If I’m being honest, I didn’t really want to be at a basketball game tonight.
On Wednesday, Renee Nicole Good, a wife and mother of three, was killed in Minneapolis by an agent of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
I will not be sharing the video here, but it is not hard to find. What is clear from the footage is that at no point were any of the ICE officers in danger. Good was directing her vehicle away from ICE in an attempt to flee the potentially dangerous scene. Any notion that she
had the intent to cause harm to anyone is provably false.
Good’s killing hits the Minneapolis community hard as it adds to the unbelievably depressing list of murders and violence that have hit the national headlines in just the last year. In August, three were killed at Annunciation Catholic Church and School in a mass shooting. In June, Minnesota Congresswoman Melissa Hortman and her husband were murdered in their home in a politically motivated assassination.
ICE has recently been trying to terrorize the Minneapolis community. They are going after United States citizens at their place of work, and not even high schoolers are safe, as Minneapolis Public Schools decided to shut down on Thursday and Friday due to the incident and ICE presence on Wednesday.
Now one of their altercations has turned deadly against a U.S. citizen who at no point had anything to do with anything related to immigration and had recently dropped off their six year old child at school.
The killing and the subsequent reaction and explanations from the federal government have nothing to do with immigration enforcement. It has everything to do with fear and intimidation. The people of Minneapolis and Minnesota will not give in to either as they continue to peacefully protest throughout the city.
Personally, I don’t feel there should have been a game tonight, but there was one, so I got you covered.
It appears the Minnesota Timberwolves’ New Year’s resolution was to never lose again.
On Thursday night, the Wolves secured their fourth straight win to open 2026, this time against the Cleveland Cavaliers. It was just a little over a week ago that it felt like the Wolves were at a crossroads after another dispiriting loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
Since that game, the Wolves have absolutely answered the call, winning four straight, all of which in convincing style. The game started with incredible energy for the Wolves as they surged out to a 17-5 lead early in the first quarter.
As the Wolves’ energy dissipated, and turnovers started to mount up, the Cavs got back into the game, going up by as many as nine points in the second quarter. The Cleveland run totaled 31-15 in the first half to turn a big early deficit into a lead.
That advantage was short-lived, though, as the Wolves opened the second half on a 35-12 run, going up by as many as 20 points late in the third quarter. The Cavs again mounted a comeback, cutting the 20-point lead all the way down to four, but ran out of time as Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels sealed away the win.
In the fourth quarter, Ant notched his 10,000th career point, becoming the third youngest player in NBA history to do so as he trails only LeBron James and Kevin Durant in scoring to start a career.
In the final moments of the game, Jaden broke out his signature slam dunk to put the game away, slamming the ball on the floor before putting it through the hoop. putting the finishing touches on a 131-122 victory.
It was a complete performance for the Wolves as all five starters scored in double-digits. Julius Randle led the way with 28 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 assists. Edwards had 25 points, 9 assists, and 7 rebounds. Donte DiVincenzo put in six 3-pointers en route to 22 points. Jaden put in 26 points while thriving defensively, and Rudy Gobert had 11 points and 13 rebounds as he dominated the paint on both ends of the floor.
It’s been a rough couple of days in Minneapolis, and nothing on a basketball court is going to truly fix the pain that has been felt locally, but for at least a few hours, Minnesotans got a reprieve from yet another local tragedy.
This story will be updated throughout the night after coach and player media availabilities.
Up Next
The Timberwolves take on the Cavaliers yet again, this time in Cleveland. It will be the second of four times this season where the Wolves face the same team in back-to-back games. The matchup on Saturday is an early one by NBA standards, beginning at 12:00 PM CT, airing on Amazon Prime Video.
