcome for a team that made so many flashy offseason additions. One of those newcomers, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, has been solid as a rookie, but allowed four earned runs yesterday, leading to his second loss.

Braves 8, Pirates 1

Not all wins are created equal, and this win probably stings for the Braves. Ronald Acuna left Atlanta’s victory with a left knee injury, creating substantial concern for the second-place Braves. Fortunately for Atlanta, it got another strong outing from Chris Sale, who improved to 8-1.

With KeBryan Hayes shelfed, Jared Triolo has gotten a large runway as an everyday player for the Pirates, but he hasn’t taken off. After going 0-for-3 in this tilt, Trilo’s OPS dipped to .563.

Red Sox 2, Brewers 1

Start after start, Tanner Houck keeps impressing. The righty had some struggles last year in his first full season in the rotation, but he’s figured it out in 2024, lowering his ERA to a miniscule 1.90. Boston has its ace moving forward.

Mariners 9, Nationals 5

The sluggish nature of the AL West has given the Mariners — and Julio Rodriguez — ample time to get going. For Rodriguez, he might finally be waking up. The talented center fielder went 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBI in this contest — the difference in Seattle’s four-run victory.

I critiqued Washington for playing Joey Gallo too much recently — he homered yesterday — and now I’ll give Eddie Rosario the same treatment. Rosario went 0-for-4 in this contest, dropping his average to .172, which isn’t good enough to make up for his seven home runs. The 23-28 Nationals need to prioritize youth over experience.

Mets 4, Giants 3

It hasn’t been to the extent of New York’s nightmarish 2023, but this season hasn’t gone as planned for the Mets. One positive: Sean Manaea. The Mets inked the big lefty to a two-year, $28 million deal prior to this season, and Manaea has delivered. Five innings, two earned runs and six strikeouts for him yesterday.