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  • Nikola Jokic triple-double, Michael Porter Jr. 31-point game lead Nuggets to win over Knicks

    Nikola Jokic triple-double, Michael Porter Jr. 31-point game lead Nuggets to win over Knicks

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    After a successful week on the road, the defending NBA champions treated Ball Arena to a quintessential Denver Nuggets game.

    Michael Porter Jr. continued his hot streak with 31 points on 13-of-16 shooting, and Nikola Jokic amassed 30 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists in a 113-100 win over the New York Knicks on Thursday night.

    Jamal Murray added 23 points before going to the locker room early with an apparent leg injury in the last minute of regulation, as Denver (49-21) was pulling away for its 13th win in 15 games since the All-Star break.

    “Just turned his ankle a little bit,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said, not seeming too concerned despite the prolonged amount of time Murray took to get up after an awkward landing.

    The Nuggets and Thunder are tied atop the Western Conference standings, though Oklahoma City possesses the edge in win percentage as well as the head-to-head tiebreaker.

    Porter is averaging 21 points per game since the break.

    When they visited Madison Square Garden at the end of a five-game January road trip, the Nuggets sleep-walked through their worst assist-to-turnover game (20 to 19) of the season. New York’s formidable defense stood tall, with OG Anunoby snatching six steals.

    “When you get your (butt) kicked,” Malone said pregame Thursday, “they have our full attention.”

    Except this time, the Knicks were wrapping up a four-game Western Conference trip, and Anunoby (among other key players) was out with an injury.

    Denver’s extraordinary starting five feasted. Jokic was one rebound shy of his 22nd triple-double of the season by halftime. Porter had a 6-for-6 shooting half, reminiscent of his recent perfect game in Los Angeles. Murray combined unlikely off-hand finishing with adventurous play-making. Aaron Gordon spun around defenders for a transition dunk. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope minimized Jalen Brunson as much as possible, keeping his 26 points to 23 shot attempts.

    “I just really, sincerely hope that the national media and everybody else following this great league really takes into account the great job he does every night,” Malone said. “We see it. I see it every day. … But he is an incredible defensive player You don’t stop a guy like Jalen Brunson. He had two 40-point games on this road trip. But I thought he made him work for everything tonight.”

    In a particularly breathtaking third-quarter sequence, Gordon initiated a set from the left wing by passing to Jokic, who was stepping up toward the top of the key. He thrives when he can operate from the middle of the floor with his back to the basket. From the right wing, Porter motioned to his right to push his defender (Donte DiVincenzo) back a step, to the same level as Jokic — basically creating a screen for himself. Porter slid back to the left, received a dribble handoff as DiVincenzo went underneath Jokic, and shot-faked as DiVincenzo left his feet to contest. Gordon’s man, Josh Hart, was stuck in no man’s land as Gordon slipped to the basket. Porter passed to him, and Gordon kicked to Caldwell-Pope in the corner as Brunson collapsed. Two extra passes, three points.

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    Bennett Durando

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  • Keeler: NCAA Tournament selection committees did CU Buffs, CSU Rams dirty

    Keeler: NCAA Tournament selection committees did CU Buffs, CSU Rams dirty

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    BOULDER — The NCAA still can’t read a room. But man, can they ever kill one.

    Kindyll Wetta and her teammates on the CU women’s basketball team were belles of the ball inside the Dal Ward Center. You shoulda seen it. Balloons. Cheerleaders. Catering. One of the sweetest pep rallies to grace the Touchdown Club since Coach Prime got injected into the Buffs’ bloodstream here some 16 months ago.

    As the NCAA Tournament brackets came on the screen, the party hushed. Then when Kansas State came up as a 4 seed and as a host for the first weekend of the women’s Big Dance, it sank.

    “It’s definitely a bummer for me because I wanted to play at home and I wanted to be in front of my family,” Wetta, the firebrand of a Buffs guard and former Valor Christian star, told me after CU found out its first stop in Bracketville would be as a 5 seed opposite K-State in the Little Apple of Manhattan, Kan. “I thought this year we really had a great shot of doing that. It’s disappointing in that sense.”

    There was a lot of that going around here Sunday night. The mood was even less jovial a few hours earlier up in Fort Collins, where the men’s selection committee decided to take its annual dose of stupid out on the Mountain West as a whole — and on the Rams in particular.

    Want a laugh? Committee member Bubba Cunningham contended on CBS that teams selected from the Mountain West, save for San Diego State, got strapped to double-digit seedings because their best wins were over one another.

    “(That) made it more challenging for us,” Cunningham explained.

    Not half as challenging, apparently, as trying to stay up past 10 p.m. Eastern to do homework on teams west of Lincoln. Poor guy.

    At least five teams — lookin’ at you, Oregon, NC State and New Mexico — “stole” bids from more worthy at-larges by winning their respective conference tourneys. But any ‘S’ curve that’s got CSU as the “last team in” gets an automatic F.

    Do you watch the games, Bubba? Or do you watch “X” and Instagram and hope for the best? CSU beat Creighton by 21 on a neutral court. The Jays were slotted as a No. 3 seed Sunday. The Rammies (24-10) were unveiled as a 10.

    Boise State, who’ll take on Tad Boyle’s CU men on Wednesday night, beat Saint Mary’s on a semi-neutral floor by three. The Gaels are dancing as a 5 seed. The Broncos, like CSU and CU, are a 10 seed having to scrap their way over to the Big Kids’ Bracket by winning in Dayton first.

    “To be honest, I was really surprised how most of the Mountain West was seeded,” stunned CSU coach Niko Medved, who’ll face Virginia on Tuesday in Ohio, told reporters.

    “But you know what? That’s fine. They always disrespect our league. And now it’s time to go out and do something about it.”

    Amen. If there’s a silver lining, it’s that the Cavaliers (23-10), on paper, are certainly in the Rammies’ weight class. For one thing, unlike Michigan in 2022, UVa doesn’t have a Hunter Dickinson down low, taking up a duplex’s worth of space in the paint. On the surface, it’s the irresistible force (CSU’s shooters) against the immovable object (Tony Bennett’s trademark tire-iron defense), a classic Clark Kellogg “contrast-in-styles” scrum between a Rams offense ranked 42nd nationally by KenPom.com in adjusted offensive efficiency and a Cavs D that’s seventh in adjusted defense. If you’re hopping over to Dayton, take the under and take your pizza square-cut.

    If the Oppenheimers on the men’s committee dinged CSU for its 4-7 mark away from Moby Madness, their counterparts on the women’s side docked the Buffs (22-9) for losing six of their last eight, including a maddening, come-from-ahead loss to Oregon State in the Pac-12 tourney.

    In March, you make your own luck. The Buffs women — despite being one of the best draws in all of college basketball, male or female — didn’t.

    “I mean, (it’s) definitely frustrating,” Wetta said. “But like (Coach JR Payne) said, you can’t dwell on that, because (now) it’s completely different conferences, completely different teams, styles of play.”

    CU women’s basketball players react to being selected as the fifth seed for the NCAA tournament during a watch party in the Touchdown Club at Dal Ward at the University of Colorado at Boulder in Boulder, Colorado on March 17, 2024. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)

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    Sean Keeler

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  • CSU Rams outlast 23rd-ranked Nevada, advance to Mountain West semifinals

    CSU Rams outlast 23rd-ranked Nevada, advance to Mountain West semifinals

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    Time to stop worrying about Colorado State’s NCAA Tournament hopes.

