The biggest Minnesota State Fair concert of the season turned the Grandstand into one massive party Saturday night.

Four acts that blended R&B and hip hop around the turn of the century to great success — Nelly, Ja Rule, Mya and the Ying Yang Twins — filled the Grandstand to absolute capacity with a wildly diverse crowd of 14,018 people ready to dance the night away. (And, yup, plenty were drinking and more than a few indulged in weed.)

What made it all such a blast was that the acts returned to the original spirit of hip hop, which was music for celebration. Everyone on stage radiated good vibes and, in the case of Ja Rule and Nelly, performed their hits one after the other, giving it the feel of a particularly jumping DJ set.

The crowd was so invested in the music, most were in their seats by the end of Mya’s set. A grinning Ja Rule took the stage as the sun had gone down and the sky pulsed with a purple hue. Ja Rule took the opportunity to shout out his “Brother Prince,” who he said was watching down over all of us.

Ja tore through plenty of his own hits — “I Cry,” “New York,” “Livin’ it Up” and the set-ending “Always on Time” — and got just as much love from the audience for his collaborations with Jay-Z (“Can I Get A …”) and Jennifer Lopez (“Ain’t it Funny,” “I’m Real”). Now 49, he’s kept up his famous physique as well and earned some lusty screams when he hoisted his Outkast T-shirt up to reveal his abs.

As for Nelly, who was just in town in July for a well-received postgame concert for the Minnesota Twins at Target Field, he’s one of those guys who was much bigger than you might remember. His 2000 debut album “Country Grammar” topped 10 million in sales, and that was back when that meant paying $15-plus for physical CDs.

So it wasn’t a surprise to hear plenty of those early hits that established Nelly as a star, including “Country Grammar,” “Ride wit Me” and, of course, his signature number, “Hot in Herre.” And, of course, he pulled out 2012’s “Cruise,” the Florida Georgia Line hit that got even bigger when Nelly stepped in for a remix. It’s one of the best-selling country songs of all time and was an early example of the now-common crossovers between country and hip hop. (For better or worse, it also helped spark the bro country revolution that’s still lingering in Nashville circles.)

Nelly wrapped with “Dilemma” and “Just a Dream” and left the crowd buzzing as fireworks blasted above them.

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With five games to go in the regular season, Minnesota United had a chance to clinch a spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs on Saturday.

The Loons fell behind on an own goal in the 80th minute, but Wil Trapp lofted a great pass to set up Robin Lod to score in the 85th minute.

The 1-1 draw with Portland at Allianz Field meant MNUFC needed help to clinch a postseason spot, and Minnesota got it with Colorado losing to Kansas City on Saturday night. The second-place Loons (14-6-9, 51 points) and sixth-place Portland (10-9-8, 39 points) each netted a point.

Portland midfielder Antony’s shot from an acute angle in the 80th minute was touched by Loons goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair, but the ball bounced in front of goal and center back Nico Romero accidentally put it into the Loons’ net.

Saturday’s match had a somber opening with fans staying silent for the opening two minutes to honor the two children slain in the Minneapolis church shooting on Wednesday. Then they broke into “You Are My Sunshine” before going into their regular in-game chants.

On the field, the Loons didn’t give them much to cheer for in the first half.

Early in the second half, Minnesota nearly scored on two attempts in quick succession in the 49th minute, but Joaquin Pereyra’s shot was denied by goalkeeper James Pantemis and Lod’s rebound went off the post.

The Timbers started their new Designated Players — midfielder Felipe Carballo and winger  Kristoffer Velde — while Minnesota’s top new additions in the summer transfer window — attacking midfielder Dominik Fitz and defensive midfielder Nectarios Triantis — are still awaiting work visas.

New Loons striker Momo Dieng, who the club brought in from Hartford Athletic in the USL Championship to backfill for Tani Oluwaseyi, made his debut in the 77th minute.

MNUFC’s striker Kelvin Yeboah didn’t have a big impact on the game with only one shot and was taken off for Dieng.

In July, the Loons were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw at Portland after giving up a 92nd-minute equalizer at Providence Park. Anthony Markanich scored for Minnesota in the 77th minute, but couldn’t hold onto the lead.

Briefly

Loons goalkeeper Kayne Rizvanovich has been called up to the U.S. Under-19 men’s national team camp. He has been a regular during United’s first team training sessions. … MNUFC won’t play during the upcoming international break, returning to MLS action at first-place San Diego on Sept. 13.

