Wolves bring 2-0 lead on Nuggets into wild night at Target Center. Knicks, up 2-0, brace for Pacers

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves have been the surprise hit of the NBA playoffs, winning their first six games behind a dominant defense, clutch performances from superstar Anthony Edwards and enviable depth to fuel a relentless approach.

They did the hard part by taking the first two games of their Western Conference semifinal series in Denver from the defending champion Nuggets in commanding fashion. Now they get to take the court in front of their own crowd. Game 3 is on Friday night, a late tipoff that will only intensify the atmosphere inside the success-deprived arena.

“The fans have been great all year,” Karl-Anthony Towns said after practice on Thursday. “I’ve said it before: They have this place jumping like Prince is back.”

Having completed their first-round sweep of Phoenix with two wins on the road, the Timberwolves have not played at Target Center since April 23, a span of 17 days between home games. The team has partnered with 11 downtown bars to host watch parties. Ticket prices on the secondary market were starting in the $250 range for single seats near the rafters, as of Thursday afternoon.

Just about the buzz to be expected around a franchise that has not only never won an NBA title, but advanced past the first round only once in the 34 seasons prior to this.

“The city is on fire. People are super excited about this team,” coach Chris Finch said. “It’s a team that’s easy to root for because of the way they play. They play hard. They share the ball. I think we have a lot of good guys who play with a lot of personality.”

In the history of the NBA playoffs, including the Nuggets, 30 teams have lost the first two games at home in a best-of-seven series, according to Sportradar research. Only five of them came back to win, with the Los Angeles Clippers the most recent in a 2021 first-round rally past Dallas.

The Nuggets are confident they can be the sixth. But they'll have to find a way to start fast, minimize the crowd noise and avoid the uncharacteristic frustration they wore throughout their 106-80 loss in Game 2. Point guard Jamal Murray, who has just 25 points in the series on 9-for-32 shooting, was fined $100,000 for throwing a heat pack onto the court.

“Even if we do lose the first quarter,” Murray said, "just the intent, the energy, the focus to get it done I think is big.”

The New York Knicks won't be as desperate when they take the floor in Indianapolis for Game 3 earlier in the evening. They've got a 2-0 lead on the Pacers, who, if they weren't as flustered in Game 2 as the Nuggets were on their home floor, are carrying some discouragement of their own. Coach Rick Carlisle voiced their displeasure with the officiating after the 130-121 loss in New York.

“They smashed us on the boards again,” guard T.J. McConnell said, "and brought more energy than we did so we have to fix that.”

KNICKS AT PACERS

New York leads 2-0. Game 3, 7 p.m. EDT, ESPN

— NEED TO KNOW: Carlisle doesn’t complain often about officiating, but after two physical games in New York he felt his team got the short end of the whistles and publicly called out the refs. The Pacers backed him by sending 78 plays to the league office for review, and now all eyes will be on the foul totals when the series shifts to Indiana's home court.

— KEEP AN EYE ON: Rebounding. Even before this Eastern Conference semifinal series started, Carlisle said repeatedly his team needed to match New York’s ruggedness around the rim. But in the second halves of the first two games, the Pacers frequently failed to finish defensive stops because they couldn’t come up with key rebounds. The Knicks have an 84-66 edge on the glass in the series.

— INJURY WATCH: Knicks All-Star guard Jalen Brunson, who missed the final 15 minutes of the first half in Game 2 with a right foot injury, returned for the second half to play through the discomfort. He's listed as questionable. The Knicks have ruled out forward OG Anunoby with an injured left hamstring, thinning a rotation that's already shortened by the absence of Julius Randle, Bojan Bogdanovic and Mitchell Robinson. The Pacers listed All-Star Tyrese Haliburton as questionable with lower back spasms.

— PRESSURE IS ON: Carlisle. The Pacers' first-round triumph over Milwaukee required wins in all three of their home games and gave Carlisle a playoff series victory for the first time since he led the Mavericks to the 2011 NBA championship.

NUGGETS AT TIMBERWOLVES

Minnesota leads 2-0. Game 3, 9:30 p.m. EDT, ESPN

— NEED TO KNOW: After recording the franchise's first four-game series sweep in the first round against the Suns, the Timberwolves are halfway to another one. They'll get four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert back, too, after he missed Game 2 for the birth of his son.

— KEEP AN EYE ON: Edwards and Towns. The All-Star duo has five playoff games with 25-plus points apiece, a franchise record.

