The Timberwolves led the Suns by eight points in the final minute of Friday’s NBA Cup bout.

And they lost by one, as Collin Gillespie scored in isolation with 6 seconds left to put Phoenix up 114-113 and Julius Randle’s attempt at a game-winning 3-pointer went awry at the other end.

The Timberwolves turned the ball over three times in a span of 27 seconds and Anthony Edwards missed a pair of free throws as Minnesota fell apart, even after Devin Booker fouled out with more than two minutes to play.

“We lost our minds. Poor execution. Turnovers, obviously,” Wolves coach Chris Finch told reporters, “and just didn’t stay locked in for the last 90 seconds.”

Minnesota will now need to beat the Thunder in Oklahoma City on Wednesday if it wants to advance to the NBA Cup knockout round for the first time in the event’s short history.

The Wolves are now 0-6 this season against teams with winning records.

Here are takeaways from Minnesota’s stunning defeat:

A bad loss

Minnesota was 8-0 against Denver and Phoenix last season. It’s now 0-3 against those teams thus far this year.

Phoenix was down two rotational players in Jalen Green and Grayson Allen on Friday.

Booker fouled out with a few minutes to play. Dillon Brooks fouled out in the final 30 seconds. And yet Minnesota still couldn’t maintain enough composure to shut the door.

The Wolves’ execution simply isn’t where it needs to be over the course of 48 minutes to beat the NBA’s best at the moment. If Minnesota needs an extra win for any reason at season’s end, it will lament this Friday night in November.

Rough start

Minnesota dropped the first quarter by eight points and trailed by 13 at the half on a night where it struggled to match Phoenix’s execution and physicality out of the gates.

That’s been a common theme for the Timberwolves, who have struggled against good teams. Minnesota has beaten up on cupcakes, but it’s a different level of basketball against winning teams. It took the Wolves awhile to adjust to that on Friday.

Edwards explodes

After a couple clunkers, Edwards responded with a 41-point performance on Friday. That included a 19-point third quarter in which he made seven of his first nine shots of the frame.

Edwards got a few triples to fall, but more importantly, he was aggressive in attacking the rack and creating for himself and others.

But Edwards will lament the final minute, in which he turned the ball over and missed a pair of free throws in the final 12 seconds that would’ve set Minnesota up for victory.

Booker struggles

Jaden McDaniels continues to have Booker’s number. Phoenix’s star guard went just 4 for 18 from the field before fouling out.

And while Booker had 10 assists, those were cancelled out by nine turnovers, which tied his career high.

Dating back to Minnesota’s playoff sweep of Phoenix in 2024, McDaniels and the Wolves’ defense continues to bother Booker.

Gobert grinds it out

Had Minnesota won the game, Rudy Gobert would’ve been an unsung hero. He was relentless on the interior, delivering one play on the glass after another.

Gobert was the one who drew the foul on a rebounding attempt that fouled out Booker. Gobert had seven points and five boards in the final frame alone.

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Chase Bjorgaard and Edina made history Friday night.

It’s an achievement made even sweeter because of Bjorgaard’s own backstory.

Two years after being stopped less than a yard shy of the goal line on a 2-point conversion attempt that would have lifted his team to a state title, the now-senior running back tied a Prep Bowl record with six touchdowns Friday night as the Hornets beat Moorhead 42-35 in this season’s Class 6A state championship game at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Bjorgaard finished the night with 31 carries for 320 yards and four touchdowns, while catching two passes for 31 yards and two more scores.

It marked the first state title for an Edina school since Edina West beat Fridley 21-0 for the then-Class 2A championship in 1978. Edina West and East merged back into one high school in 1981, and in the modern era, the Hornets had only been back to the state championship game once until this season.

That came two years ago when Edina fell 28-27 to Centennial.

Then-sophomore quarterback Mason West threw a 21-yard touchdown pass with 16 seconds left to pull the Hornets within one, but Edina elected to go for the win and Bjogaard was stopped just short — a memory he has carried for two years now.

Both he and West were also members of the Hornets’ hockey team that fell 4-3 to Moorhead in the Class 2A state semifinals last March, and Edina lost 51-44 to the Spuds on the football field in the regular-season finale on Oct. 15.

So, Friday’s win represented redemption in many different ways.

The Hornets finished their season 9-4 overall. Moorhead finished its first season in Class 6A with a record of 8-5, though the first four of those losses came with dynamic junior quarterback Jett Feeney out with an injury.

Feeney — who threw for 487 yards and four touchdowns during the first meeting between the two teams this season — was again impressive Friday, breaking a Prep Bowl record with 373 yards passing and helping his team post a 19:35-4:25 edge in time of possession in the first half.

The Spuds mounted scoring drives of 17 plays on each of their first two possessions, taking a 15-8 lead when Feeney scored on a 7-yard run with 6:11 to play in the second quarter.

