Denver slugged its way past Minnesota in 2023 on its way to the NBA title. The Timberwolves derailed a Nuggets repeat with a Game 7 upset in 2024.

Act III of this sometimes-bitter rivalry kicks off Saturday afternoon when No. 3 Denver hosts No. 6 Minnesota for Game 1 of the Western Conference quarterfinals.

Since the calendar turned to 2023 the teams have played 28 times, including the playoffs, and each has won 14 games. The Timberwolves dominated the four regular-season matchups in 2024-25 but the Nuggets took three of the four meetings this season, including an overtime thriller on Christmas night.

And there is star power, most notably from Minnesota’s outspoken guard Anthony Edwards and Denver’s more muted triple-double machine Nikola Jokic. Both are expected to play at a high level so the outcome could come down to the supporting cast and injuries.

For the Timberwolves, Edwards and Jaden McDaniels have missed time with knee injuries and Naz Reid, one of the many who will try to stop Jokic, has been dealing with ankle and shoulder injuries.

The Nuggets have gotten healthier after a season full of injuries. Aaron Gordon played just 36 games due to multiple hamstring injuries and Christian Braun, who will draw the primary assignment on Edwards, was limited to 54 games because of an ankle sprain.

Peyton Watson missed 25 of the last 30 games with a hamstring strain, and Spencer Jones missed the last two weeks of the season with the same injury.

The status for both for Game 1 is unclear, with head coach David Adelman’s latest update coming Wednesday when he told reporters, “Peyton and Spence both practiced, not contact, all non-contact stuff. Spence did more yesterday, as far as his player development, they look good, but neither guy’s clear as of yet. My hope is they’ll play in Game 1. If not, we’ll play the group that is healthy.”

Edwards averaged 30.3 points in three games against Denver this season. Jokic, who averaged a triple-double for the second straight season (27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds and 10.7 assists), feasted on Minnesota. In four games against the Timberwolves, he averaged 35.8 points, 15 rebounds and 11.3 assists.

Minnesota, like every other team, will make containing Jokic a priority. But it won’t be easy.

“Probably gotta call God and talk to him for a little bit and ask him for a few favors,” Timberwolves forward Julius Randle said of guarding Jokic. “It’s going to be a tough matchup. He’s an incredible player.”

Jokic leads the NBA’s top-ranked offense that averaged 122.1 points a game and 125 against Minnesota. The Timberwolves gave up an average of 114.6 points this season, which was 12th in the league.

Denver retooled its roster in the offseason for another run at a championship. The Nuggets traded Michael Porter Jr. to Brooklyn for Cam Johnson, and the salary relief led to signing Bruce Brown and Tim Hardaway Jr. and trading for Jokic’s backup, Jonas Valanciunas.

Brown was on the 2023 team that beat the Timberwolves in the first round and, despite winning in five games, called it the hardest series on the road to the title.

Denver is expecting another tough one in 2026, and the sense of urgency is there.

“To win a championship, you need the guys to step up at the right moment. If it is not your night one game, it’s OK because the next one is coming soon,” Jokic said. “I think we need everybody on our roster. Everybody needs to step up.”

–Field Level Media

The surging Colorado Rapids host an Inter Miami side in flux on Saturday in Commerce City, Colo.

The Rapids (4-3-0, 12 points) posted a 6-2 home rout of the Houston Dynamo last Saturday. Rafael Navarro and Kosi Thompson each scored a brace and Josh Atencio also scored for Colorado. The Rapids also added an own goal from Houston in the first minute of second-half stoppage time.

Conversely, just four months after its first MLS Cup title, Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano resigned for personal reasons on Tuesday. The Herons (3-1-3, 12 points) tied the New York Red Bulls 2-2 last Saturday and turned to sporting director Guillermo Hoyos as interim coach.

Hoyos’ relationship with Miami’s star forward Lionel Messi, who leads the team with five goals, dates back more than 20 years to their time together at Barcelona’s La Masia academy.

“Friendship is not negotiated,” said Hoyos about Messi. “There is a friendship there, one that has spanned various years, and one that we share with many players because we have worked together in different countries.

“Yet, that friendship does not mean that we can be right on top of him, constantly hovering over him, every single day. I believe that everything must be respected: his privacy, and everything else.

