On the surface, the Wild got everything they wanted out of Tuesday’s game against the Anaheim Ducks.

They got a 4-0 win to gain more ground in their playoff push. They got balanced scoring with goals from center Ryan Hartman, defenseman Jon Merrill, superstar winger Kirill Kaprizov and center Jake Lucchini. They got a bounceback performance by goaltender Filip Gustavsson in net as he posted 27 saves en route to a shutout.

All of that was overshadowed by the potential loss of star defenseman Jonas Brodin.

Though the Wild (34-27-8, 76 points) will certainly take the win as it helped them pull even closer to the Vegas Golden Knights (36-25-7, 79 points) in the race for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, the lasting image for everybody was Brodin struggling to the bench in a lot of pain.

It happened fairly late in the contest as Brodin got tangled up with Ducks winger Alex Killorn in the corner. It looked like Brodin’s right leg got caught underneath him as he fell to the ice. He was very slow to get up and was unable to put any weight on his right leg as he left down the tunnel.

If Brodin has to miss a significant amount of time, it could be too much for the Wild to overcome. They are already without captain Jared Spurgeon, who won’t return this season, and center Joel Eriksson Ek, who is expected to return at some point later this month.

As for the game itself, as much as the Wild struggled to generate offense in the first period, it felt like only a matter of time before they got things going.

That proved to be the case as Hartman scored 35 seconds into the second period to push the Wild in front 1-0. Not long after that Merrill stretched the lead to 2-0 as rookie center Marat Khusnutdinov recorded an assist for the first point of his young NHL career.

Not to be outdone by his fellow countryman, Kaprizov made it 3-0 midway through the second period with a tenacious effort to fight through traffic in front.

That was more than enough for Gustavsson. He settled in nicely after not seeing very many shots in the early stages of the game.

As the game wound to a close in the third period, Lucchini hammered home a feed from winger Adam Beckman to finalize the score at 4-0.

As much as the Wild might be reeling from the potential loss of Brodin, they don’t have much time to sulk. Not with Wednesday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings looming.

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Minnesota put up a title-caliber fight Tuesday in Target Center with a short-handed roster on the second half of a back to back, pushing the defending champs to the brink.

In the end, it wasn’t enough, as soon-to-be MVP Nikola Jokic and sharpshooter Michael Porter Jr. landed a few haymakers that finally knocked the Wolves out of Denver’s 115-112 victory in a pivotal Western Conference showdown.

But you can’t knock Minnesota’s effort. Even down eight points in the final two minutes Tuesday, the Wolves scratched and clawed to the very bitter end. The game ended with Anthony Edwards putting up an open look from just beyond the arc at the horn that just hit front iron.

The Wolves were sans their three centers — Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid. They won a thriller Monday in Utah.

Denver was off Monday and fresh off a heart-breaking loss Sunday against Dallas.

Tuesday’s contest had all the makings of a Denver runaway.

And, for one half, it looked to be heading in that direction. Not that Minnesota played poorly over the first two quarters, but Denver’s size — with Jokic and Aaron Gordon — overwhelmed Minnesota, and Denver led 70-55 at the break.

But Anthony Edwards fueled another run in the third, scoring 14 in the frame to put Minnesota back in front. By the end of the quarter, Denver was double-teaming the 22-year-old the second he touched the ball. It was the only way to douse his inferno that ignited the Target Center building and the team.

The undermanned Wolves were flying around defensively and confidently attacking on the offensive end.

Edwards finished with 30 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Jaden McDaniels put forth one of his best performances of the season, finishing with 26 points and six rebounds while serving as a defensive menace. Mike Conley scored 13 points, all in the fourth.

Everyone else played their tails off defensively, battling Denver’s size advantage with shear will and physicality. Everything about the performance reeked of the 2021-22 team and its style of play that captured the hearts of basketball fans around the state.

Jokic had 35 points and 16 rebounds — and he hit a few massive shots down the stretch — but the Wolves flustered the world’s best player for a large portion of the final two quarters.

In the end, it is still a loss, one that gives Denver a leg up in the Western Conference standings as Minnesota, Denver and Oklahoma City continue to jostle for the No. 1 seed with the playoffs fast approaching.

But if Minnesota continues to play as it did Tuesday, it will put itself in a good position when all the wins are tallied after 82 games.

McALLEN, Texas — The U.S. Supreme Court will allow Texas to start arresting migrants who cross the U.S.-Mexico border and ordering them to leave, while the legal battle over Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s latest immigration move plays out.

The court issued a divided decision Tuesday that allows Texas to enforce its immigration law for now. The high court declined to intervene on an administrative stay placed by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Justice Department is challenging the law, saying Texas is overstepping the federal government’s immigration authority. Texas argues it has a right to take action over what Abbott has described as an “invasion” of migrants on the border.

The 5th Circuit is set to hear arguments in April. A federal judge in Texas issued a sweeping rejection of the law last month, calling it a violation of the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Here’s what to know:

Who can be arrested?

The law allows any Texas law enforcement officer to arrest people suspected of entering the country illegally. Once in custody, migrants could either agree to a Texas judge’s order to leave the U.S. or be prosecuted on misdemeanor charges of illegal entry. Migrants who don’t leave could face arrest again under more serious felony charges.

Arresting officers must have probable cause, which could include witnessing the illegal entry or seeing it on video.