    Time to start thinking about where the CSU Rams might land if they win the Mountain West Conference tournament.

    The CSU men moved within two victories of doing just that with an 85-78 win over 23rd-ranked Nevada in Thursday’s quarterfinal matchup at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

    Next up is a semifinal date with the winner of Thursday night’s late game between No. 3 seed Boise State and No. 6 New Mexico. Tip-off is at 8 p.m. MDT Friday.

    Senior guard Isaiah Stevens was brilliant, scoring 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting while dishing seven assists, and Jalen Lake was nearly flawless off the bench with 16 points while hitting all three of his 3-point attempts. The seventh-seeded Rams (24-9) buried seven 3s en route to topping a Nevada (26-7) club that beat them twice during the regular season, the last of which came on a half-court buzzer-beater in Fort Collins.

    The second-seeded Wolf Pack didn’t have a shot at such late-game theatrics Thursday night. CSU raced out to a 10-point halftime lead, withstood a pair of second-half runs from Nevada and held on for their fourth straight win.

    Along the way, the Rams turned the ball over just nine times while forcing 15 Nevada giveaways.

    Jarod Lucas, the Nevada guard who hit that half-court heave in FoCo, led the Wolf Pack with 18 points but was largely contained for most of the night.

    Nique Clifford added 14 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for CSU, Joel Scott had 11 points and five rebounds, and Joe Palmer added 12 points as part of a 35-21 advantage in bench scoring for the Rams.

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    Matt Schubert

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  • Why Nuggets want Reggie Jackson to stay aggressive during slump: “This team is mad at you if you don’t shoot”

    Why Nuggets want Reggie Jackson to stay aggressive during slump: “This team is mad at you if you don’t shoot”

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    MIAMI — The backcourt that shepherded Denver to consecutive road wins in Miami during last year’s NBA Finals was waiting to check back into the game, waiting to send Heat fans marching toward the exits once again. Clutch time is when the Nuggets’ starters thrive.

    But these two starters decided they’d rather let the backup backcourt do the honors.

    After a barrage of Reggie Jackson jumpers, Jamal Murray and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope went to coach Michael Malone and told him to keep Jackson and Christian Braun in the game. Malone obliged, and the Nuggets kept pulling away for a 100-88 win that they hope will be important for reasons that transcend their temporary, solitary claim to first place in the West.

    Jackson needed a new dose of confidence.

    “I’ve been in a crazy slump,” he said.

    Earlier in the fourth quarter, Braun scored seven critical points during Nikola Jokic’s rest minutes to protect a slim lead. Then Jackson took over, scoring from 17, 15 and 26 feet on three consecutive possessions in a span of 1:12 to double Denver’s lead and force an Erik Spoelstra timeout.

    “I had Jamal Murray and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope at the scorer’s table during that stretch. And this speaks a lot about our group,” Malone said. “Both those guys said to me, ‘Coach, let Reggie ride. Let CB ride. This group is playing well.’ And part of our culture — because we do have a culture in Denver as well — part of our culture is being selfless. Getting over yourself. And I think that’s another example of how our team is always getting over the individual, thinking about the collective. Really happy for Reggie Jackson.”

    Malone was not-so-subtly throwing shade at Miami’s “Heat Culture” mantra in his postgame comments, but his proud advocacy for Nuggets Culture was validated by the team’s reaction to Jackson’s heat check.

    “You could see it transpire on the court. That was the cool part,” Jackson told The Denver Post. “I’ve been playing long enough. You see a lot of things the older you get. You witness it. I knew my minutes were kind of up. I knew Jamal was supposed to come on the court. … And then I see Jamal motioning to Coach, like, ‘Keep him in. Let him play.’ I saw Pope doing the same thing for C.B. So that was a really cool moment for C.B. and myself.”

    For Jackson in particular, the vote of confidence was revitalizing. In the first 30 games of the season, he averaged 13.2 points on 48.6% shooting, including 38.1% from 3-point range. He led the Nuggets to a handful of wins in November when Murray was out with a strained hamstring. In the next 35 games entering this matchup, Jackson shot 38.7% from the floor and 30.9% from outside, averaging only 7.4 points and scoring in double figures only 10 times.

    After the win in Miami, he has still gone a season-long 10 consecutive games without touching double digits, but seven of his nine points Wednesday were scored during the game-clinching burst.

    He says his teammates have been urging him to take those shots despite the drop in efficiency.

    “They want me to continue to be myself. Continue to be aggressive. They’ve been kind of upset at me for not playing my game the last few,” Jackson said. “So then I started playing aggressive. Even still in the midst of missing shots. I think I had a 1-for-9 night. I had like a 1-for-7. But just hearing the encouragement from my teammates … once you have a great group like that — front office, coaches, teammates — believing in you like that, you can’t do anything but start believing in yourself again. So like I said: Hit a slump. Had some dark days. Tough days. But having that encouragement has made it easier to come out here and keep attacking, keep pushing ahead and just live with the results.”

    Jackson’s defining quality is his one-on-one scoring capability. There have been flashes in recent games when he puts the moves on an opposing guard but simply misses the shot he generates.

    “That’s the annoying part,” he said. “I think the reassuring part is that I can still get to a spot and get to a shot. So that’s always the best part. I think once I’m not able to get to a shot, that would be a little worrisome. That’s probably when you’ve gotta hang it up. … Just knowing I can still get there. And now it’s on me to go ahead and continue to get in the gym and find a way to complete the play. So that’s really what I’ve been trying to focus on. Footwork. Having my confidence down, and just continuing to trust in the reps, trust in the work.”

    Jackson’s rotations have changed recently. He’s not sharing the floor with Murray much anymore, after a stretch of games in which Malone tried a variation of the second unit that deployed both point guards at the same time. Instead, Justin Holiday is filling the extra backcourt spot in that lineup; Jackson is subbing back in with Jokic to give Murray a brief rest. That’s why Jackson was on the floor as a competitive NBA Finals rematch entered the last five minutes.

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    Bennett Durando

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  • Rockies spring training recap: Bullpen puts up second straight scoreless outing in Colorado’s third straight win

    Rockies spring training recap: Bullpen puts up second straight scoreless outing in Colorado’s third straight win

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    Rockies 4, Royals 2

    Tuesday at Salt River Fields

    On the mound: Right-hander Cal Quantrill scuffled in his second start this spring, allowing two runs on seven hits, one walk and zero strikeouts over four innings. He has a 4.50 ERA in six innings of Cactus League action. The bullpen put up its second straight scoreless outing, with LHP Evan Justice, RHP John Curtiss, RHP Tyler Kinley, RHP Justin Lawrence and RHP Geoff Hartlieb each going one inning. Justice (5 2/3 IP) and Kinley (5 IP) have yet to allow a run this spring.

