ST. PAUL—Sure, no game is a must-win this time of year. Still, the Blackhawks couldn’t afford to slip much further behind the Minnesota Wild.Jonathan Toews scored a power-play goal 3:09 into overtime to lift the Blackhawks over the Western Conference-leading Wild 4-3 on Wednesday night.The Blackhawks closed within five points of Minnesota for the conference lead. The Wild also have two games in hand, and the Blackhawks admitted feeling a sense of urgency heading into the game.But, with Minnesota getting to Overtime, they got a point, and the Hawks only gained one rather than two on Division leading Minnesota.

”There was some added meaning to it, for our team anyways,” said Toews, who also had two assists.

Ryan Suter was called for holding midway through the overtime, and with the man advantage, Toews slipped a rebound between the skates of goalie Darcy Kuemper.

”It was a huge win,” Joel Quenneville said. ”We had to win the game to keep us within striking distance.”

Corey Crawford stopped 35 of 38 shots as the Blackhawks snapped an eight-game regular-season losing streak against Minnesota. He came up huge in the overtime, stonewalling Mikael Granlund alone in the slot and stopping Suter on a breakaway.

”We had the opportunities, but when they needed a save, they got it,” Minnesota coach Bruce Boudreau said. ”Usually when you don’t score on your great opportunities, bad things happen.”

The Wild salvaged a point when Erik Haula scored with 3:03 left in the third period to tie it at 3. Defenseman Marco Scandella carried the puck from behind his own blue line deep into the Hawk zone, then flipped a backhanded pass across the goalmouth, where Haula was waiting to tip it past Crawford.

”It was kind of a playoff game environment, a little bit,” Haula said.

Nino Niederreiter had two assists for the Wild, and Kuemper made 28 saves.Minnesota closed a four-game Canadian road trip on Tuesday night at Winnipeg, while the Blackhawks had been resting since a Feb. 4 game at Dallas. Perhaps feeling the effect of that late-night flight, the Wild looked sluggish early as the Hawks raced to a 2-0 lead.Ryan Hartman started the scoring at 10:54 of the first period when Vinnie Hinostroza carried the puck deep into the Minnesota zone and centered to the slot, where Hartman one-timed it past Kuemper.The Blackhawks doubled their lead 1:09 into the second period as Toews found Nick Schmaltz alone in front of the net for an easy tap-in.Minnesota got one back 37 seconds later when Jared Spurgeon finished a rush with a wrist shot over Crawford’s left shoulder.That goal energized the Wild, who outshot the Blackhawks 19-10 in the second period and dominated the next 15 minutes of play.Zach Parise tied it at 7:15 of the second on a disputed goal. Charlie Coyle threw the puck toward the net, and Parise, with his back to the goal, tipped it between his legs. Crawford made the save, but Parise spun around and chipped the rebound over the goalie.The Hawks challenged the play, arguing that Parise had been offside when Minnesota’s rush began. After a lengthy delay, the officials ruled the video evidence was inconclusive and the call stood.Late in the period, Panik put the Blackhawks on top 3-2 when he controlled a pass from Niklas Hjalmarsson and tucked the puck just inside the post.

”We got back to the way we want to play these road games right away early tonight, especially against this team,” said Toews, whose team is in the midst of a six-game road trip. ”Nice for us to find that resiliency and find a way to get a power-play goal at the end.”

NOTES—Wednesday’s game was the first of a franchise-record eight-game homestand for Minnesota. … The Wild recalled D Gustav Olofsson from Iowa of the AHL. He replaced D Mike Reilly, who was sent to Iowa. … Coyle played in his 284th consecutive game, breaking Antti Laaksonen’s franchise record. Laaksonen played for the Wild from 2000 to 2004…..Blackhawks road trip continues on Friday night at Winnipeg.

OAKLAND—Kevin Durant responded from his worst game since joining the Warriors with 22 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and three steals, and Golden State beat the Bulls 123-92 Wednesday night for a 138th straight regular-season game without consecutive defeats.Klay Thompson scored 28 points with six 3-pointers playing on his 27th birthday, Stephen Curry added 13 points and six rebounds and the Warriors had all five starters score in double figures for the fourth time.Golden State hasn’t lost consecutive regular-season games since April 5 and 7, 2015, at San Antonio and New Orleans, during its championship season.This was the Warriors’ eighth win following a loss this season and 17th in a row overall since those dates in `15.Robin Lopez had 17 points, 10 rebounds and four assists for the undermanned Bulls playing back in the Bay Area where he attended Stanford.Jimmy Butler with a bad heel and Dwyane Wade(under the weather)missed the game, leaving the Bulls no chance.

