MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Zion Williamson scored 29 points and CJ McCollum added 18 for New Orleans as the Pelicans surprised the Minnesota Timberwolves with a 119-115 win on Wednesday night. The Timberwolves have lost two straight after winning eight in a row. Minnesota is in a battle with Golden State for the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference. Wednesday’s loss drops Minnesota a full game behind the Warriors. Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 29 points. Julius Randle added 17 and Mike Conley scored 16.
Tonight the Los Angeles Lakers hosts Milwaukee looking to continue their three-game win streak. Pregame at 9pm. Tipoff at 9:30pm on AM1240 & 96.5FM.
DENVER (AP) — Sixth-year guard John Tonje leads the University of Wisconsin into the NCAA Tournament with a game against Montana on Thursday in Denver.
Pregame at 11:30am. Tipoff at 12:30pm on AM1240 & 96.5FM.
Tonje joined the Badgers after his lone season at Missouri ended after only eight games with a foot injury. Badgers coach Greg Gard said he relied more on Tonje’s tape from his four seasons at Colorado State when he decided to offer him a scholarship. The move has been a boon to both the Badgers and Tonje, who was named second-team All-America this week after averaging a career-high 19.2 points per game.
ST. PAUL, MInn. (AP) — Ryan Hartman, Matt Boldy and Liam Ohgren scored 1 minute, 42 seconds apart early in the first period and the Minnesota Wild beat the Seattle Kraken 4-0 on Wednesday night. Filip Gustavsson made 34 saves for his fifth shutout of the season, Boldy added an empty-net goal, and Minnesota moved within two points of third-place Colorado in the Central Division. Gustavsson is 4-1-1 in his last six home games with a 1.48 goals-against average, a .949 save percentage and two shutouts. Philipp Grubauer stopped 24 shots for Seattle.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings have committed to moving forward with J.J. McCarthy as their starting quarterback this season after deciding not to offer Aaron Rodgers a contract, according to a person with knowledge of the decision. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Vikings were not commenting publicly on their plans. Rodgers was released last week by the New York Jets. The departure of Sam Darnold left the Vikings ready to turn their offense over to McCarthy. He was the 10th pick in the 2024 draft whose rookie year was spent rehabilitating from knee surgery.