“One must exercise great prudence, and, above all, proceed quietly, while striving to grow and evolve within this dynamic. For, naturally, all of this is new, and being alongside the greatest player in history is truly an extraordinary experience on the pitch. I am grateful, deeply grateful.”

After its dominant performance, Colorado coach Matt Wells, Navarro, Thompson and Atencio were all named to the Team of the Matchday. The Rapids have scored 19 goals on the season, which is tied with the Vancouver Whitecaps for the most in Major League Soccer.

Colorado’s Dante Sealy scored a goal in a 1-0 U.S. Open Cup match against Union Omaha on Tuesday. The 23-year-old forward is still in search of his first MLS goal in a Rapids’ uniform.

“I had him in my office and told him to focus on the process, the habits — and the goals are only an outcome,” Wells said of Sealy. “If you start focusing on the goals you are in trouble.”

–Field Level Media

Success came quickly for Toronto Raptors power forward Scottie Barnes, who won the Rookie of the Year award and got a taste of the playoffs four years ago.

Two All-Star selections followed, but a return to the postseason proved elusive until now.

The fifth-seeded Raptors will challenge the fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in an Eastern Conference first-round series. Game 1 is Saturday in Cleveland.

“We knew from when we talked in training camp, that was our goal,” said Barnes, the only player in the league with 600 rebounds, 400 assists and 100 blocked shots in a single season. “I think we were all confident then that we could get it done. It’s just great that we went out and did it.”

Toronto (46-36) moved past the Atlanta Hawks on the final day of the regular season, locking it into a matchup with Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, Evan Mobley and the Cavaliers. Cleveland (52-30) is making its fourth consecutive playoff appearance.

The Raptors went 3-0 against the Cavaliers this season with Barnes averaging 20.0 points and team-highs of 10.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2.0 blocks. Brandon Ingram scored 37 points in their final meeting on Nov. 24 and averaged 22.7 points in the set.

All three games occurred long before Cleveland acquired Harden in a trade-deadline deal with the Los Angeles Clippers. The Cavaliers were 19-7 with the future Hall of Famer in the lineup and won 35 of their final 49 contests.

“We’re a lot different team now,” said reigning Defensive Player of the Year Mobley, who was chosen one spot ahead of Barnes in the 2021 draft at No. 3. “We’ll have to adjust accordingly on how they play, but it’s a good matchup. Toronto has a lot of great players like Scottie and Brandon Ingram.”

Mobley and Barnes will always be linked because of their draft order and the low-key rivalry that developed with both playing the same position. Injuries limited Mobley to 65 games this season, but he still averaged 18.2 points, 9.0 rebounds and a career-high 1.7 blocks.

Their head-to-head battle was the main talking point in Toronto going into the series, while most in Cleveland remain focused on Harden’s elusive quest for a first championship in his 17th season. He has made the playoffs every year.

“It’s like a spin cycle, a lot of up and downs, once you get here,” Harden said. “A lot of different things happen in a game and in a series. Toronto is a really good team, but we’re prepared. We know what we need to do.”

Harden’s ability to execute in half-court sets gives the Cavaliers a dynamic they didn’t have in the last three postseasons. The ninth-leading scorer in NBA history also figures to attack Raptors point guard Immanuel Quickley, who is nursing a hamstring injury.

The shooting guard matchup pits Cleveland’s top scorer and face of the franchise, seven-time All-Star Mitchell, against RJ Barrett. Raptors center Jakob Poeltl said he will be “as physical as possible” against Cavaliers big man Jarrett Allen.

“You’re playing the same team over and over, so the deeper you go, the sets and plays have less value because everyone can scout,” Toronto coach Darko Rajakovic said. “It’s more about the tendencies of the players and are you playing to their strengths or your strengths.”

Quickley was again limited to individual workouts Friday in Toronto. Cleveland’s only question mark is backup center Thomas Bryant (left calf strain), who last played on April 5 and appears unlikely to suit up.

This is the fourth time the teams will square off in the playoffs, where the Cavaliers eliminated the Raptors in the 2016 conference finals, and the 2017 and 2018 semifinals. Toronto was swept in the latter two series and is 0-7 all-time in playoff games in Cleveland.

“This is when we earn our money,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. “The flowers are blooming, it’s warm and you just feel the energy. It’s like a renewal. Truly the best time of the year.”

–Field Level Media