— INJURY WATCH: Murray has been playing through a strained left calf. He's listed as questionable for Game 3 for the Nuggets, along with guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (bruised right abdomen) and backup Reggie Jackson (bruised left calf).

— PRESSURE IS ON: Nikola Jokic. The announcement of his third NBA MVP award came at an awkward time with the Nuggets reeling from their Game 2 meltdown. The Serbian superstar had only 16 points on 5-for-13 shooting in Game 2.

AP Basketball Writer Brian Mahoney in New York and AP Sports Writers Michael Marot in Indianapolis and Arnie Stapleton in Denver contributed.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

New York Knicks' OG Anunoby (8) and Isaiah Hartenstein (55) defend against a shot by Indiana Pacers' Aaron Nesmith (23) during the second half of Game 2 in an NBA basketball second-round playoff series Wednesday, May 8, 2024, in New York. The Knicks won 130-121. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, left, looks to pass the ball as Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid defends during the second half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series, Monday, May 6, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards sits in the bench after he was pulled from the floor late in the second half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series against the Denver Nuggets Monday, May 6, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

You may have heard of white noise used to mask background sounds. Now, it has colorful competition.

There’s a growing buzz around pink noise, brown noise, green noise — a rainbow of soothing sounds — and their theoretical effects on sleep, concentration and the relaxation response.

The science is new with only a few small studies behind it, but that hasn’t stopped thousands of people from listening to hours of these noises on YouTube and on meditation apps that provide a palette of color noises with paid subscriptions.

WHAT IS PINK NOISE?

To understand pink noise, start with white, the most familiar of the color noises.

White noise is similar to static on a radio or TV. Sound engineers define it as having equal volume across all the frequencies audible to the human ear. It gets its name from white light, which contains all the visible color wavelengths.

But the high frequencies of white noise can sound harsh. Pink noise turns down the volume on those higher frequencies, so it sounds lower in pitch and more like the natural sound of rain or the ocean.

Brown noise sounds even lower in pitch, giving it a pleasing, soothing rumble.

Pink and brown, like white, have standard definitions to audio experts. Other color noises are more recent creations with very flexible definitions.

WHAT’S THE SCIENCE BEHIND COLOR NOISES?

White noise and pink noise may provide small benefits for people with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, according to a recent review of limited ADHD studies. In theory, it wakes up the brain, said ADHD researcher and co-author Joel Nigg of Oregon Health & Science University in Portland.

"The noise provides stimulation to the brain without providing information, and so it doesn’t distract,” Nigg said.

White noise has been used to treat ringing or buzzing in the ear, called tinnitus.

Scientists at Northwestern University are studying how short pulses of pink noise can enhance the slow brain waves of deep sleep. In small studies, these pink-noise pulses have shown promise in improving memory and the relaxation response.

Pink noise has a frequency profile “very similar to the distribution of brain wave frequencies we see in slow-wave sleep because these are large, slow waves,” said Dr. Roneil Malkani, assistant professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

If Northwestern’s research pans out, it could lead to a medical device to improve sleep or memory through personalized pulses of pink noise. But many scientific questions remain unanswered, Malkani said. “There’s still a lot of work we have to do.”

IS THERE ANY HARM IN TRYING COLOR NOISES?

If color noises feel calming and help you drown out distractions, it makes sense to use them. Keep them at a quiet level, of course, to prevent hearing loss and take "plenty of breaks for the ears to rest,” Nigg said.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Dr. Roneil Malkani demonstrates the set up for a sleep study at the Center for Circadian & Sleep Medicine at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago on May 16, 2024. Pink noise has a frequency profile “very similar to the distribution of brain wave frequencies we see in slow-wave sleep because these are large, slow waves,” said Malkani, assistant professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. (AP Photo/Laura Bargfeld)

Dr. Roneil Malkani points to a recording of pink noise being played at brief intervals to enhance slow brain waves during deep sleep at the Center for Circadian & Sleep Medicine at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago on May 16, 2024. Pink noise has a frequency profile “very similar to the distribution of brain wave frequencies we see in slow-wave sleep because these are large, slow waves,” said Malkani, assistant professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. (AP Photo/Laura Bargfeld)

Dr. Roneil Malkani shows an example of pink noise being used to enhance slow brainwaves during deep sleep at the Center for Circadian & Sleep Medicine at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago on May 16, 2024. Pink noise has a frequency profile “very similar to the distribution of brain wave frequencies we see in slow-wave sleep because these are large, slow waves,” said Malkani, assistant professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. (AP Photo/Laura Bargfeld)