EVANSTON—With little but in-state pride at stake for Illinois, the scales seem poised Tuesday to lean towards a Northwestern team that finds itself in striking distance of several program milestones.Instead, the Fighting Illini grabbed their first road win of the season, pulling out a late 68-61 victory over the suddenly-stumbling Wildcats.Malcolm Hill led the way for Illinois (14-11, 4-8 Big Ten) with 14 points and nine rebounds, while Te’Jon Lucas, Maverick Morgan and Michael Finke each scored 11.Against a Wildcats defense that entered Tuesday allowing a Big Ten-best 38.7 field goal percentage, Illinois shot 45.3 percent, including 42.1 percent from behind the arc.

”What we’ve been missing was shot making,” Illinois coach John Groce said. ”Fortunately, tonight we were able to get that from a lot of different guys. When the ball goes in it always makes you look a little bit better.”

Bryant McIntosh paced Northwestern (18-6, 7-4) with 21 points, but he committed an uncharacteristic six turnovers while making just four assists. Vic Law had 16 points and nine rebounds, but no other Wildcat reached double figures.With Scottie Lindsey sidelined for the second straight game with illness, Northwestern shot a season-worst 33.9 percent from the field.

”I thought we played really hard, I thought our effort was great, I thought we did a lot of good things defensively,” Northwestern coach Chris Collins said. ”But I thought offensively we had some costly turnovers and bad shots. Down the stretch, we didn’t play smart basketball.”

The Wildcats remain two victories away from their most conference wins since 1932-33 – when they won 10 – and they need three wins to become the winningest team in program history.Most notable for Northwestern, though, is the potential breakthrough of reaching its first-ever NCAA Tournament – a pursuit that has now taken a hit with consecutive losses. Following six straight wins, the Wildcats fell Saturday to then-No. 23 Purdue 80-59.

”We have to keep our composure,” Wildcats center Dererk Pardon said. ”We know it’s a long season. We fix the things we need to fix, and we’ll be good.”

Tied at 28 at halftime Tuesday, no team enjoyed more than a six-point lead in the back-and-forth second half until the game’s final moments. Lucas scored a layup with 1:37 remaining to put Illinois ahead 63-61, and Finke added to the lead with a jumper at 1:09.Following Law’s go-ahead 3-pointer at 3:31, Northwestern missed its next three field goals and committed four turnovers.McIntosh’s four assists Tuesday moved the junior’s career total to 496, good for the top spot among active non-seniors. He passed Lehigh’s Kahron Ross, who has 495.Lindsey missed his second consecutive contest with mononucleosis, and the team is unsure when he will return. Lindsey leads Northwestern with 16.1 points per game, and the Wildcats have scored 52 and 61 points in his absence, two of their three lowest point totals this season.

”We’re going to have to figure it out,” Collins said. ”I don’t know how long Scottie’s going to be out. We have to keep playing. Everyone is dealing with some guys that are injured, some guys that are missing games. We have to figure it out.”

Despite yet another poor shooting performance from Hill – his third straight game under 40 percent – the senior continues to be a bright spot in trying times for the Fighting Illini. His efforts on Tuesday moved him into sole possession of 8th place on Illinois’ all-time scoring list with 1,665, passing Mark Smith and Brandon Paul.The Wildcats inch ever closer to their first NCAA Tournament berth, but their first back-to-back losses since Dec. 30 and Jan. 5 have derailed momentum. The upcoming schedule provides little relief, too, as Northwestern’s next two are against the Big Ten’s best – No. 7 Wisconsin and No. 21 Maryland.NU Travels to Wisconsin on Sunday.

DES MOINES—Paris Lee scored 26 points on 11-for-17 shooting, Keyshawn Evans scored 16 points and Illinois State drubbed Drake 82-53 on Tuesday night.Illinois State (20-5, 12-1 Missouri Valley) rebounded from Saturday’s 86-45 defeat against Wichita State and moved a half-game up of the Shockers (21-4, 11-1) for first place in the conference. Deontae Hawkins added 15 points for the Redbirds.ISU led 37-34 at halftime, and just after intermission, Ore Arogundade made a 3 to bring Drake within 42-41. But the Redbirds took control with a 16-4 run, with nine points coming from Lee, and never looked back.The Redbirds shot 69.2 percent (18 for 26) in the second half, including 4 for 8 from 3-point range. Drake (7-18, 5-8) shot 18.2 percent (6 for 33) from the floor and 3 for 15 from 3-point range.Billy Wampler scored 12 points and was the only player in double figures for the Bulldogs.

