OKLAHOMA CITY — Timberwolves coach Chris Finch walked into the locker room after Minnesota’s Game 1 defeat at the hands of the Thunder to open the Western Conference Finals and told his team the good news:

Now they know what it looks like.

The Thunder were the best team in the NBA all season for a reason. They harass you physically on both ends of the floor, with relentless defensive ball pressure and a constant attacking of the rim on offense.

Oklahoma City brought both in full force on Tuesday, and Minnesota finally broke. This is not a Lakers team sporting obvious holes after being constructed on the fly this season, nor a Golden State team playing without one of its best player.

This is a fully-healthy, fine-tuned killing machine. And to contend in this series, Minnesota will have to do everything it has done to date in this postseason, only better.

“I think we knew coming in it was going to be different,” Wolves guard Mike Conley said. “It’s going to be more mental than it is anything. We’ve been through a lot of dog fights throughout these playoffs, but now it’s about matchups and different lineups and looking up at the score and seeing you just gave up a 6-0 run, can we calm it down? Can we not rush a quick 3? Get we get something good offensively? Can we settle it down?”

Those are a lot of questions to answer.

“We have to really, really be locked in on that. Especially against a team like OKC,” Conley added. “They thrive when you take those quick, bad shots and they take off in transition and get going and get their crowd going.”

Take care of the ball. Make smart, crisp decisions. Be physical and locked in defensively. The Timberwolves were well aware of the formula to topple the Thunder at the series’ outset. But perhaps now there’s a realization of the urgency that will be required to execute it.

Because now the Wolves have seen what it looks like when they don’t possess as much. Minnesota turned the ball over a whopping 19 times, directly leading to 31 points for the Thunder, all while struggling from the field. Minnesota committed six turnovers in the opening seven minutes of Game 1 as it attempted to attack off the bounce in isolation situations, to no avail.

If you hold the ball or overdribble against Oklahoma City, you’re dead.

“It’s hard to process,” Edwards said of the Thunder defense. “It was different every time. I mean, heavy in the gaps, sometimes trap the ball screen, sometimes don’t. Sometimes just run and jump. It was kind of similar to AAU. They remind me of an AAU defensive team: just run and jump, fly around.”

How do you combat that?

Conley said it’s by being crisp and executing with more energy. That’s how you set the tone and establish yourself as the aggressors.

“If we can just be more assertive on that end, (then we can) get the ball to spots where you need it to be so we can start running our actions with some pace, with some kind of discipline through it,” Conley said.

All things that require intention.

It was no secret that Oklahoma City ramps up its aggression far beyond anything anyone has produced against Minnesota.

“That’s kind of their identity,” Wolves forward Naz Reid said. “We just let it get the best of us today. We know better. We’ve got to be better. The beauty of it is you play (on Thursday).”

That’s Game 2, which now carries a heightened weight for Minnesota. This is not the type of team you want to fall behind 2-0 in a best-of-7 series.

Edwards said it was “pretty good” for the Wolves to get the poor response “out of our system” on Tuesday.

Minnesota just completed a series in which it delivered a clunker in Game 1 and rallied to win the series in five games. But, again, this is different.

“We proved that we can do it, but we’ve got to make it happen, too,” Julius Randle said. “We can’t just be like, ‘All right, we did it last series. I mean, we’re going to do it again.’ This is a great team. They’ve been playing great basketball all year.”

And Minnesota will have to play great to match it.

“We’ll be ready for it Game 2,” Edwards said. “We should be ready.”

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OKLAHOMA CITY — Every time the mere thought of attacking the rack crossed Anthony Edwards’ mind in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Tuesday, he saw four Thunder players between himself and the bucket.

Oklahoma City simply wasn’t going to make it an option in their 114-88, Game 1 victory at Paycom Center.

There’s a reason the Thunder allowed the third-fewest shots per game in the restricted area this season (21.6) and the lowest field goal percentage on such attempts (62.2%).

The initial line of defense, built out of an array of strong point-of-attack defenders, is so sturdy. Then there are the layers of defenders helping in from the perimeter, all before you reach the final line of defense, which is usually either Chet Holmgren or Isaiah Hartenstein waiting for you at the rim.

Edwards drove the ball just seven times in Game 1, per Second Spectrum tracking data. That’s a significant decrease from the 13 drives he’s averaging per game in these playoffs.

“They clogged the paint. That’s what they do,” Edwards said. “They don’t got much size down there, so they bank on us not making shots, I guess.”

It was a good bet in Game 1.

After Julius Randle went full flamethrower mode from deep in the first half on Tuesday, Minnesota combined to go just 5 for 23 from distance over the final two frames as Oklahoma City pulled away. Minnesota’s bench mob of Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Naz Reid and Donte DiVincenzo combined to go 5 for 28 from beyond the arc.

