Just a month ago, Anthony Edwards said Timberwolves players “all thought” they were play-in bound.

“We just knew it was gonna happen,” he said.

It sure felt like it at the time. Back-to-back losses at the end of February to the Lakers and Utah left the Wolves just three game above .500. That’s a play-in team in the Western Conference.

But Minnesota managed to flip the script over the final six weeks of the campaign, winning 17 of its final 21 games — the most recent of which came as a 116-105 win Sunday at home over Utah — to sneak into the top six.

The Wolves are the No. 6 seed and will face the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs. The series will start next weekend in Los Angeles, with the exact date and time of Game 1 still to be announced.

“I told the guys, (I was) super proud of their body of work this year,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said. “We didn’t make a big trade in the middle of the season to sort things out. We didn’t fire coaches to try to sort things out. They sorted it out themselves. Those guys made the right adjustments and sacrifices, and they figured out who they needed to be as a team. We’ve still got a lot in front of us, but all credit to those guys because it mattered to them to figure out, and we did, and they did.”

The Wolves did so over the weekend, handling downtrodden Brooklyn and Utah.

The Jazz were far more competitive. Minnesota’s lead was just one at the break on Sunday. But Edwards exploded for 18 of his 43 points in the third frame to give Minnesota ample breathing room and effectively punch the team’s fourth consecutive ticket to the playoffs.

Edwards hit seven 3s in the win, giving him the NBA 3-point title this season. The guard hit 320 triples this season, one more than Pistons guard Malik Beasley. Edwards said he was “super excited” about the league-leading mark.

“A little reminiscent of the other day in Memphis,” Finch said of the third frame. “I kind of felt going in we needed to clean up some game-plan stuff. I thought we were a little loose on some game-plan stuff and made some adjustments, and guys did a good job of carrying that out to the floor. We were able to get out and run. We had some transition stuff coming out of our defense at the right time. We needed that.”

Wolves guard Donte DiVincenzo admitted some players even felt the Wolves were destined for the play-in tournament after they blew a 24-point fourth quarter lead in Milwaukee on Thursday. But a door was re-opened when Golden State was upset by San Antonio on Wednesday.

“We were fortunate enough to have other teams lose, as well,” DiVincenzo said. “We just knew we had to handle business, and that was our focus.”

It was fitting even that Minnesota’s final week featured a little adversity. It wouldn’t be the Wolves if there wasn’t a bump in the road. But they managed to navigate that one, as well, to conclude a rocky season on a high that can carry them into the playoffs.

“Just overcoming adversity, keep our belief in ourselves and in one another. Trusting the process,” Wolves center Rudy Gobert said. “We knew that when I got here it was a process. It was a lot of adversity and we learned how to overcome that and get better from that. This time, after the (preseason) trade, I think our team became a little bit different. We had to all, individually and collectively, learn how to adjust to one another and get better. We went through some adversity, but we stayed with it. I think everything that we went through as a team just got us closer together and got us, mentally, more resilient.”

Now they’ll head into a Lakers series in which they’ll be an underdog as they try to topple two of the league’s elite talents, but armed with the knowledge that they aren’t likely to crumble under the weight of any presented challenge.

“I think this locker room is really connected, from the youngest to the oldest guy on the team, everybody is communicating with each other, and everybody can hold each other accountable,” Wolves guard Donte DiVincenzo said. “I think that’s huge. We’re going to need it going forward, because everything only gets harder.”

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BRAINERD, Minn. — Republicans in north-central Minnesota will vote Tuesday to determine a nominee for a vacant state Senate seat in a race that will also showcase how allegiance to President Donald Trump is playing in areas he dominated in 2024.

Eight Republicans are vying to replace Justin Eichorn, who resigned last month after he was charged with attempting to solicit a minor in what turned out to be a sting operation in Bloomington.

The pool of candidates includes some familiar names in state politics, including several who made an abrupt decision to shift from other careers to pursue an unexpected political opportunity.

District 6, which stretches from Brainerd and Baxter north to Grand Rapids, is largely Republican. Eichorn won in 2022 with nearly 64% of the vote. So there’s a good chance the candidate who wins the Republican primary will go on to claim the Senate seat.

Trump handily carried the district in his 2024 presidential run.

But Crow Wing County GOP Chair Lowell Smith isn’t taking anything for granted. Historically — and this year in particular — Republicans across the country haven’t done as well as Democrats in turning out core voters in special elections.