SACRAMENTO—Dwyane Wade scored 31 points, including the final seven to help the Bulls hold off the Sacramento Kings 112-107 on Monday night.After the Bulls squandered a 27-point lead in the second half, Wade hit a tiebreaking 20-footer to put them ahead for good, 109-107, with 13 seconds left. Then he stole the inbounds pass following a timeout and went the length of the court for a dunk to make it a four-point lead.Wade added a free throw with a second to play following the second technical foul of the night on a furious DeMarcus Cousins, who thought he was fouled on a 3-point attempt. Cousins was ejected after picking up his 16th technical of the season, a total that triggers an automatic one-game suspension.Michael Carter-Williams had 21 points for the Bulls, and Robin Lopez scored 17. Jerian Grant added 13 points as the Bulls won their third in four games.Jimmy Butler missed his second straight game with a sore heel.

HOUSTON—But the Patriots overcame a 25-point deficit to take the game to overtime. They then won it, 34-28, on the very first series after James White dived in from two yards out. The 31 unanswered points in the thrilling comeback cements the Patriots’ legacy as the greatest NFL franchise this century.It was New England’s ninth Super Bowl appearance in team history, and the seventh in the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady era. And if not for Eli Manning and the New York Giants , Bill and Tom would be 7-0 in the championship game. We’re guessing they’ll settle for 5-2, especially given the “THAT DID NOT JUST HAPPEN” way they went about winning this one.We won’t lie: We were convinced this game was over at halftime; the Falcons led 21-0 late in the second quarter, 28-9 to start the final quarter, and 28-20 at the two-minute warning. You might notice that with each update the Patriots crept closer while the Falcons went from confident to hopeful to apprehensive to dejected as Brady marched New England down the field again and again and again and again, until the they had even out-Patriots’d the Patriots.Not only did the Pats overcome the largest deficit in Super Bowl history, they played in the first overtime game in Super Bowl history, and oh, by the way, Brady set a Super Bowl record for passing yards. (And before you say, yeah, but he had the benefit of overtime, we’ll kindly point out that he managed the feat before the end of regulation.

WICHITA—Conner Frankamp scored 18 points and Shaquille Morris had 11 points and 11 rebounds and Wichita State put a beat down on Illinois State in an 86-45 win on Saturday night as the Shockers drew even atop the Missouri Valley Conference standing.Illinois State beat Wichita State 76-62 on Jan. 14 and entered Saturday’s game with a one-game lead in conference.Wichita State led 35-22 at halftime and used a 19-2 run to start the second half pushing the lead to 30 points in less than six minutes. Wichita State (21-4, 11-1) shot 8 for 9 from the floor during that span.The Shockers shot 57 percent from the floor (30 for 53) to 33 percent (18 for 54) for Illinois State (19-5, 11-1). The Redbirds were a paltry 4 for 22 from behind the 3-point line and didn’t have one player in double-figure scoring.Markis McDuffie added 16 points for Wichita State and Zach Brown chipped in 10.Phil Fayne led the Redbirds with nine points.

Sean O’Brien scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Southern Illinois gained enough breathing room over the final three minutes to earn a 67-61 win over Loyola at Gentile Arena on Saturday.O’Brien finished 9 of 11 from the field and had four of the Salukis seven total assists. Mike Rodriguez scored 14 points and Armon Fletcher added 12 for Southern Illinois (14-11, 7-5 Missouri Valley). The Salukis are now 5-2 against their in-state rivals since the Ramblers joined the Missouri Valley in 2014.Donte Ingram scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Loyola (16-9, 6-6), who have now fallen a game behind the Salukis for third place in the conference. Milton Doyle had 15 points for the Ramblers.SIU led 58-55 with two minutes left when Thik Bol threw home a dunk and added three free throws for an eight point Salukis lead with 30 seconds remaining.

CHAMPAIGN—There was plenty of glamour at the State Farm Center before and during the game with the Cubs World Series trophy in the building, but Minnesota overcame a slow start to steal the show with a 68-59 win over Illinois on Saturday afternoon.The Gophers had a week off after its loss to Maryland and Minnesota players held a players-only meeting during the week to discuss the five-game losing streak, and the challenge in character is something players and Minnesota coach Richard Pitino thought was a difference in the win.