The law cannot be enforced against people lawfully present in the U.S., including those who were granted asylum or who are enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Critics, including Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, fear the law could lead to racial profiling and family separation. American Civil Liberties Union affiliates in Texas and some neighboring states issued a travel advisory a day after Abbott signed the law. The advisory warns of a possible threat to civil and constitutional rights when passing through Texas.

Abbott has rejected concerns over profiling. While signing the bill, he said troopers and National Guard members at the border can see migrants crossing illegally “with their own eyes.”

Where will the law be enforced?

The law can be enforced in any of Texas’ 254 counties, including those hundreds of miles from the border.

But Republican state Rep. David Spiller, the law’s author, has said he expects the vast majority of arrests will occur within 50 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. Texas’ state police chief has expressed similar expectations.

Some places are off-limits. Arrests cannot be made in public and private schools; places of worship; or hospitals and other health care facilities, including those where sexual assault forensic examinations are conducted.

It is unclear where migrants ordered to leave might go. The law says they are to be sent to ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border, even if they are not Mexican citizens. However, Mexico’s government said Tuesday it would not accept the return of any migrants to its territory from the state of Texas.

Is the law constitutional?

The Supreme Court’s decision did not address the constitutionality of the law.

The Justice Department, legal experts and immigrant rights groups have said it is a clear conflict with the U.S. government’s authority to regulate immigration.

U.S. District Judge David Ezra, an appointee of former President Ronald Reagan, agreed in a 114-page order. He added that the law could hamper U.S. foreign relations and treaty obligations.

Opponents have called the measure the most dramatic attempt by a state to police immigration since a 2010 Arizona law — denounced by critics as the “Show Me Your Papers” bill — that was largely struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. Ezra cited the Supreme Court’s 2012 Arizona ruling in his decision.

Texas has argued that the law mirrors federal law instead of conflicting with it.

What is happening on the border?

Arrests for illegal crossings along the southern border fell by half in January from record highs in December. Border Patrol officials attributed the shift to seasonal declines and heightened enforcement by the U.S. and its allies. The federal government has not yet released numbers for February.

Texas has charged thousands of migrants with trespassing on private property under a more limited operation that began in 2021.
Tensions remain between Texas and the Biden administration. In the border city of Eagle Pass, Texas, National Guard members have prevented Border Patrol agents from accessing a riverfront park.

Other Republican governors have expressed support for Abbott, who has said the federal government is not doing enough to enforce immigration laws. Other measures implemented by Texas include a floating barrier in the Rio Grande and razor wire along the border.
___
Associated Press writers Acacia Coronado and Paul Weber in Austin, Texas, contributed to this report.

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The Gophers men’s basketball team looked at its berth in the National Invitation Tournament as an opportunity for a dry run toward a hopeful spot in the NCAA tournament next March.

And Minnesota earned some quality experience, especially in crunch time, in the consolation tourney on Tuesday.

Down five points with five minutes left, the unseeded U scratched back to beat fourth-seeded Butler 73-72 in the first round of the NIT at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Minnesota (19-14) will play on Saturday or Sunday against either top-seed Indiana State or Southern Methodist. Those two teams play Wednesday night. The U will remain on the road this weekend, regardless of which opponent advances due to the Minnesota high school boys basketball tournament being played at Williams Arena.

Head coach Ben Johnson reminded his team about the chance they have in front of them this March.

“I want to think big picture, and we want to do our best to keep playing and keep winning and being in environments like this,” he said on KTLK-AM from Indianapolis. “We can win and grow and win a game late and win a game on the road against a hungry team and continue to play for something like a championship. That is important for our growth.”

Dawson Garcia and Bulldogs guard Jahmyl Telfort each poured in 25 points, but Telfort’s shot at the buzzer was off the mark for 4.5-point favorite Butler (18-15). Braeden Carrington forced Telfort to rainbow the attempt.

“It looked good,” Johnson admitted of the shot in the radio interview.

The Gophers weathered cold shooting down the stretch, making 1 of 9 shots over a four-minute span. But they made just enough in the last minute.

After a Garcia layup tied it 67-67 with two minutes remaining, D.J. Davis hit a 3-pointer for the lead with 1:47 remaining. In the final minute, Parker Fox added a layup, Telford made a jumper and Garcia contributed a layup to make it 72-71 with 22 seconds remaining

With 13 seconds left, the Gophers didn’t foul, and Davis’ pass was intercepted by Fox. In transition, Elijah Hawkins was fouled near the basket with five seconds remaining; he made both shots from the stripe to take a 73-72 lead.

Those clutch free throws for Hawkins went with his 15 assists, 11 points and only four turnovers.

Bulldogs coach Thad Matta, who used to be at Ohio State, called a timeout with 1.8 seconds remaining, but the buzzer beater was off.

Johnson said he saw “long faces” on Butler players in the handshake line.

“You notice guys don’t necessarily know what they have until it’s gone,” he said. “My message to them was sometimes you may feel like, ‘I don’t want to do this’ or ‘Oh, gosh, I got to get up for this.’ Then once it’s gone, you realize, ‘I woulda, shoulda, coulda.’ ”

The Gophers went on an 11-0 run midway through the first half to take a 19-11 lead, and Butler’s six turnovers aided the U’s margin. At one point, Minnesota had nine assists on nine baskets. But Butler went on its own run and ended up taking a 38-36 lead at the half.

This marks the Gophers’ first NIT appearance since they won the championship in 2014, and it’s the U’s first postseason appearance since 2019, when they advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

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