    At the plate: Infielder Brendan Rodgers (2 for 3, double) and center fielder Brenton Doyle (1 for 3) each had productive days. Rogers is now hitting .385 (10 for 26) and Doyle .370 (10 for 27) this spring. Coco Montes smashed a two-run homer, his first of the spring, in the bottom of the second, and fellow non-roster invitee Bradley Zimmer recorded a hit in his lone at-bat to move to .429 (12-for-28) in 13 spring games. The Rockies have a .281 team batting average (second-best in all of baseball) and 11-6-1 record in Cactus League play.

    Prospect watch: Right-hander reliever Riley Pint, who has still only pitched one-third of an inning in the majors, had a solid camp but was optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque Tuesday, along with infielder Julio Carreras, infielder/outfielder Hunter Goodman and right-hander Gavin Hollowell. Also, catcher Braxton Fulford and outfielder Jordan Beck were reassigned to minor league camp. The Rockies have 42 active players remaining in major league camp, 12 non-roster players.

    Up Next: Rockies at D-backs, 1:10 p.m. Wednesday

    Rockies probable pitchers: RHP Tanner Gordon, LHP Carson Palmquist, RHP Jaden Hill, RHP Matt Koch, LHP Ty Blach.

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    Matt Schubert

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  • Russell Wilson planning to sign with Pittsburgh after release from the Broncos

    Russell Wilson planning to sign with Pittsburgh after release from the Broncos

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    Russell Wilson may play at Empower Field in 2024 after all.

    It would just be in the black and gold.

    Wilson, who has not even been formally released by the Broncos but is set to be later this week, announced Sunday night that he plans to sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Multiple outlets have reported that the sides have an agreement on a one-year contract.

    Wilson will likely play at the veteran minimum of $1.21 million because he has $39 million in guaranteed salary from Denver for the 2024 season. The Broncos will pay all of that amount except for Wilson’s salary with a new team, so there’s little incentive for the Steelers to pay him more than the minimum.

    The Broncos still must actually release Wilson, which they will do sometime between the start of the 2024 NFL league year at 2 p.m. Wednesday and March 17. After they informed Wilson of their intent to release him a week ago, Denver allowed Wilson to begin speaking with other teams as if he were already a free agent.

    When they do process his release, Denver will have to account for $85 million in dead salary cap charges over the next two seasons. The Broncos will decide whether to take $35.4 million in 2024 and $49.6 million in 2025 or $53 million in 2024 and $32 million in 2025.

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    Parker Gabriel

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  • Avalanche forward Logan O’Connor to have season-ending hip surgery

    Avalanche forward Logan O’Connor to have season-ending hip surgery

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    Logan O’Connor’s season is done for the Colorado Avalanche.

    The veteran forward is set to have season-ending hip surgery, Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said Sunday.

    O’Connor was in the middle of a career year for the Avs, but this has been a lingering injury. He missed four games last month, then returned to play six times before shutting it down again. There’s no timeline on a return until after the surgery is complete, but Bednar ruled him out for the rest of the regular-season and the playoffs.

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    Corey Masisak

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  • Avalanche believes Casey Mittelstadt can unlock even more after recent breakout

    Avalanche believes Casey Mittelstadt can unlock even more after recent breakout

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    If Casey Mittelstadt scores a huge goal or sets one up with a beautiful pass for the Colorado Avalanche this spring, there is one member of the organization who will probably feel an extra twinge of pride.

    Mittelstadt’s career hit an unexpected low point in 2019-20, when the Buffalo Sabres sent their recent top-10 draft pick and a player who carried such high expectations to Rochester in the American Hockey League. Toby Petersen, now a skills coach for the Avalanche, was an assistant coach on that team.

    Things had not gone according to plan with the Sabres after joining the club after his freshman season at the University of Minnesota and a full rookie season in the NHL at 20 years old. Mittelstadt played 36 games with Petersen and the Americans.

    “I think that was a big turning point for myself,” Mittelstadt said. “I was able to go down and just play really freely. The coaches were really supportive. I think I started to really enjoy being at the rink with the guys and having fun again. I realized that I love this game and this is what I want to do. Having Toby on the staff was huge for me. He and Chris Taylor, they’re great guys and great people and they helped me a lot.”

    Mittelstadt’s rise, fall and rebirth as an NHL player is a reminder that not every prospect, not even the phenoms, has a smooth, linear path to fulfilling their potential. He is one of the best players in Minnesota high school hockey history. He was the No. 8 pick in the 2017 NHL draft.

    Players picked that high, particularly forwards, often never see the AHL. And when they do after spending 114 games in the NHL, it’s seen as a disappointment. Mittelstadt said there were a lot of people who deserved credit for helping him get to this point — in the midst of a second-straight productive season and the No. 2 center on a Stanley Cup contender after the Avs traded defenseman Bo Byram for him this past week.

    Hockey is a small world, and Mittelstadt, now 25 years old, is reunited with one of those people.

    “I was pretty excited when I heard (Petersen) was here,” Mittelstadt said. “He’s a familiar face and someone that I can bounce things off. We had a great relationship in Rochester. He’s obviously a smart hockey mind, so definitely excited to have him here.”

    The Avalanche believes Mittelstadt can solve what has been the organization’s toughest riddle: Who can be the next center on the depth chart after Nathan MacKinnon? It worked with Nazem Kardi, and there’s a Stanley Cup banner at Ball Arena as a reminder.

    It has not worked to varying degrees with several others, most recently Alex Newhook, J.T. Compher and Ryan Johansen. Mittelstadt began his Avs career Friday night next to Valeri Nichushkin and Jonathan Drouin, and both his new coach and general manager have made it clear that’s the spot in the lineup they expect him to help upgrade.

    “We’re not trading Bo Byram for a 31-year-old or a 30-year-old. We’re not trading Bo Byram probably for a winger,” Avs GM Chris MacFarland said Friday. “Defensemen are really hard to get, and top-two line centers, top-three line centers are really hard to get. You’ve got to draft them or you’ve got to pay a big price to get them, whether that’s in free agency or via trade. So the fact that we traded a player and a person of Bo’s stature for Casey tells you what we think of him.

    “We think an awful lot of him. We think he’s going to have a big role here. Hopefully it will be a good marriage, but we’re excited to have him.”

    Mittelstadt’s breakout didn’t happen directly after his time in Rochester, but injuries and the COVID-19 pandemic were factors. He played 81 games across two seasons, and the production did tick upward.

    A bigger jump came last season. He finished with 15 goals and 59 points. He followed that up this year with 14 goals and a team-leading 47 points in 62 games before the trade. If he can produce at a similar level for the Avalanche, Colorado will have its most productive No. 2 center since Kadri left.

    But the Avs believe there could still be more for Mittelstadt to unlock. MacFarland mentioned it the day they traded for him. Mittelstadt has taken longer to blossom into an impact player, but the jump from high school hockey to the NHL with just one season at the NCAA level might have been too much, too fast.

    His body needed time to develop, and he needed time to figure out how to translate his sublime skills to the pace and physicality of the NHL.

    “He’s got good hands. He’s a very good playmaking center with really good vision,” MacFarland said. “We think the last two years, his game has taken a jump. He’s gotten stronger with experience, and we think there might even be another level to his game.”

    There’s another reason to dream a little more on Mittelstadt. Several young players have left Buffalo in recent seasons, a franchise that hasn’t reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2011, and found a new level of performance elsewhere.