”I told them `you guys need to start taking ownership,”’ Pitino said. ”I’m proud of them for breaking through.”

Reggie Lynch scored 15 points to lead Minnesota (16-7, 4-6 Big Ten) in a team effort where Akeem Springs added 14 points and Nate Mason and Amir Coffey had 13 apiece.The Golden Gophers struggled for much of the first half before taking the lead in the last five minutes and ending the half tied at 35. Minnesota scored the first seven points of the second half to take the lead for good, 42-35.Minnesota players knew that they have to dig deep if they wanted to avoid their six-straight loss, and with the momentum heading in Illinois’ way, the Gophers made sure something changed.

”We didn’t let it get into our heads and break us down,” Lynch said. ”We fought through and knew we had one of the best defenses in the nation and the country, so we imposed our will and it showed in this game.”

Five Minnesota players finished scoring in double figures. Despite a late-surge by the Illini that cut the Gophers’ lead down to six, the team stayed composed.

”We really controlled the second half with terrific defense and we stayed poised and were confident,” Pitino said. ”They made each other better.”

Kipper Nichols led the way for Illinois (13-11, 3-8 Big Ten) with a career-high 16 points. Malcolm Hill added 13 points and four rebounds.Neither team shot well but Minnesota went 7 of 19 from 3-point range to 4 of 22 for Illinois.The poor shooting effort was something that Illinois coach John Groce thought was unfortunate, even though he wasn’t mad about his team’s shot selection in the loss.

”Unfortunately we didn’t make enough shots today,” Groce said.

It just continues to crumble for the Illini, who travel to Evanston to play rival Northwestern before a lighter schedule.Malcolm Hill and Jalen Coleman-Lands combined to shoot 0-15 from 3-point range for the Illini,only has a few days to prepare for its rival No. 25 NU on Tuesday.

DALLAS—In a period that included goals from stars Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin, a rare one from Trevor van Riemsdyk proved to be the difference.Van Riemsdyk put in a rebound for his second goal of the season with 4:03 left, lifting the Blackhawks over the Dallas Stars 5-3 on Saturday night. Goalie Kari Lehtonen stopped a close-range shot by Artem Anisimov, but van Riemsdyk followed to put the puck under Lehtonen and make it 4-3.The 25-year-old van Riemsdyk has five goals in 130 career games. Rookie Gustav Forsling also scored his second of the season for the Blackhawks, who are in second place behind Minnesota in the Central Division.

”We’re going to need everybody,” Joel Quenneville said. ”Talk about everybody or anybody, not just worried about the young guys. We need everyone to be progressing at a good rate here. Our last two games, there were a lot of good things.”

Van Riemsdyk’s older brother, James, also had a late game-winning goal on Saturday, helping the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins 6-5.Toews added an empty-net goal in the final second for his 10th of the season. Kane tied the game with his 17th goal just 35 seconds after Seguin put the Stars ahead 3-2 at 9:24.Kane beat defenseman John Klingberg, skated across the goal mouth and put the puck into the right side of the net.

”We’re behind and all of a sudden Kane makes an extremely amazing play with quickness and beats (Lehtonen) with a nice move and we’re back in the game,” Quenneville said. ”Another nice finish on the winner and we’ll take it. We came back in a situation where lately our thirds haven’t been great.”

Dallas is 0-18-2 when trailing after two periods.Benn tied it 40 seconds into the third, and Radek Faksa also scored for Dallas. Lehtonen made 31 saves.Corey Crawford stopped 31 shots for the Blackhawks, who are 4-0 against Dallas this season. Ryan Hartman (12th) and Forsling scored in the second period for the Blackhawks.To start the second, Faksa chased down the puck low in the left faceoff circle and sent a shot from a sharp angle behind Crawford eight seconds in.Hartman took a pass from Tanner Kero on the edge of the left circle and beat Lehtonen at 6:34.With the score tied, Lehtonen stopped a breakaway by Kane at 8:08. Just 26 seconds later, Forsling fired a shot from the blue line through the slot and over a screen by Marcus Kruger, who ducked as the puck passed him.Benn’s goal was on a backhand from the left of the net.

NOTES—The Blackhawks had lost three of four games before Saturday. … Dallas finished a season-high six-game homestand 2-2-2. … Anisimov has gone 13 games without a goal. He and Marian Hossa each had two assists. Hossa has 41 points (21 goals, 20 assists) in 45 career games vs. Dallas….The Blackhawks play their fourth of six straight on the road when they visit Central Division leader Minnesota on Wednesday.