“We’re going to do everything we can to turn out the vote,” Smith said.

But Democrats think they’ve got an outside shot. They’ve endorsed Denise Slipy, an environmental health and safety professional from Breezy Point. Other Democrats have bowed out.

Slipy will face the Republican primary winner in the April 29 special election. The outcome won’t flip the balance of power in the Senate, where Democrats currently have a two-vote majority.

“It’s a tough district, but we’re going to do everything we can. Folks are going to sign up to phonebank and door knock up there,” Minnesota DFL Party Chair Richard Carlbom told MPR News this month. “And on April 29, we’re going to see just how much ground we can gain and hopefully gain enough to win that seat.”

The Republican contenders are largely in harmony on conservative positions, such as lowering taxes, cutting spending and barring transgender athletes from girls’ sports.

Several said they back Trump’s recent actions, including massive layoffs and cuts to federal agencies.

Jennifer Carnahan owns two shops in downtown Nisswa. Since January, she’s also served as mayor of the tourist destination north of Brainerd with about 2,000 residents, whose population swells in the summer.

Carnahan said she worked hard to win the mayoral seat and wasn’t eager to leave her new role. But when Eichorn abruptly resigned, she decided to throw her hat in the ring.

“I just didn’t view there was any loss to jump in,” she said. “I’d go out there and work hard, share my conservative values, how I could still be an asset and help Nisswa, but a broader community if I am elected. And if not, I still have my mayoral term for two years, and we can still do great things.”

Carnahan is a familiar name to political observers. She’s the widow of U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn, who died of cancer in 2022. She’s also the former state Republican Party chair, whose tenure was marked by controversies before she resigned in 2021.

Also running is Josh Gazelka, whose father is former GOP Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka.

Josh Gazelka is 31 years old and lives in Pequot Lakes. He works for a Texas-based marketing firm and said he had no plans to get into politics.

“If you told me three weeks ago I’d be running, I think I would have laughed you out of the room,” he said in an interview earlier this month. “Because I’ve seen firsthand growing up what it looks like. It really is service paired with a lot of flak, no matter what you do.”

But Gazelka said when the seat came open, he felt a calling to serve, citing the impact of state taxes on the local economy as a key issue.

“I love the different businesses in the area. I love the idea of having my family here,” he said. “But I just know how difficult it is to just survive, and it’s driving people out of the state.”

Keri Heintzeman said she had been thinking for a while about running for office. She has campaigned for Trump and for her husband, Josh Heintzeman, who represents the area in the state House.

“I’ve knocked thousands and thousands of doors, and been able to hear what are the concerns of people and how that relates to government,” she said.

Heintzeman said Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson first called to see if her husband was thinking about running for the Senate. But his departure would leave an open seat in the House, where membership is evenly split between parties.

“I said, ‘Do you have another candidate in mind from our area?’ And he said, ‘How about Keri Heintzeman?’ ” she recalled. “My heart leaped. I knew that that was something I’d been thinking about for many years.”

Heintzeman said her history with political campaigns helped her hit the ground running despite the shortened timeline, quickly launching lawn signs and campaign mailers. But she said she’s “not running as anybody’s wife.”

“I’m standing on my own two feet and my own experience,” she said.

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Other Republicans in the race include former Breezy Point Mayor Angel Zierden; retired Grand Rapids veterinarian John Howe; Steve Cotariu, an Army veteran and professional magician; conservative activist Doug Kern; and Matthew Zinda, who describes himself on Facebook as a self-employed driver, umpire and journalist.

Polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 15. To find your polling place, go to pollfinder.sos.mn.gov.

The plaza outside Gate 34 at Target Field got a bit more crowded on Sunday as the Twins unveiled an 8-foot bronze statue of Hall of Fame catcher Joe Mauer.

At a pregame ceremony on the sun-drenched plaza, Mauer was joined by numerous former teammates, including Paul Molitor, Glen Perkins, Corey Koskie and Justin Morneau. Former Twins manager Tom Kelly read the text of a plaque that accompanies the statue.

Then Mauer’s children — twin daughters Maren and Emily, and son Chip — pulled off a black drop cloth to reveal the statue of their dad cast by local artist Bill Mack.

Mauer is depicted in full catcher’s gear, arm raised as if to throw out a would-be base stealer. Twins historian and curator Clyde Doepner had saved the gear Mauer wore during his 2009 MVP season and shared it with Mauer and Mack for the project.

