Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 40 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in a steely performance befitting the NBA MVP, and the Oklahoma City Thunder snapped back from a 42-point loss by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 128-126 in Game 4 on Monday night to take a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference finals.

Jalen Williams scored 34 points on 13-for-24 shooting, including 6 of 9 from 3-point range, and Chet Holmgren added 21 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in a statement game in his hometown that helped the Thunder stave off several pushes by the Wolves to tie the series.

Gilgeous-Alexander went 12 for 14 from the free-throw line, making a pair with 6.1 seconds left to stretch the lead back to three. The Thunder fouled Anthony Edwards with 3.5 seconds to go, and his intentional miss of the second one to try to keep possession was tracked down in the corner by Gilgeous-Alexander and flung out of bounds in attempt to drain the clock.

The Wolves had one more inbounds pass with 0.3 seconds remaining that Williams grabbed to send the Thunder back to Oklahoma City for Game 5 on Wednesday with the chance to advance to the NBA Finals.

Edwards was limited to 16 points, and Julius Randle (five points on 1-for-7 shooting) was also bottled up by the Thunder’s relentless defense.

TAMPA, Fla. — Jonathan Aranda hit a three-run homer, and Danny Jansen added a two-run shot as the Tampa Bay Rays extended their winning streak to six games with a 7-2 win over the Minnesota Twins.

Zack Littell (4-5) allowed three hits through six shutout innings. He left with one out in the seventh after hitting Ty France with his 72nd pitch. Carlos Correa followed with a two-run homer, pulling the Twins within 3-2.

But José Caballero’s two-out, two-run double ignited a four-run eighth that was punctuated by Jansen’s homer.

Kody Funderburk, the Twins’ only left-handed reliever, entered with one out in the eighth and the bases empty and allowed back-to-back singles to Aranda and Curtis Mead. A two-out, two-run double by Caballero and Jansen’s fourth homer made it 7-2.

Aranda broke a scoreless tie in the sixth inning, hitting a 1-2 pitch from Minnesota reliever Brock Stewart 365 feet to right field for a 3-0 lead. Twins starter Chris Paddock breezed through five innings before leaving with one out in the sixth after Brandon Lowe singled and Junior Caminero doubled.

Tampa Bay Rays’ José Caballero celebrates his two-run double off Minnesota Twins pitcher Kody Funderburk during the eighth inning of a baseball game Monday, May 26, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

Littell, who lost his first five starts this season, allowed one run on three hits in 6⅓ innings. Manuel Rodríguez and Mason Montgomery each pitched a scoreless inning to close it out.

Paddock (2-5) gave up two runs in 5⅓ innings on five hits. Funderburk retired two batters and allowed four runs on six hits.

Brandon Lowe went 2 for 4 and extended his hitting streak to nine games for the Rays (27-26). Curtis Mead has hit in eight straight after going 1 for 4.

The Twins (29-24) dropped the opener of a 10-game trip. Minnesota is 16-4 in its last 20 games.

Briefly

Twins infielder Kody Clemens went 1 for 2 with a single in the 5th inning and has hit safely in each of his past seven games with an at-bat, a new career high. In 14 straight games, Clemens has batted .440 (11-for-25) with three doubles, two homers and five RBIs during the streak, and has also reached base safely in 14 straight games. a .488 on-base percentage. … All four of Correa’s home runs this season have come against left-handers. He is hitting .355 (11-for-31) with an .806 slugging percentage against lefties this season. … The Rays’ win streak has come at temporary home George M. Steinbrenner Field, where Tampa Bay improved to 17-18.

Up next

RHP Joe Ryan (4-2, 2.68) starts Tuesday for the Twins against Rays RHP Taj Bradley (4-3, 4.61).

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Minnesota leaders and the public honored veterans Monday at the Memorial Day Program at Fort Snelling National Cemetery.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar paid tribute to Minnesota veterans, including Master Sgt. Max Beilke, reportedly the last combat soldier to board the last plane out of Vietnam. He was later killed inside the Pentagon on Sept. 11.

“We remember the courage of those who made the ultimate sacrifice and the heroic strength of their loved ones,” Klobuchar said. “So let’s carry their stories in how we live our lives, how we care for our veterans and how we uphold the values they gave their lives to defend.”

Beilke, a Minnesota native and graduate of Alexandria High School, served in Korea and Vietnam.

Also: One person revived the Memorial Day flags tradition at Fort Snelling National Cemetery. Here’s why.

As the 34th Infantry Division “Red Bull” Band played Monday, members of the public dressed in red, white and blue visited graves. They also attended speeches by state leaders.

Gov. Tim Walz said Minnesota prioritizes funding for veteran issues across party lines.

“That expectation is the reason you gather today,” he said. “The sense of gratitude, the sense that you don’t have to be asked to agree with someone, but the one thing we can agree upon is those who are willing to lay down their lives so that we can have a democracy, is why we gather here.”

Walz in recent years signed bills into law for funding for veteran homes, cemeteries and the National Guard.

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The Walter Cup is staying in Minnesota and the defending champion Frost once again have Liz Schepers to credit for scoring the championship-clinching goal for a second straight year.

Schepers converted a scramble in front to score 12 minutes into overtime and seal a 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Charge to clinch the title in Game 4 of the best-of-five championship series.

All four games of the series were decided by 2-1 scores, and each of them in overtime, including the Frost’s triple-OT victory in Game 3 on Saturday.

Kelly Pannek scored at the 10:09 mark of the second period, giving Minnesota its first lead in regulation of the series, and Maddie Rooney stopped 33 shots.

Katy Knoll set up the winner by collecting the puck along the end boards and driving behind the net to feed Schepers in the slot. Goaltender Gwyneth Philips parried the first shot, but Schepers poked home the rebound.

“Hats off to Ottawa,” said Schepers. “That was a helluva series. I could not be more proud of our team. It’s unbelievable.”

Schepers, who is from Mound, Minnesota, and played collegiately at Ohio State, was one of 16 Frost players who retuned from last year’s championship team, and this time got the opportunity to celebrate before their home crowd. Minnesota won the inaugural Walter Cup last year with Schepers scoring the opening goal of a 3-0 win at Boston in Game 5.

And just like last year, the Frost won the title as the fourth and final-seeded playoff team, and both times advanced to the finals after knocking off Toronto in the semis.

Minnesota sneaked into the playoffs this year with an 8-1 win over Boston on the final day of the regular season. The win led to Ottawa, Minnesota and Boston finishing with 44 points each with the Fleet eliminated based on having fewer regulation wins.

“It’s the belief we have in the room,” Frost captain Kendall Coyne Schofield said of the team’s resilience.

The Charge, Canada’s first team to reach the finals, forced overtime on Tereza Vanisova’s goal with 9:51 left in the third period. It was her first goal of the playoffs and ended an 11-game goal drought.

Philips finished with 36 saves and was won the Ilana Kloss Trophy as playoff MVP. The rookie finished the playoffs with a 4-4 record, with all four losses coming in overtime. She finished with 148 saves in overtime alone, while allowing just 13 goals on 270 shots for a .952 save percentage and 1.23 goals-against average.

The rookie from Ohio took over the starting duties after Emerance Maschmeyer was sidelined by a lower body injury in mid-March.

Both teams had their chances in the extra period.

Ottawa’s Aneta Tejralova, on a rush, hit the left post with a shot about five minutes into overtime and the Frost’s Taylor Heise hit the right post about four minutes later.

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