“Just missing a bunch of in-and-outs and all that good stuff,” Reid said.

The Wolves went 15 for 51 from beyond the arc on the evening, including going 8 for 30 on “wide open” shots, per NBA.com data.

“We were getting some good looks, and guys just weren’t knocking them down,” said Wolves guard Mike Conley, who went 1 for 5 from 3-point range. “We’ve got great shooters, guys who’ve done it all season and all playoffs. So, we have confidence in our guys. We have confidence that Julius, Ant, all the playmakers, will make the right reads and get guys good looks and we’ll find that hoop at some point.”

But part of that is dependent on the process of generating those 3-pointers. Oklahoma City surrendered a fair amount of 3-point attempts throughout the campaign (38.8 per game, 10th most in the NBA), but opponents shot a league-worst 34.2% on those looks.

That includes just 33% on “open” 3-pointers, the seventh-lowest mark in the NBA this season, and a league-low 37.2% on “wide open” attempts.

Because even your open looks against Oklahoma City are rarely produced within a comfortable rhythm. The Thunder’s pressure speeds teams up, much as it did to Minnesota on Tuesday.

“We had guys open at certain points within the offensive possession, and we just kind of made the pass two clicks late or just not on time or to the feet or just off balance,” Conley said. “That was leading to rushed opportunities.”

Which are less likely to fall. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said Minnesota needs to do a better job establishing its repeatable formulas to generate good offense to establish a true rhythm.

“I thought for the most part we got some good looks, but I thought some were rushed,” Finch said. “Some were kind of from guys that were struggling to shoot, and sometimes they just want to see one go in. We definitely need to find a rhythm in this series. Every series is a little bit different in how people guard you and what not.

“I thought we came out and tried to play the same way we always did, and that wasn’t going to work tonight. We’ve got to figure out a different rhythm to play.”

That includes likely turning down the occasional decent look from distance to instead attack a closeout and get into the paint, or make the extra pass to turn down a good shot in favor of a great one.

Minnesota attempted 51 shots from beyond the arc Tuesday, compared to just 32 inside of it. Minnesota drove the ball 48 times, 13 fewer than the Thunder.

The Wolves scored 45 points via the 3-pointer in Game 1, and just 20 points in the paint. That’s a tough ratio to rely on in the postseason. It’s a formula that ultimately doomed the Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Knicks.

At the same time, Donte DiVincenzo called it a “domino effect” for Minnesota if it can get a few outside shots to fall. He noted that can loosen the Thunder defense to create a few creases in which Edwards and Randle can attack.

Perhaps the 3-pointer is the chicken that can produce the egg that is better shots at the rim. Or maybe this will simply be a series in which Minnesota must rely on outside shooting variance to topple the best defense the NBA has produced in recent memory.

Conley is OK with that, as well. After all, Minnesota was fifth in 3-point makes (15) and fourth in percentage (37.7) in the NBA this season.

“So, I’m not overly concerned about us missing wide-open shots,” the veteran said. “I think as long as we get quality ones — we get the ones that are on time, on target — we’ve got some of the best shooters out there. So, I have confidence in us going forward.”

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By JAKE OFFENHARTZ

NEW YORK (AP) — The head of Columbia University gave a commencement speech Wednesday acknowledging the absence of student activist Mahmoud Khalil, who was due to receive his diploma this week but is instead in a Louisiana jail facing deportation for his role in pro-Palestinian campus protests.

The brief address drew loud boos and chants of “free Palestine” from some graduating students. Acting president Claire Shipman also alluded to the crackdown on foreign students by the Trump administration that has roiled the Ivy League school in recent months.

“We firmly believe that our international students have the same rights to freedom of speech as everyone else and they should not be targeted by the government for exercising this right,” Shipman said, adding: “I know many in our community are mourning the absence of our graduate Mahmoud Khalil.”

Khalil, a graduate student in Columbia’s international affairs program, has remained detained since March 8 when immigration agents took him into custody at his off-campus apartment in Manhattan. While in custody, he missed the birth of his first child.

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As Shipman spoke, some students walked out while others booed and jeered. The acting president, who took over in late March, received a similarly icy reception during a smaller graduation ceremony Tuesday.

Some students and faculty have accused Columbia’s leadership of capitulating to the Trump administration’s demands at the expense of protecting foreign students.

Federal authorities have not accused Khalil of a crime, but have sought to deport him on the basis that his prominent role in protests against Israel’s war in Gaza may have undermined U.S. foreign policy interests.

By WAFAA SHURAFA, SAMY MAGDY and MELANIE LIDMAN

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza (AP) — Israeli strikes continued to pound the Gaza Strip Wednesday, despite a surge in international anger at Israel’s widening offensive. The attacks killed at least 82 people, including several women and a week-old infant, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and area hospitals.