Each time, though, Edina had an answer in Bjorgaard. He scored on a 26-yard touchdown run, then caught a 24-yard touchdown pass from West to cut the gap to 15-13 with 3:42 to go in the second quarter.

The Hornets got a big break when Moorhead gambled on 4th-and-6 at its own 26-yard line and Feeney’s pass fell incomplete. Three plays later, West again found Bjorgaard on a 7-yard touchdown pass that put Edina on top for the first time at 20-15.

The Spuds drove the ball all the way to the Hornets’ 25 in the final minute of the first half. But Edina senior Henry Couchman came up with an interception on the goal line to end the threat and the first half ended with the Hornets still on top by five.

Bjorgaard was back at it to start the second half, breaking free on a 49-yard run that set up his own 3-yard touchdown run one play later. That expanded his team’s lead to 27-15.

But Moorhead roared right back, scoring on a 36-yard touchdown pass from Feeney to fellow junior David Mack. The extra-point attempt failed, but the Spuds cut the gap to 27-21.

Then — after Edina was stopped on downs at the Moorhead 28 late in the third quarter — the Spuds drove 72 yards in 11 plays to retake the lead at 28-27 on Feeney’s 4-yard touchdown run with 9:13 to play in the fourth.

Once more, though, Bjorgaard wouldn’t be denied, breaking free on a 59-yard touchdown run on the Hornets’ next play from scrimmage to put his team back on top 34-28.

Then, after Edina stopped Moorhead on downs at its own 36, Bjorgaard notched his record-tying sixth touchdown on a 24-yard run that made the score 42-38 with 3:33 remaining.

But the Spuds wouldn’t roll over, scoring in just two plays on an 86-yard touchdown pass from Feeney to junior Zak Walker to trim the deficit to 42-35 with 2:51 still left to play.

But once the Hornets got the ball back, they were able to run out the clock to seal the state championship they’ve been looking for since falling just short two years ago.

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What looked like heartbreak turned into jubilation in a matter of moments for St. Thomas on Friday night.

Austin Herro was called for a foul on a 3-point attempt with two seconds left in a tie game at the Portland Invitational, which sent Northern Colorado’s Quinn Denker to the free-throw line.

Denker made two of the three shots to put Northern Colorado up, 72-70.

Ben Oosterbaan got the ball to Nolan Minessale, who let a heave fly from well behind the half-court line with more than 1.5 seconds still on the clock.

He drained it.

The Tommies poured onto the floor in celebration after securing a stunning 73-72 victory.

St. Thomas trailed for much of the evening, and still was down by eight with seven minutes to play. But the Tommies closed strong, knotting the game at 68-68 on a Nick Janowski triple with 2 minutes, 5 seconds to play.

Minessale led the Tommies with 20 points, while Janowski added 17.

The Tommies (4-2) play Cal State Fullerton on Saturday as the Invitational rolls on.

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The Minnesota Frost have made a habit of ending the Toronto Sceptres’ season in the playoffs. Toronto got a chance to start a season by beating Minnesota on Friday night at Grand Casino Arena.

The Sceptres had a score to settle with the Frost and wanted to be the ones to hand Minnesota a loss to start the year, and Toronto was able to do just that with a 2-1 victory on Friday as the PWHL kicked off its third season.

Before the action started, the Frost and their 9,138 fans in attendance celebrated with the silver glistening of the Walter Cup in a pregame ceremony, raising another championship banner into the rafters of Grand Casino Arena. The crowd was more than ecstatic to celebrate history that put the Frost in an exclusive group with the WNBA’s Houston Comets, winning the first two championships of their league’s existence.

Toronto was left to watch Minnesota celebrate again. In 2024, the Frost won the best-of-five series, 3-2, over Toronto, and this past spring, they advanced to the championship in a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory over the Sceptres.

The Frost were in control for most of the first period, with captain Kendall Coyne Schofield scoring their first goal just four minutes into the game. Coyne Schofield finished after a setup pass from forward Britta Curl-Salemme to Kelly Pannek, who got it to Coyne Schofield as she skated right up to Toronto’s goal.

The Frost had 11 shots on goal in the first period, but their next best chance to capitalize on their 1-0 lead came when Pannek was awarded a penalty shot with 4:11 left. Pannek missed the shot, and 1 minute, 16 seconds later, Toronto defender Ella Shelton sneaked one past Maddie Rooney to tie it up 1-all.

The game remained tied in the second period but not without opportunities for both teams. The Sceptres were able to get the first power play early into the period, as they caught Frost forward Katy Knoll on a hooking penalty, but didn’t score. Later, Pannek drew a penalty from Toronto defender Emma Maltais to provide the Frost with their own power play, but they too failed to score on the power play.

Minnesota got another power play early in the third but was unable to capitalize once again. Toronto found an opportunity for its first lead shortly after, as forward Kiara Zanon scored her first professional goal for a 2-1 lead.

The Frost resume play next Friday for their first match-up against the Seattle Torrent, one of two expansion teams this season.

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