Wolves, Wild Advance In Dream Night For Minnesota Sports Fans: Here's What's Next

TWIN CITIES, MN — Minnesota sports fans just had one of their best nights in years.

The Timberwolves and Wild both punched their tickets to the second round of the playoffs Thursday night, giving long-suffering Minnesota fans a rare double dose of postseason joy.

The Twins even joined the party with a 7-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays at Target Field.

The Timberwolves beat the Denver Nuggets 110-98 in Game 6, winning the series 4-2 and advancing to the Western Conference semifinals.

Minnesota closed out Denver despite being down two starters and two other key players.

Anthony Edwards, Donte DiVincenzo, Ayo Dosunmu and Kyle Anderson were all out with injuries, forcing the Wolves to lean on a short-handed roster in the biggest game of the season.

Jaden McDaniels led the Wolves with 32 points, while Terrence Shannon Jr. added 24 points in his first playoff start as Minnesota delivered one of its most impressive wins of the season.

The Wolves will now face the San Antonio Spurs in the second round.

Injuries will still be one of the biggest storylines entering the matchup. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Edwards will be out to start the second-round series against San Antonio.

Edwards is dealing with a left knee hyperextension injury and bone bruise. DiVincenzo is out for the season with an Achilles tear.

The Wolves had only eight active players in their series-clinching win over Denver.

As of Friday morning, San Antonio was listed as a heavy favorite entering the series. The Spurs were favored by 14.5 points for Game 1, with the over/under listed at 217.5 points, according to ESPN’s odds page.

Meanwhile, the Wild beat the Dallas Stars 5-2 in Game 6, winning their first playoff series since 2015. Minnesota will now face the Colorado Avalanche in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Colorado opened as the favorite in the series. DraftKings listed the Avalanche at -205 to win the series and the Wild at +170 to advance.

Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin missed Game 6 against Dallas with a lower-body injury after blocking a shot in Game 5. He was considered day-to-day entering the second round.

And because the night apparently needed one more Minnesota win, the Twins beat Toronto behind home runs from Ryan Jeffers and Byron Buxton. Bailey Ober allowed one run over six innings as the Twins opened their four-game series against the Blue Jays with a win.

Here’s what’s next for Minnesota’s playoff teams:

Timberwolves Vs. Spurs Schedule

Game 1: Monday, May 4, Timberwolves at Spurs, time and TV TBD

Game 2: Wednesday, May 6, Timberwolves at Spurs, time and TV TBD

Game 3: Friday, May 8, Spurs at Timberwolves, time and TV TBD

Game 4: Sunday, May 10, Spurs at Timberwolves, time and TV TBD

Game 5, if necessary: Tuesday, May 12, Timberwolves at Spurs, time and TV TBD

Game 6, if necessary: Friday, May 15, Spurs at Timberwolves, time and TV TBD

Game 7, if necessary: Sunday, May 17, Timberwolves at Spurs, time and TV TBD

Wild Vs. Avalanche Schedule

The NHL had not released the full second-round schedule for Wild-Avalanche as of Friday morning.

Second-round Stanley Cup Playoff games will air on ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, TBS and truTV, depending on the matchup and game. Games on ESPN networks can also be streamed through ESPN.com and the ESPN app.