    Sam Reinhart, Evan Rodrigues, Brandon Montour and Linus Ullmark, who were all teammates of Mittelstadt’s when he broke into the NHL, have all reached new heights after moving on.

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    Corey Masisak

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  • ThunderRidge beats Eaglecrest at buzzer in Class 6A Final Four to send Grizzlies to third title game in four years

    ThunderRidge beats Eaglecrest at buzzer in Class 6A Final Four to send Grizzlies to third title game in four years

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    For the second time in as many games, Tommy Wight put on his green cape and played hero.

    The senior forward’s buzzer-beating put-back propelled ThunderRidge into the Class 6A championship, the Grizzlies’ third appearance in the title game in four years after capturing the Class 5A crowns in 2021 and ’22.

    It was the difference in a dramatic 64-62 win over Eaglecrest and marked Wight’s second game-winner at the Denver Coliseum after his lay-up with five seconds left helped ThunderRidge beat rival Rock Canyon in last week’s Great 8.

    “This is even a little bit better feeling (than the Great 8 game-winner),” said Wight, a Point Loma commit. “It was the same plan as against Rock Canyon. High ball screen, let Andrew (Crawford) do his thing. He’s the best in the state at getting downhill, and I was right there in the right moment.”

    Wight’s score came off Crawford’s miss on a contested lay-up, and after Eaglecrest star junior point guard LaDavian King sank three free throws on the other end to tie the game with 9.9 seconds left.

    King’s clutch free throws capped his 31-point night, but that wasn’t quite enough to topple ThunderRidge, which had four scorers in double figures. Crawford paced the Grizzlies with 22 points, while Wight had 14, senior guard Charlie Spann had 14 and senior guard Ryan Doyle chipped in 10.

    The quartet helped ThunderRidge avenge last season’s first-round playoff loss at home to Eaglecrest, a 75-56 setback that remains the Grizzlies’ lone playoff defeat over the last four seasons. ThunderRidge won on Friday despite going down 11 points in the first quarter, which was punctuated by a 12-0 Eaglecrest run.

    “Just like the Rock Canyon game, we have great resolve, and we know what it means to come back and fight,” said Crawford, the team’s senior leader at point guard and a CU commit. “We made the plays when it was most important.

    “LaDavian had four threes in the first half, and the game plan at half was to step up on him. He’s most of their production, along with (junior center Garrett) Barger. They were offensive rebounding over us, so we had to rebound and get stops on LaDavian in the second half, and we did that just enough.”

    Eaglecrest Raptors Ladavian King (1), right, passes against ThunderRidge Grizzlies Ryan Doyle (1) in the first quarter of the 6A boys Colorado state high school Final Four game at the Denver Coliseum in Denver on Friday, March 08, 2024. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)

    Barger finished with a double-double, with 15 points and 12 rebounds, and had a handful of impressive put-backs in the fourth quarter to help the Raptors rally after ThunderRidge went on a third-quarter scoring spree to take command. That spree came after the Grizzlies decided in the locker room to stop running set plays.

    “All those buckets we took the lead on, there was no sets,” ThunderRidge head coach Joe Ortiz said. “There was structure, but it was our guys just playing.”

    The Grizzlies dominated in the paint to take control in the second half and ultimately finish, outscoring the Raptors there 44-18. ThunderRidge was up 12 points late in the third quarter, but King and Barger wouldn’t let Eaglecrest go quietly. King poured in seven 3s total while shooting way beyond the arc.

    “We had a couple mishaps down the stretch — missed an easy shot we should’ve made, then we had a sloppy turnover on the sideline that really hurt us, and they made shots,” Ortiz said. “Garrett made some phenomenal put-backs, and then LD can hit from 25 (feet out). He’s just something special.”

    For Eaglecrest, the heartbreaking loss comes with a silver lining, as the Raptors graduate just one senior and figure to be an immediate contender again next season. Their deep run in the state tournament was unexpected to many, even head coach Jarris Krapcha.

    Eaglecrest Raptors Ladavian King (1) is dejected after the ThunderRidge Grizzlies won the 6A boys Colorado state high school Final Four game 64-62 at the Denver Coliseum in Denver on Friday, March 08, 2024. Eaglecrest Raptors Kris Coleman (11) can only watch and walk past the celebration. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)
    Eaglecrest Raptors Ladavian King (1) is dejected after the ThunderRidge Grizzlies won the 6A boys Colorado state high school Final Four game 64-62 at the Denver Coliseum in Denver on Friday, March 08, 2024. Eaglecrest Raptors Kris Coleman (11) can only watch and walk past the celebration. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)

    “There was a pretty big stretch in our year where I didn’t think there was any chance we’d be in this spot,” Krapcha said. “We had problems on and off the court, injuries, etc. We came together at the right time and we were in a position to win a Final Four game. I’m proud of them, because we’ve got a lot of guys back next year, and we can come back here (to the Coliseum).”

    ThunderRidge’s composure in the game’s tensest moments shows this year’s Grizzlies’ DNA is like the title teams in ’21 and ’22, albeit with a different cast minus Crawford, who is set to play in his third title game.

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    Kyle Newman

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  • Colorado state basketball tournaments 2024 Final Four results and coverage, March 8

    Colorado state basketball tournaments 2024 Final Four results and coverage, March 8

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    The semifinals of the Colorado high school basketball state tournaments for Classes 4A-6A take place Thursday and Friday at Denver Coliseum. Our staff will be there throughout the weekend providing live coverage. Refresh this page for the latest updates and results.

    Tournament info: Tournament brackets and results | Final 4 scouting report | Thursday’s Final Four coverage | Northfield girls rally | VanSickle powers Valor girls | Mesa Ridge advances

    Updates

    Class 4A girls: No. 2 D’Evelyn (23-3) vs. No. 3 Riverdale Ridge (23-3)

    11 a.m.: Off we go in the first Final Four matchup of the day. Keep an eye on the Ravens’ sophomore sensation, Brihanna Crittendon, who averages 29 points and 11 rebounds. Yup, you read that right. — Braidon Nourse 

    10:50 a.m.: Welcome back! Snow is falling in downtown Denver and the Class 4A Final Four is about to heat up here inside the Coliseum. First up is the No. 2 D’Evelyn girls vs. No. 3 Riverdale Ridge. a rematch of a Great 8 game from last year that saw the Jaguars prevail over Brihanna Crittendon and Co. en route to a championship game appearance. As Kyle Newman wrote earlier this week, Crittendon is on pace to take down the state scoring record. But first things first: Can she get past D’Evelyn in the state tournament? — Matt Schubert

    Schedule and results

    Class 6A boys, Friday
    No. 8 Eaglecrest (20-6) vs. No. 4 ThunderRidge (21-5), 5:45 p.m.
    No. 7 Smoky Hill (20-6) vs. No. 6 Valor Christian (24-2), 7:15 p.m.

    Class 4A boys, Friday
    No. 1 Kent Denver (24-2) vs. No. 5 Colorado Academy (21-5), 12:45 p.m.
    No. 2 Resurrection Christian (24-2) vs. No. 3 Lutheran (23-3), 4 p.m.

    Class 4A girls, Friday
    No. 1 Holy Family (24-2) vs. No. 4 Resurrection Christian (23-3), 2:15 p.m.
    No. 2 D’Evelyn (23-3) vs. No. 3 Riverdale Ridge (23-3), 11 a.m.

    Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.

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    Kyle Newman, Ryan McFadden, Braidon Nourse, Matt Schubert

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  • Valor Christian’s Quinn VanSickle scores 33 points, leads Eagles into 6A final

    Valor Christian’s Quinn VanSickle scores 33 points, leads Eagles into 6A final

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    Years ago, Chauncey Billups carved out his place as a Colorado prep basketball legend. Later, at the University and in the NBA, he gained fame as “Mr. Big Shot.”

    Well, move over Mr. Billups, and make some room for Ms. Big Shot.

    That would be Valor Christian junior point guard Quinn VanSickle, who poured in 33 points and made her presence felt in nearly every key moment of the Eagles’ 71-59 win over Cherokee Trail in Thursday’s Class 6A state girls basketball Final Four matchup at the Denver Coliseum.

    “Quinn is a big shot type of kid and she rises to the occasion in key moments,” said Valor coach Jessika Caldwell. “I knew she was a little bit disappointed in how she played in the last round, so she hit the gym early, every day, and worked on her shooting.”

    No. 4 Valor (22-4), seeking its first state title since 2021, will play for the championship at 1:15 p.m. Saturday against the winner of Thursday night’s late semifinal between No. 7 Regis Jesuit (19-7) and No. 3 Legend (24-2).

    “I do want the ball,” said VanSickle, who has scholarship offers from Marquette and Utah State, among others, but hasn’t committed yet. “It comes down to hard work and all of the hours I put in. And so much of it comes from my faith in God.”

    Quinn played all 32 minutes, shot 9 of 18 from the field (including 5 of 12 from 3-point range), made 10 of 11 free throws, handed out four assists and had six steals. She was everywhere, all at once.

    She had to be because junior guard Rylie Beers went down with a left knee injury in the second half and didn’t return. Caldwell didn’t know the extent of Beers’ injury, but said, “It doesn’t look promising.” Beers, who scored seven points, was in tears at the end of the game as she congratulated her teammates.

    Cherokee Trail was led by junior forward Delainey Miller’s 21-point, six-rebound performance. Her powerful inside game caused major problems for Valor, especially in the second quarter when the Cougars outscored Valor to take a 33-27 lead. But VanSickle kept the Eagles in the game and she had 26 points by the end of three quarters when the Eagles carved out a 50-48 lead entering the final frame.

    Valor was excellent from the foul line — making 24 of 30 shots — and also got a big game from sophomore Peyton Jones, who scored 13 points.

    The Valor Christian Eagles, lead by Quinn VanSickle (11), right, celebrate their victory over the against the Cherokee Trail Cougars to win the 6A girls Colorado state high school Final Four game 71-59 at the Denver Coliseum in Denver on Thursday, March 07, 2024. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)

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    Patrick Saunders

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  • Avalanche podcast: Multiple trades shake up Colorado’s roster, plus the Sidney Crosby situation at the trade deadline

    Avalanche podcast: Multiple trades shake up Colorado’s roster, plus the Sidney Crosby situation at the trade deadline

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    In the inaugural edition of Avs Ink, beat writer Corey Masisak talks with Chris Johnston of The Athletic, TSN and the Steve Dangle Podcast Network about where the Avs stand leading into the NHL trade deadline. Among the topics discussed:

    • Colorado makes two big trades, adding Casey Mittelstadt and Sean Walker while subtracting Bo Byram and Ryan Johansen
    • The market for Jake Guentzel, the No. 1 player on Johnston’s NHL trade board, and how that relates to the Avs.
    • The fascination with Sidney Crosby potentially joining forces with Nathan MacKinnon if he ever decides to pursue a championship outside of Pittsburgh.
    • Valeri Nichushkin’s pending return to the lineup.
    • Nikoali Kovalenko, the ultimate wild card.

    Subscribe to the podcast
    SoundCloud | iTunes | Stitcher | RSS

    Want more Avalanche news? Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis.

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    Corey Masisak

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  • Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen all collect four points as Avalanche embarrasses Red Wings

    Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen all collect four points as Avalanche embarrasses Red Wings

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    The Avalanche made two significant trades Wednesday morning to bolster their chances of winning the Stanley Cup this season. Then the guys who are the biggest reason why they can win a second title in three years when out and put on a show against the Detroit Red Wings at Ball Arena.

    Cale Makar had his first career hat trick, while he, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen all had four-point games to help the shorthanded Avalanche blow by the Red Wings, 7-2.

    General manager Chris MacFarland shook up the roster earlier in the day with a pair of trades. The Avs added a new No. 2 center, Casey Mittelstadt, from the Buffalo Sabres and right-handed defenseman Sean Walker from the Philadelphia Flyers.

    Bo Byram went to Buffalo and Ryan Johansen was sent to Philadelphia in the transactions. The new guys didn’t arrive in Denver in time to play and forward Logan O’Connor was unavailable because of an injury.

    That left the Avalanche undermanned — Colorado moved Caleb Jones into the lineup for Byram and recalled forwards Jean-Luc Foudy and Ondrej Pavel to fill out the forward corps.

    The big guns made sure it wasn’t a problem. MacKinnon became the first player to score 40 goals in back-to-back seasons for the franchise since it moved to Denver from Quebec, while also grabbing sole possession of the NHL scoring lead with 109 points — four more than Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov.

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    Corey Masisak

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  • Nuggets, Celtics to play 2024 preseason games in Abu Dhabi, NBA announces

    Nuggets, Celtics to play 2024 preseason games in Abu Dhabi, NBA announces

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    The Denver Nuggets and Boston Celtics will play a pair of 2024-25 preseason games in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, the NBA announced Wednesday morning.

    Part of an ongoing collaboration between the NBA and Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism, the games will take place Friday Oct. 4 and Sunday Oct. 6. The venue and ticket information will not be shared until a later date, according to a news release.

    “There is incredible momentum around basketball in the UAE and across the Middle East,” NBA deputy commissioner and COO Mark Tatum said in a statement, “and we believe these games as well as our year-round grassroots development and fan engagement efforts will be a catalyst for the continued growth of the game in the region.”

    The Nuggets (42-20) and Celtics (48-13) will face off Thursday (8 p.m. MT, TNT) at Ball Arena in their last meeting of the 2023-24 regular season. Boston holds the best record in the league, while Denver is the defending NBA champion.

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    Bennett Durando

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  • Regis Jesuit rides stellar performance by freshman goalie Easton Sparks to beat fellow behemoth Valor Christian in Class 5A title

    Regis Jesuit rides stellar performance by freshman goalie Easton Sparks to beat fellow behemoth Valor Christian in Class 5A title

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    Led by a freshman goalie who stood on his head, Regis Jesuit won its seventh hockey title on Tuesday at Magness Arena by outlasting fellow powerhouse Valor Christian in a 3-1 thriller.

    The Raiders used a brick wall performance by goalie Easton Sparks to claim the championship, in conjunction with a second-period goal by senior Reece Peterson and then two empty-net lamp-lighters in the final minute to dethrone the defending champion Eagles.