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With five games left in the regular season, the Minnesota Lynx have guaranteed themselves home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

“We have a scenario now that if we win our home games, we win an WNBA championship,” coach Cheryl Reeve said after the Lynx won 94-70 at Connecticut on Saturday.

“It’s huge. Having the atmosphere of your home court plays a massive part in the games that you play,” said Alanna Smith, who led a balanced offensive attack with 18 points, a total matched by DiJonai Carrington off the bench. “Playing in front of your home crowd and getting that energy from your fans is huge. We know they’re going to bring that energy.”

The Lynx are 18-2 at Target Center this season.

And, at 31-8 overall, Minnesota has established a franchise record for wins in a season.

“You get so week to week in the league. It’s really strange. I don’t know how the players are, but I know we have never really looked at our record. When you clinch and you look at the record you go, ‘Holy cow, we have 31 wins,’” Reeve said. “What does it mean? That this group is really special, that thus far in two years they’ve won 61 games together.”

Napheesa Collier had 17 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. The starting backcourt of Kayla McBride and Courtney Williams each finished with 15 points, including a combined 8 for 12 on 3-pointers. Williams had eight rebounds and McBride six assists.

Carrington’s 18 points are her most in 10 games since being acquired Aug. 3 from Dallas.

“You have to guard her from the 3-point line to the midrange to the paint, so it just creates a problem for any defense. She just provides us, as well, with strong penetration. The ability she has to put the ball on the floor, and no matter who’s in front of her does not matter, she’s getting to the rim,” Smith said of her former Stanford teammate. “We have a lot of players in the team that do that and so we’re really lucky. … She’s added so much to what we already have. It’s certainly made us so much better.”

Owners of the league’s top defensive rating, Minnesota needed to regain that dominance after being outscored 60-33 in the second half of Thursday’s 93-79 loss to Seattle. The Lynx led that one by 21 in the first half.

“Defensively, we were significantly better than any game outside of maybe two of the last 10,” Reeve said.

Connecticut shot just 36.2%, including just 4 of 15 in the fourth quarter when the Lynx pulled away.

Up 12 midway through the frame the Lynx quickly erased any hope for the Sun.

Smith scored on a drive, McBride drained her fifth 3-pointer, and, after a Connecticut free throw, Collier scored on a cutting layup for an 82-64 cushion. Smith made her fourth 3-pointer and Collier converted a Williams pass for a 23-point lead.

Connecticut (10-29) entered winners in four of its previous five outings, albeit all over teams outside a current playoff spot.

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It was a tale of two starters on Saturday evening for the Minnesota Twins.

With six starters and five rotation spots, the Twins opted to piggyback Taj Bradley and Mick Abel, both of whom were acquired in trades at the deadline. The results could not have differed more.

Bradley was dominant in his five innings, giving up just one hit, touching 98.9 mph and getting 14 whiffs, including at least three on four different pitch types. Abel followed and needed 39 pitches to get through his first inning of work and departed after four straight hits to begin his second.

Those hits marked the beginning of a seven-run inning for the San Diego Padres in which they broke open what had been a tied game on their way to a 12-3 victory over the Twins at Target Field on Saturday night.

Abel, who gave up six runs in three innings in his Twins debut last weekend, didn’t fare much better on Saturday, pitching out of the bullpen for the first time in his major league career. His outing, which began in the sixth inning, started with Brooks Lee committing an error. Abel then gave up hits to three of the next four batters he faced, allowing San Diego to tie the game.

The next inning, he did not record an out, giving up another pair of runs before making way for reliever Brooks Kriske, who couldn’t stop the bleeding.

His outing stood in stark contrast to Bradley’s.

Bradley was also roughed up in his first start as a Twin, giving up seven runs in five innings pitched against the Chicago White Sox. But he settled down in his final three innings of work last weekend and looked good again on Saturday.

Bradley worked over a pair of walks in the first inning, getting out unscathed. Starting in the first inning and lasting until the fifth, Bradley retired 13 of 14 hitters he faced before catcher Elías Díaz hit a solo home run, tying the game 1-1 at the time.

It didn’t stay like that for long, as Byron Buxton launched an opposite-field two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth to give the Twins the lead back. The Twins had scored the first run of the game in the third inning when Trevor Larnach knocked in James Outman. But starting in the sixth, San Diego scored 11 unanswered runs.

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