After getting blitzed by the Timberwolves and run off the floor in the opening frame of Game 3, the Oklahoma City Thunder went out of their way to make sure they were the aggressors in Game 4.

Especially when defending Anthony Edwards.

There was a defender in his air space every time he touched the ball. There was another defender in his face every time he came off a screen. There were a pack of defenders in the paint every time Edwards tried to get downhill.

It worked like a charm. Edwards never got into a rhythm. He looked completely out of sorts in the early stages of the game, then seemed to mentally check out in the late stages Monday at Target Center.

When the Timberwolves needed him most, Edwards managed a mere 16 points. Julius Randle, so important to Minnesota in their previous series victories over the Lakers and Golden State, was rendered completely ineffective before being benched down the stretch.

Not good enough. Not even close.

The result? A heartbreaking, 128-126 loss for the Timberwolves that probably shouldn’t have been that close considering how poorly Edwards and Randle played for prolonged stretches.

Frankly, the only reason the Timberwolves were even in the game was because all Minnesota’s role players did their jobs.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker played the game of his life and finished with 23 points. Donte DiVincenzo busted out of a shooting slump and finished with 21 points. Naz Reid knocked down some shots and finished with 11 points. Terrence Shannon Jr. even contributed with some good minutes off the bench.

All of it went to waste because Edwards and Randle failed to do their part for the Timberwolves. Meanwhile, on the other end of the floor, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren were the sun, moon and the stars for the Thunder.

The box score speaks for itself; Edwards and Randle combined for 21 points, while Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams and Holmgren combined for 95.

That was the difference in the game.

It was an incredible display from Gilgeous-Alexander, in particular, as he finished with 40 points, nine rebounds, and 10 assists. Not to be outdone, Williams finished with 34 points and Holmgren finished with 21, showing up like the best players are supposed to in the biggest moments.

The performance from league MVP Gilgeous-Alexander down the stretch was a microcosm of how dominant he was throughout the game. As frustrating it can be to watch him play when he’s flailing around, his ability to get buckets is undeniable, and he proved that by getting whatever he wanted in crunch time.

As for Edwards, as the Timberwolves were scratching and clawing in the final frame to mount a comeback, he fell asleep twice on the defensive end, allowing an easy dunk from Holmgren and an easy layup from Alex Caruso. That stretch was fitting considering the Timberwolves lost by a bucket.

Now the Timberwolves are on the brink of elimination in the Western Conference Finals.

The series is over unless Edwards and Randle show up in Game 5 on Thursday in Oklahoma City.

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Minnesota didn’t give away Game 4 on Monday night at Target Center.

The Wolves had massive contributions from their bench and fought to the bitter end against the conference’s top seed.

But Oklahoma City was simply better. Any questions about the young Thunder’s maturity and readiness were answered emphatically in Minneapolis, as Oklahoma City held off the Wolves, 128-126, to gain a 3-1 series advantage.

Game 5 is at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in Oklahoma.

Minnesota wasn’t perfect. It turned the ball over 23 times, a cardinal sin against the Thunder, who parlayed the giveaways into 22 points. But Minnesota actually scored more points off turnovers than Oklahoma City. Each team allowed the other to feast on the offensive glass.

Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle were largely no-shows.

But the Wolves did many things necessary to win. Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Donte DiVincenzo and Jaden McDaniels all eclipsed the 20-point threshold. Minnesota buried 18 triples on 44% shooting.

“Bench was really, really good,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said. “They were finding shots for each other, they shot the ball extremely well from the 3-point line. We did a good job of finding those things.”

Alexander-Walker was particularly special, going 5 for 8 from distance while tallying six assists and taking on difficult defensive assignments. The reserve was the best thing the Wolves had to combat his cousin on Monday.

“He had a great night,” Finch said. “He shot the ball well, he got to the hoop, he made the right play. He battled his tail off defensively. He was outstanding. He has really been playing well of late.”

But it wasn’t enough to beat Oklahoma City. Not with the Thunder’s big three of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren.

Holmgren defended the rim and hit some big-time, catch-and-shoot triples. And, in a throwback to the first two games of the series, Minnesota could do little to deter Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams from getting to their spots.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 40 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds. Williams had 34 points and Holmgren had 21 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots.

Edwards and Randle combined for 6-for-15 shooting. Edwards took just two first-half shots.

“I thought the second half was more aggressive,” Finch said. “First half, he lagged behind a little bit too much.”

That was the case for the entire team. After coming out with their hair on fire on Saturday in a dominant Game 3 win, the Wolves eased their way into the game on Monday. They turned the ball over seven times in the opening stanza.

“A lot of those were trying to play into traffic,” Finch said. “Plays that draw attention and a crowd and not really going anywhere.”

And their defense wasn’t physical enough to balance out the miscues.

That has proven to be a losing combination for the Wolves, who must now win three straight games against a 68-win regular season team in order to advance.

The task is tall, though not impossible.

“But this isn’t the formula to get it done,” Finch said, “and I think that’s the most important thing to take away tonight.”

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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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