    Sparks stymied the Eagles with 23 saves, including three on one-on-one breakaways and another on a stuffed penalty shot in the opening period. The freshman was sensational in all aspects, and his play was the clear difference in the game.

    “He stood on his head all season,” Reece Peterson said. “Freshman, coming into the biggest game of his life, and he played amazing. He played like a legend.”

    Fans cheer for Regis Jesuit’s goaltender Easton Sparks (33) after he makes a save during a shoot out against Valor Christian’s Maddux Charles (23) during the Class 5A Colorado state championship game at Magness Arena in Denver on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. Valor Christian High School played Regis Jesuit High School for the state title. (Rebecca Slezak/Special to The Denver Post)

    Counting Tuesday, either Valor Christian or Regis Jesuit has appeared in the last nine Class 5A/unclassified state title games and combined to win seven of them. The two hockey behemoths met twice earlier this season, with Valor Christian winning 4-1 on Jan. 19 and Regis Jesuit retaliating with a 3-1 victory on Feb. 3.

    In the championship rubber-match, the teams played to a first-period 0-0 draw as Sparks and Valor Christian senior goalie Trudeaux Coffey both turned away a number of promising chances.

    Sparks’ denial on sophomore Maddux Charles’ penalty shot was an early omen of the goalie’s game-changing performance. After stopping the puck, Sparks got up, skated over to the raucous Regis Jesuit student section, threw his hands in the air and roared.

    “I knew that was a big moment in the game, because I knew it was going to be a close game,” Sparks said. “I don’t even know what I was thinking as (Charles approached) — my mind just went blank. It was sort of like that all game. They had a couple more breakaways in the second, and I kept stopping them.”

    Peterson got Regis Jesuit on the board with a wrister through Coffey’s five-hole on a breakaway a little over a minute into the second period. Then, about 45 seconds later, Peterson found the five hole again, and it appeared the Raiders had taken a commanding 2-0 lead.

    But the referee near the goal indicated it wasn’t a score, and play went on. Video replays showed the shot went into the goal, then careened off the bottom of the inside of the net and back out.

    Regis Jesuit's Andrew Brennick (15) pushes Valor Christian's Eddie Chen (4) to move the puck stuck at their skates during the Class 5A Colorado state championship game at Magness Arena in Denver on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. Valor Christian High School played Regis Jesuit High School for the state title. (Rebecca Slezak/Special to The Denver Post)
    Regis Jesuit’s Andrew Brennick (15) pushes Valor Christian’s Eddie Chen (4) to move the puck stuck at their skates during the Class 5A Colorado state championship game at Magness Arena in Denver on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. Valor Christian High School played Regis Jesuit High School for the state title. (Rebecca Slezak/Special to The Denver Post)

    Peterson said another referee later told him it was a goal, and the Raiders were determined to not let the botched call quash their momentum.

    “We focused on the fact that we were getting the chances,” Regis Jesuit head coach Terence Ott said. “It would’ve been nice to (officially) bury that one, and we had a couple other odd-man rushes in that period where we elected not to pass the puck and we tried to make a move with it. But we built on the positive of that moment and that we were creating momentum.”

    In a tense 1-0 game in the third, Sparks continued to come up clutch, and the Eagles pinged a shot off the crossbar just as they had done in the second period.

    “(Sparks) plays with such calm, it really resonates with the team,” Ott said. “He doesn’t get rattled back there. And he’s athletic. He’s not blessed with the size, but what a super performance, and he kept it going (in the third).”

    Valor Christian pulled Coffey with 1:20 to play, and the last minute was firework-filled.

    Raiders junior Parker Brinner scored on the empty net with 57 seconds left, but Valor Christian finally broke the shutout with 19 seconds to play on senior Brock Benson’s top-shelf shot to cut the score to 2-1. But Regis Jesuit held on in the final seconds, and Ian Beck’s breakaway slap-shot on the empty net with with one second left was the exclamation on the Raiders’ revenge.

    “Last year, we played Valor four times and lost every single game (including the semifinals) by one goal,” Peterson said. “So winning tonight, this is the perfect cap to my high school career. They gave us a great game, but I’m so happy this win came against them.”

    Ott, in his second year as the Raiders’ head coach after serving the previous 17 seasons as an assistant, said his team — led by seven seniors — “did a great job of re-establishing the hockey culture that we want to have at Regis Jesuit.” The Raiders’ last title came in 2019, when they went back-to-back after beating Valor Christian in the championship the year prior.

    “You win six championships, you’ve gone to 14 straight Frozen Fours (before a loss to Fort Collins in the 2022 quarterfinals) — you kind of start resting on the laurels of the men who came before you,” Ott said. “And we got away from being a team and doing the work you need to do to be a champion. This group got us back to where we needed to be.”

    Regis Jesuit and Valor Christian players battle in front of the net to gain possession of the puck during the Class 5A Colorado state championship game at Magness Arena in Denver on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. Valor Christian High School played Regis Jesuit High School for the state title. (Rebecca Slezak/Special to The Denver Post)
    Regis Jesuit and Valor Christian players battle in front of the net to gain possession of the puck during the Class 5A Colorado state championship game at Magness Arena in Denver on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. Valor Christian High School played Regis Jesuit High School for the state title. (Rebecca Slezak/Special to The Denver Post)

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    Kyle Newman

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  • Renck: Russell Wilson went from “Let’s Ride” to “Last Ride” with Broncos, revealing dangers of desperation

    Renck: Russell Wilson went from “Let’s Ride” to “Last Ride” with Broncos, revealing dangers of desperation

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    From “Let’s Ride” to “Last Ride” in two years.

    Broncos coach Sean Payton filed for divorce from quarterback Russell Wilson on Monday. The only thing to figure out now is who gets custody of Thunder.

    I was enjoying my return to The Denver Post, stomach full of lunch and face sore from laughs. Then the phone pinged. Any time there is an alert in early March about an NFL team, it means you’re not going to be home for dinner.

    Wilson arrived in Denver in March 2022 determined to make history. This is not what he had in mind. The Broncos will take on an $85 million salary cap hit, divided over two seasons. No team has absorbed this much money for a mistake. As in, ever.

    When the Broncos acquired Wilson, he was viewed as a savior — a former Super Bowl champion capable of returning Denver to relevance. Somehow, inexplicably, he made it worse. He won 11 games for roughly $124 million, a return-on-investment cringe not seen since the Rockies shipped off pitcher Mike Hampton in 2002.

    It was not all Wilson’s fault, though his decision to reinvent himself as a pocket passer in 2022 under clown show coach Nathaniel Hackett and consistent failings in the red zone this past season left his fingerprints at the scene.

    No one quite knows how the Broncos became a quarterback nadir, replacing the Cleveland Browns. Peyton Manning retired, walking into a life of commercials and coaching youth football, and there became a sobering new reality. The Broncos did not know how to find a replacement. John Elway had as much to do with it as anybody when he whiffed on Paxton Lynch, leading to long-armed reaches into the island of misfit toys that included Joe Flacco and Case Keenum. When general manager George Paton took over in 2021, he inherited the mess at the league’s most important position. Watching the Broncos spiral out of playoff contention in the final month, he surveyed the AFC landscape and determined a franchise quarterback was a must.

