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• New England Revolution v Philadelphia Union: Porter urges players to cut out errors

  Caleb Porter accepts New England Revolution must cut out the individual errors if they are to return to winning ways against Philadelphia Union.

  The Revs went down 4-2 to New York Red Bulls last time out to make it four defeats in their last five games, and eight losses in 11 overall this season in MLS.

  New England are bottom of the Eastern Conference, but Porter hopes lessons have been learned ahead of hosting Philadelphia on Saturday.

  "Three of the four [goals NYRB scored] were individual mistakes that are easily correctable," Porter told The Blazing Musket. "We've gone to the training ground and corrected a few of those situation.

  "But it's just individuals in those moments have to be better. It wasn't a bad team-defending performance, but three of the four goals we gave up were routine."

  The Union have double the number of points compared to their opponents, having played one game more, as they occupy ninth place in the East.

  The Us are themselves not in great form, though, as they lost 2-1 at home to New York City FC in their most recent game - a contest overshadowed by a raccoon that entered the field. 

  They have just two points from the past 18 on offer, meanwhile, and head coach Jim Curtin admits it is on him and his players to turn things around.

  "The guys fight until the end, and we have to find a way to get out of this," Curtin said. "We're the only people that are going to get us out of it. 

  "The people in that locker room, the coaches, the players, they recognise that. They've shown they can beat anybody, and we're the only ones that can dig us out of this now."

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  New England Revolution - Carles Gil

  Gil got the Revs temporarily on level terms against New York Red Bulls, with that his 100th regular-season goal contribution in MLS. That makes the Revs' attacking midfielder the seventh European player to reach that milestone, and the second Spaniard after David Villa.

  Philadelphia Union - Julian Carranza

  Carranza was on target for the Union in their midweek loss to New York City, coming from one of nine attempts he had on target. The former Argentina age-grade international has now registered four-or-more shots in four MLS career matches.

  To put that in perspective, the two other players to have done so in the club's history - Conor Casey and Andrew Wenger - have done so in a combined two games (one each).

  MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW

  Philadelphia have won 12 matches against the Revs across all MLS competitions, which includes MLS is Back, since 2018 - their best return against any single opponent across that period.

  New England's tally of seven points from their opening 11 games is their worst-such return at this stage of a campaign in club history, with only two out of 17 teams in the post-shootout era (since 2000) managing to reach the playoffs from this position.

  However, there is some hope for them this weekend as the Union's one point across their past five matches is their fewest across any five-game span within a single season since April 2017.

  
  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  New England Revolution - 36.1%
  Draw - 28.8%
  Philadelphia Union - 35.1%

• Conley return completes Timberwolves as they force Nuggets decider

  Mike Conley Jr. said his return had completed the Minnesota Timberwolves after they crushed the Denver Nuggets to force a Game 7 in the teams' Western Conference semifinal series.

  The Nuggets had the chance to eliminate the Timberwolves at Target Center on Thursday after going 3-2 up in the series, but the hosts roared back to tie things up with a 115-70 rout.

  Anthony Edwards led the way with 27 points and Jaden McDaniels added 21 on 8-of-10 shooting, with the Timberwolves' win the second-largest NBA Playoff victory by a team facing elimination in history.

  Edwards put the team's improvement down to the return of guard Conley, who missed Game 5 after suffering from soreness in his right Achilles tendon.

  Asked what had changed for Minnesota, Edwards said: "We got Mike Conley back. That was it."

  Conley said: "Obviously I wanted to play the last game. I just couldn't move at all. Tonight it was a no-brainer. 

  "I was going to try to find a way. We're just better when we're a complete team."

  MVP Nikola Jokic had 22 points and nine rebounds for the defending champions, who were stunned by a 20-0 first-quarter run from the third-seeded Timberwolves. 

  Asked how Denver would look to forget about the loss, Jokic said: "I think we shouldn't.

  "I think we need to let it sink in. It's a great loss. They destroyed us, and we should learn from it."

• Timberwolves demolish Nuggets to force Game 7

  The Minnesota Timberwolves needed a win to keep their season alive.

  They proceeded to obliterate the Denver Nuggets.

  The Timberwolves rode a 20-0 run in the first quarter en route to a 115-70 thrashing of the Nuggets on Thursday to force a Game 7 in their Western Conference semi-final series.

  Anthony Edwards led the way with 27 points and Jaden McDaniels added 21 on 8-of-10 shooting as Minnesota recorded the second-largest play-off win in NBA history when facing elimination.

  The Wolves led by as much as 50 to send the series back to Denver on Sunday with a berth in the West finals on the line.

   After winning the first two games of the series in Denver, Minnesota suddenly found itself on the brink of elimination after losing Games 3 and 4 on its home court and Tuesday's 112-97 defeat back in Denver.

  The Timberwolves then trailed 9-2 early in Game 6 before turning the tables on the Nuggets.

  They scored the next 20 points and went on a 27-2 run on their way to taking a 31-14 lead after the first 12 minutes. 

  Edwards sparked the first-quarter surge, racking up 14 points in the opening period after scoring 18 total points in Game 5.

  The Wolves clamped down defensively and dominated the boards to turn Game 6 into a laugher.

  Minnesota limited Denver to just 7-of-36 shooting from 3-point range (19.4 per cent) and held a 62-43 advantage on the glass, with big men Rudy Gobert (14), Karl-Anthony Towns (13) and Naz Reid (11) combining for 38 boards.

  NBA MVP Nikola Jokic had 22 points and nine rebounds for the defending champions, but Jamal Murray struggled mightily from the floor, making just 4-of-18 shots and finishing with 10 points.

  Mike Conley returned after missing Game 5 because of soreness in his right Achilles tendon, and finished with 14 points, four rebounds and four assists.

  The Timberwolves opened the fourth quarter on a 7-2 run to open up a 30-point lead, prompting the Nuggets to empty their bench just over two minutes into the final period. 

  Less than 90 seconds later, that lead grew to 36 points and Minnesota took out its starters.

  The Wolves bench picked up right where the starters left off to finish off a 24-0 run as the lead ballooned to 50.