“This means a lot more to me than you guys will ever know,” said Mauer, who noted he was glad he’d worn sunglasses, and not just because of the bright blue sky. “A lot of emotions right now.”

The statue is the eighth to be installed outside the ballpark, joining those honoring Kirby Puckett, Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, Tony Oliva, Kent Hrbek, Kelly and former owners Carl and Eloise Pohlad.

Miranda, Lee trade places

One day after committing a baserunning blunder emblematic of the Twins’ early-season struggles, Jose Miranda found himself once again a member the Triple-A St Paul Saints.

Infielder Brooks Lee was reinstated from the injured list after Saturday’s 4-0 loss to the Tigers, so the Twins needed to clear a roster spot.

Miranda might have made the decision easier during the game when he slid short of second base and then began walking off the field, not realizing that the Tigers’ infielder had not stepped on the bag. Miranda was tagged out and one of the day’s few rallies fizzled.

After the game, manager Rocco Baldelli focused on the need to play better in all phases of the game, and that a “shock” might be coming to wake up the clubhouse. But on Sunday, he noted that nobody was making Miranda the scapegoat.

“I would never point to sending a guy down as being a wakeup call for the rest of the group. If anyone takes it like that or … [it] maybe opens someone’s eyes out there, so be it,” Baldelli said.

Miranda, who last season tied the MLB record with hits in 12 consecutive at-bats, is one of many Twins players off to a slow start at the plate. He was hitting just .167 (6 for 36) with one home run, no walks and 13 strikeouts.

“I had a pretty thorough conversation with Jose Miranda when we sent him out,” Baldelli said. “I had a couple of different messages for him. It’s time for him to go down, play well and get his season rolling.”

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For one day, at least, the litany of woes that have plagued the Twins in 2025 felt like distant memories.

After losing six of their previous seven games, the Twins bounced back in style on Sunday, clicking in all phases of the game in a 5-1 win over Detroit.

You like pitching? Simeon Woods Richardson struck out five and gave up just Spencer Torkelson’s solo home run over the first five innings. Then the bullpen came in and buried the Tigers. Louis Varland struck out the side in the sixth, and Griffin Jax matched him in the eighth. In between, Cole Sands pitched around a one-out walk. Jhoan Duran then put the Tigers down 1-2-3 in the ninth.

How about hitting? The Twins flashed power — solo homers by Byron Buxton in the first inning and Edouard Julien in the sixth — and they hit in the clutch, with Brooks Lee’s two-out single putting the Twins up 2-0 in the second.

Fielding has also hurt the Twins. But on this day, they made all the routine plays and one spectacular one when they needed it most. With one on and one out in the seventh, pinch hitter Justyn-Henry Malloy lofted a high fly down the left field line. Harrison Bader raced over and made a diving catch, short-circuiting a potential rally while the Twins clung to a three-run lead.

“That was a great day at the ballpark,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “I think that’s a very good version of our club. That’s what our club looks like. This is the way we play. That’s a game I’ve seen many times before from this group, and that’s the game we’re looking for. And we want to play a whole lot of games like that.”

Buxton jump-started the offense with a solo homer to left in the first, and he played a big role in manufacturing the Twins’ fourth run. After Julien’s leadoff homer in the sixth, Buxton hit a line drive to left field. For 99.9% of human beings, it would have been a single. But Buxton never broke stride and cruised into second with a double.

He moved to third on Willi Castro’s infield single, which rolled about 15 feet and died between pitcher Casey Mize and catcher Dillon Dingler. Two batters later, Buxton scored when the Tigers couldn’t handle Ty France’s chopper up the middle. That gave France nine hits and six RBIs in his last five games.

The stretch double was a reminder of what a healthy Buxton can mean to this team.

“I feel good,” Buxton said. “To be able to be healthy and do the things you want to do on the baseball field, gives you a sense of peace of mind to just go out and play the game the right way.”

Baldelli had an inkling that Buxton might be ready to break out.

“Buck came rolling on in today with a big smile on his face,” he said. “You never know what the future holds. But [third base coach Tommy Watkins] might have said to us today in the dugout that Buck is going to catch a heater right now and start going. … The oracle, Tommy Watkins.”

Of course, this was just one game. The trick will be finding ways to duplicate the effort far more frequently than they’ve done so far this year. Buxton said the team’s unity will play a big part in righting the ship.

“Today it was just a team thing, everybody picking each other up,” he said. “We’ve been not having the season that we want to, so a big part of us getting back is making sure that we’ve got each other’s back.”

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