    Tired of shopping for a couch on Craigslist, Paton wandered into IKEA and wasn’t going to take no for an answer. He traded four draft picks (two first-rounders, two second-rounders) and three starters (quarterback Drew Lock, tight end Noah Fant and defensive end Shelby Harris) to Seattle in exchange for Wilson.

    The trade now serves as a cautionary tale of desperation. The Broncos gave up everything and ceded all power to Wilson in the relationship. Getting a revised contract was always part of the deal to waive his no-trade clause, though he will never play a down on his five-year, $242.5 million extension.

    Wilson was given the green light to bring his entourage into the building and function as a pseudo-coach.

    It was an epic failure. With Hackett complicit, Wilson sacrificed a season trying to prove he could run an offense that was designed for Aaron Rodgers, the Broncos’ original 2022 target before he received a new contract from the Green Bay Packers.

    At one point in 2022, nobody was neutral in Broncos Country about Wilson. They disliked him. Or hated him.

    When the Broncos hired Payton 13 months ago, he made it clear he was not married to the quarterback. He would give it a season. It only took 15 games and he went to Jarrett. Stidham, that is. He became the 13th starter since Super Bowl 50 and was as underwhelming as those before him.

    It is important to remember Payton was not brought here to fix Wilson. He was brought here to fix the Broncos. That could not happen, he decided, with Wilson. The Broncos offense stank in the red zone and specifically in goal-to-goal situations. While Payton was rather ordinary on game day in his return after a one-year hiatus, he laid the blame on Wilson.

    Russ went off script. He failed to call plays quickly enough. He forgot to send players in motion.

    Payton, however, did the impossible and made Wilson a sympathetic figure when he benched him as it leaked out that the Broncos asked Wilson to adjust his contract during the bye week last October. Wilson’s $37 million in base salary in 2025 would have become guaranteed if he had remained on the roster past March 17. Denver wanted to move the date back. Wilson balked and explained in December that it was then that a benching was first broached. I don’t blame the Broncos for asking for relief, nor do I blame Wilson for refusing. The relationship was fraying at the seams.

    When the season ended, Wilson held a morsel of hope that things could work out as the team publicly kept the door slightly ajar.

    Wilson reached out to me last week, saying he “forever wished it was going (to happen) in Denver. I really wanted to win there.” His first year was a lost season for several reasons, including injuries — hamstring, shoulder, concussion. But he believed he played well last season, posting 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He was “grateful for long-lasting relationships,” but acknowledged it was time to move on from a “sad and disappointing” ending.

    No one will ever question Wilson’s work ethic or passion. He was better, but not in the eyes of the one person who mattered.

    Payton wants to run his offense — steeped in timing, execution and the ball coming out from the pocket. Scribbling outside the lines — Wilson’s strength — is not sustainable for the coach.

    Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton, center, stands between Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson (3), left, and Denver Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham (4), right, as the team comes out of the visiting tunnel before the game at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada on Jan. 7, 2024. The Las Vegas Raiders took on Denver Broncos during week 18 of NFL season. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)

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    Troy Renck

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  • Nuggets dominate clutch minutes again to spoil Lakers’ celebration of LeBron James scoring milestone

    Nuggets dominate clutch minutes again to spoil Lakers’ celebration of LeBron James scoring milestone

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    LOS ANGELES — The clutch-time Nuggets spoiled another landmark night for the Lakers.

    On the night LeBron James became the first player to ever score 40,000 career points, Denver came back from an 11-point deficit for a 124-114 win, the team’s sixth consecutive since the All-Star break, on Saturday night.

    Nikola Jokic went for 35 points and 10 rebounds. Michael Porter Jr. added an immaculate 25 without missing a single shot. He was 10 for 10 in the game, including 5 for 5 from beyond the arc.

    The Nuggets (42-19) have won eight consecutive games over the Lakers.

    They entered the fourth quarter of this one tied at 89 and needing a key stretch from the second unit. It mostly delivered, until the very end of Jokic’s rest minutes. Peyton Watson supplied four points and an emphatic block as the Nuggets took a five-point lead, but James nullified the block by absorbing contact with Zeke Nnaji for an and-one. He missed the free throw that would’ve tied the game, but a Denver turnover seconds later led to a go-ahead James three. Timeout Michael Malone, down two.

    Enter Jokic. Cue clutch finish for Nuggets starters.

    They trailed 108-105 as clutch time officially began in the last five minutes. Justin Holiday sank a 3-pointer while playing for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, out for personal reasons. Aaron Gordon finally cashed in on an open corner three for the lead. Then Jokic and Jamal Murray took over again. The game ended on a 19-6 run.

    Public and media anticipation surrounding the final meeting of the regular season between these teams wasn’t particularly concerned with the matchup or its implications. Denver was going into a building sold out by box score watchers experiencing LeBron Fever. He entered the game an inevitable nine points away from the never-achieved milestone, and for the first quarter and change, that was the primary focus every time he had the ball. Malone was effusive in his praise of James while fielding a handful of questions about him pregame, but in terms of the moment itself, the ninth-year Nuggets coach was definitive.

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    Bennett Durando

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  • Colorado state basketball tournaments 2024 Class 4A Great 8 results and coverage

    Colorado state basketball tournaments 2024 Class 4A Great 8 results and coverage

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    The quarterfinals of the Colorado high school basketball state tournaments for Classes 4A-6A take place Thursday through Saturday at Denver Coliseum. Our staff will be there throughout the weekend providing live coverage. Refresh this page for the latest updates and results.

    Tournament info: Tournament brackets and results | 4A preview capsules | Day 1 coverage of 6A Great 8 | Day 2 coverage of 5A Great 8

    Updates

    Class 4A girls: No. 1 Holy Family (23-2) vs. No. 9 Peak to Peak (21-4)

    9:11 a.m.: Wow! Triple Wow! It’s raining 3’s for Holy Family. Gracie Ward banks in a 40-footer at the buzzer and the Tigers lead the Pumas, 24-15 at the half. Tigers have made 6 of 15 3-pointers. — Patrick Saunders 

    9:04 a.m.: Holy Family is 5 of 9 from downtown and they lead the Pumas 21-10. We’re talking way downtown. Sophomore Enyiah Contreraz has made three 3’s. — Patrick Saunders 

    8:55 a.m.: Quite a contrast early on in this game.  The Pumas are playing an old-fashioned post-up offense, feeding the ball inside to 6-foot-5 junior Alexandra Eschmeyer. Holy Family is trying to spread the floor. Eschmeyer already has six points (including a nice hook shot), but Enyiah Contreraz drills a 35-foot, 3-pointer at the buzzer for Holy Famil.y We’re tied, 10-10. Good game.  — Patrick Saunders 

    8:40 a.m.: The third and final day of the Great 8 has arrived at Denver Coliseum. First up: A matchup between the defending Class 4A girls champions, Holy Family, and upstart Peak to Peak, led by Stanford commit Alexandra Eschmeyer. — Matt Schubert

    Schedule and results

    Class 4A boys

    • No. 1 Kent Denver (23-2) vs. No. 9 DSST: Green Valley Ranch (19-5), 10:15 a.m.
    • No. 2 Resurrection Christian (23-2) vs. No. 7 DSST: Montview (23-2), 1:15 p.m.
    • No. 5 Colorado Academy (20-5) vs. No. 4 Pagosa Springs (24-1), 5:30 p.m.
    • No. 6 Riverdale Ridge (22-3) vs. No. 3 Lutheran (22-3), 8:30 p.m.