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Israel began allowing dozens of humanitarian trucks into Gaza on Tuesday, but the aid has not yet reached Palestinians in desperate need.

Jens Laerke, the spokesperson for the U.N.’s humanitarian agency, said no trucks were picked up from the Gaza side of Kerem Shalom, the Israeli border crossing with southern Gaza.

U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said Tuesday that although the aid had entered Gaza, aid workers were not able to bring it to distribution points, after the Israeli military forced them to reload the supplies onto separate trucks and workers ran out of time.

The Israeli defense body that oversees humanitarian aid to Gaza said trucks entered Gaza Wednesday morning, but it was unclear if that aid would move deeper into Gaza for distribution. The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said its staff had waited several hours to collect aid from the border crossing but were unable to do so on Tuesday.

A few dozen Israeli activists opposed to Israel’s decision to allow aid into Gaza while Hamas still holds Israeli hostages attempted to block trucks carrying supplies Wednesday morning, but were kept back by Israeli police.

Diplomats come under fire in Jenin

A group of diplomats came under fire while visiting Jenin, a city in the Israel-occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Authority. The diplomats were on official mission to observe the humanitarian situation in Jenin when shots rang out.

An aid worker, who did not want to be named for fear of reprisal, said a delegation of about 20 regional, European and Western diplomats were standing near the entrance of the Jenin refugee camp when they heard gunshots Wednesday, she said. No one was injured, she added.

The Israeli military said the delegation “deviated from the approved route” and Israeli soldiers fired warning shots to distance them from the area. The military apologized and said they will contact all of the countries involved in the visit.

Footage shows a number of diplomats running for cover as rapid shots rung out. European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said firing even warning shots was unacceptable and called on Israel to investigate.

The Italian government of Premier Giorgia Meloni also demanded an explanation, saying that its vice consul was among those who came under fire.

Jenin has been the site of Israel’s widespread crackdown against West Bank fighters since earlier this year.

On Jan. 21 — just two days after its ceasefire deal with Hamas in Gaza — Israeli forces descended on Jenin as they have dozens of times since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. The fighting displaced tens of thousands of Palestinians, one of the largest West Bank displacements in years.

International pressure on Israel

On Tuesday, the United Kingdom. suspended free trade talks with Israel over its intensifying assault, a step that came a day after the U.K., Canada and France promised concrete steps to prompt Israel to halt the war. Separately, the European Union was reviewing an EU pact governing trade ties with Israel over its conduct of the war in Gaza, according to its foreign policy chief.

Israel says it is prepared to stop the war once all the hostages taken by Hamas return home and Hamas is defeated, or is exiled and disarmed. Hamas says it is prepared to release the hostages in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal from the territory and an end to the war. It rejects demands for exile and disarmament.

Israel called back its senior negotiating team from ceasefire talks in the Qatari capital of Doha on Tuesday, saying it would leave lower-level officials in place instead. Qatari leaders, who are mediating negotiations, said there was a large gap between the two sides.

Meanwhile, Israeli strikes continued across Gaza. In the southern city of Khan Younis, where Israel recently ordered new evacuations pending an expected expanded offensive, 24 people were killed, 14 from the same family. A week-old infant was killed in central Gaza.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strikes, but has said it is targeting Hamas infrastructure and accused Hamas of operating from civilian areas.

Desperate need for food

Experts have warned that many of Gaza’s 2 million residents face a high risk of famine. At one displacement camp in Gaza City, a charity group distributed thin and watery lentil soup.

Somaia Abu Amsha scooped small portions into bowls for her family, saying they have not have had bread for over 10 days and she can’t afford rice or pasta.

“We don’t want anything other than that they end the war. We don’t want charity kitchens. Even dogs wouldn’t eat this, let alone children,” she said, pointing at the soup.

Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday called for aid to reach the Gaza Strip and for an end to the “heartbreaking” toll on its people during his first general audience in St. Peter’s Square.

Hospitals surrounded

Israeli troops also have surrounded two of northern Gaza’s last functioning hospitals, preventing anyone from leaving or entering the facilities, hospital staff and aid groups said this week.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday urged world leaders to take immediate action to end Israel’s siege on Gaza, issuing the appeal during a visit to Beirut, where he was expected to discuss the disarmament of Palestinian factions in Lebanon’s refugee camps.

“It is time to end the war of extermination against the Palestinian people. I reiterate that we will not leave, and we will remain here on the land of our homeland, Palestine,” Abbas said, demanding the immediate entry of aid, the release of detainees, and a full withdrawal from Gaza.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led terrorists attacked southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 others. Hamas has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada, and European Union.

The combatants are still holding 58 captives, around a third of whom are believed to be alive, after most were returned in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has destroyed large swaths of Gaza and killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count.

Magdy reported from Cairo and Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writers Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut and Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.