    Class 4A girls

    • No. 1 Holy Family (23-2) vs. No. 9 Peak to Peak (21-4), 8:45 a.m.
    • No. 2 D’Evelyn (22-3) vs. No. 7 University (21-4), 11:45 a.m.
    • No. 5 Pagosa Springs (21-4) vs. No. 4 Resurrection Christian (22-3), 4 p.m.
    • No. 6 Colorado Academy (20-5) vs. No. 3 Riverdale Ridge (22-3), 7 p.m.

    Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.

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    Matt Schubert, Patrick Saunders

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  • Keeler: Nuggets star Jamal Murray could ruin LeBron James’ record-setting night. But is that worth risking Murray’s bad ankle?

    Keeler: Nuggets star Jamal Murray could ruin LeBron James’ record-setting night. But is that worth risking Murray’s bad ankle?

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    Michael Adams’ heart did a one-handed push shot right past his chest, then sank straight into his hands.

    There he was, baseline royalty, right under the basket. First time back at Ball Arena in about six years, and Jamal Murray lands like a dead fish three feet in front of him, rolling on the floor.

    Suddenly, in a cruel twist of irony and a crueler twist of an ankle, one of the greatest shooters in Nuggets history had a front-row seat to watch the Blue Arrow, his spiritual successor, writhe in agony.

    “I just heard him say, ‘Oh my God,’” Adams, the Nuggets’ 3-point ace from 1987-91, said of the Blue Arrow’s sprain just before halftime, the one that cast a pall over the Nuggets’ scrappy 103-97 victory over the Miami Heat in an NBA Finals rematch.

    “So when (Murray) grabbed his ankle, I was like, ‘OK, it’s his ankle … it wasn’t his knee.’”

    Join the club, brother.

    I know what you’re thinking: Man, the Lakers are next. Is there a better, sweeter feeling for Nuggets faithful than watching Murray prop his feet up on the couch in The House Kobe Built and drop daggers all over Tinseltown? Especially on LeBron’s big night? Over his last six regular-season appearances against the Lake Show, the Blue Arrow’s averaged 23.5 points, 6.3 assists and 3.2 treys.

    But by the same token, did you see the anguish on the guy’s face as he staggered off the baseline and limped to the locker room? Why push your luck? Especially when that luck is as fickle as Jamal’s?

    “Injuries happen,” Adams told me, “but in this situation, you want the Nuggets to be healthy toward the end of the season … if he’s not ready to go, they’ll sit him down and let him get healthy. They’ve still got some time (to finish) the season with him on the floor.”

    This ain’t about want-to. Or toughness. Murray was raised like a basketball ninja in chilly Ontario, a childhood montage that included push-ups in the snow and balancing cups of hot tea on his thigh during squats. The Arrow would sooner swim through shark-infested waters wearing a chum suit than accept defeat.

    Still, if I’m Nuggets coach Michael Malone, I’m overriding Murray’s inner Bruce Lee and reaching for the bubble wrap.

    The NBA Playoffs, the land of bright lights, big stages and swollen egos where No. 27 reigns supreme, is seven weeks away yet. The No. 1 seed in the West is a heck of a target, yes, and the Nuggets went into Friday trailing the Wolves by a game-and-a-half.

    Everything’s on the table now. Including disaster. And you sure as heck don’t get a parade in June by redlining Murray in early March.

    “When Jamal realizes, ‘Hey, man, we’ve got 23 games to go, this (ankle) is not feeling great right now,’ I think it’s great for him to realize being cautious right now is probably the really prudent decision,” Malone said late Thursday night. “And that shows also (his) maturity. He’s growing and realizing that we (need him long-term) …

    “(People insist), ‘You should be the No. 1 seed.’ Yeah, that’d be great. I want to be healthy. Because I know if we’re healthy, that we can beat anybody, anywhere.”

    Dang straight.

    Murray ended the first quarter Thursday by draining a 3-pointer at the buzzer with four Miami hands in his face. He ended the second in the bowels of Ball Arena, getting treatment on a right ankle that got rolled during an accidental collision with teammate Aaron Gordon.

    The tumble happened, as kismet would have it, right in front of Adams, now 61 and working with the Washington Wizards, and his son.

    “I actually wanted to bring my All-Star ring here to let him hold onto it until he actually made one,” said Adams, who represented Washington at the NBA’s mid-winter classic back in 1992. “And to (tell Murray), ‘You deserve to be on an All-Star team.’ I didn’t do it. But I wanted to.”

    In his salad days, Adams was Steph Curry before Steph, 5-foot-10 with a funky release, cold-blooded to the core, a shooter ahead of his time. Especially once ex-Nuggets coach Doug Moe gave him the green light.

    “I’m a big fan of Murray — obviously, him and Nikola (Jokic) are just out-of-this-world players,” said Adams, who averaged 18.2 points and 7.2 dimes over four seasons with Denver. “I love watching him play. I was just telling my son, ‘If I was backing up Jamal Murray, and he just went out of the game, I’d be happy to be on the floor with the rest of those guys right now.’”

    He’d be happier still to see Murray rest that ankle until the Arrow’s closer to 100%. And like Malone, he’d rather have the Nuggets healthy come mid-April than exhaust their stars in a seeding chase.

    “You want (those starters) on the floor, but health is No. 1,” Adams said. “I think the Nuggets can beat anybody on the road (in the playoffs) if they had to.”

    Nine solid weeks of Murray in the spring is worth its weight in gold. At least 29 pounds of it, last we checked.

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    Sean Keeler

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  • Women’s basketball: No. 13 CU Buffs hold off Washington to snap losing skid

    Women’s basketball: No. 13 CU Buffs hold off Washington to snap losing skid

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    Fast break

    Why the Buffs won: They kept their composure late, played solid defense throughout the night and hit some big shots when needed.

    Three stars:

    1. CU’s Maddie Nolan: Had a season-high 20 points, including six 3-pointers.

    2. CU’s Aaronette Vonleh: Finished with only 10 points offensively, but had seven rebounds and a steal.

    3. Washington’s Lauren Schwartz: Scored 18 points and hit all four 3-point attempts.

    Up next: CU will host Washington State on Saturday at 1 p.m. (Pac-12 Network).

    Colorado didn’t dominate in its return home, but the No. 13 Buffaloes found something it had been sorely missing: a victory.

    Maddie Nolan got hot from 3-point range early and the Buffs had just enough in the tank late to hold off Washington 68-62 on Thursday night at the CU Events Center.

    CU (21-7, 11-6 Pac-12) snapped a four-game losing streak and kept slim hopes alive for a top-four seed – and first-round bye – for next week’s Pac-12 Tournament.

    “I was just really excited to win again,” said Nolan, who went 6-of-7 from beyond the arc and had a season-high 20 points. “After the game, I was jumping around and I was like, ‘Guys, we won!’ The season is so long and you get so caught up in different things and then the losses, it can be hard, but just remembering to celebrate every win, whether it’s against a top-five team or whoever. So just excited to be back in the win column, for sure.”

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    Brian Howell

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