PHONEIX — Last year, Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards said he couldn’t be considered a star until he won in the playoffs.

So, surely after Edwards lifted Minnesota to a series sweep over the Kevin Durant and Devin Booker-led Suns in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, even the 22-year-old is comfortable viewing himself in that light.

“Nah, not yet, man,” Edwards said. “Not yet.”

The Timberwolves completed their series sweep of the Suns with a 122-116 victory Sunday at Footprint Arena, but there’s still more work to be done.

Mike Conley spoke to the team ahead of this year’s playoffs about having a sense of urgency, about how teams like this year’s Timberwolves squad don’t come around often. Conley himself hasn’t been in a conference final for more than a decade. Basically, the 36-year-old asked his teammates to help make a deep run for him.

He wants to compete for a championship.

That feels lofty for this organization. After all, the win over the Suns was Minnesota’s first series victory in 20 years. There were countless references to winning a series being “a step.”

“And I understand it’s just one series win and you don’t want to overblow it, but it’s the next step,” Wolves assistant coach Micah Nori said, “and it’s the next step in the progression for all of our guys.”

But there’s no law against taking multiple steps within the same postseason. That seems to be where the Wolves’ collective heads are at the moment.

Wolves wing Jaden McDaniels briefly discussed his enjoyment of the challenge of defending the likes of Booker, Durant and Brad Beal.

“I mean, we held them to whatever they were, bad shooting nights,” McDaniels said. “So, just keep doing that.”

McDaniels paused, hitting the realization the series was no more.

“Well,” he said, “(it’s) over now.”

The win matters. It matters for national respect. It matters for an even higher level of internal belief that not only is this a good team, it’s one that can achieve in the postseason. Karl-Anthony Towns noted how much it matters that he finally notched a series victory under his belt.

But it still only matters to a certain degree.

“It’s just the first round, though,” McDaniels said. “We don’t want to get too high, too low. We’ve still got another team to play.”

Onto the next one, which will be against either the Denver Nuggets or Los Angeles Lakers starting Saturday or next Monday.

“Obviously, for this franchise, for these fans, for this organization, it feels good,” Wolves center Rudy Gobert said. “It’s a credit to the work that this front office, coaching staff and all of us players have been putting in since I got here (before the 2022-23 season) until now. It’s great.

“But at the same time, we’re trying to get that championship, and this is one step of the way. It’s not gonna get easier. So, we’ve just gotta stay focused, keep putting in the work every day and keep taking care of ourselves and we’ll be alright.”

As Conley — the only player on the roster who’s advanced past the next round and has played in a conference final — knows, the games only get bigger from here.

“We can celebrate (Sunday), but we’ve got to be ready to go when we play next round, because the lights get bigger, moments get bigger and teams get smarter and teams start figuring out what other teams did against you, trying to figure out ways to attack you,” the veteran guard said. “It’s going to be a lot of film on you. You have to be able to manipulate that and still try to find a way to win. It’s going to take a lot, and a lot physically from us.”

And they intend to bring all of that. That was evident when looking at the whiteboard located in the visitor’s locker room in Phoenix after Minnesota’s victory.

Two things were featured in red marker: A broom, signaling Minnesota’s sweep, and a big, circled 12, the amount of remaining victories standing between the Timberwolves and the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

So it is written.

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By ALEXA ST. JOHN (Associated Press)

Three women were diagnosed with HIV after getting “vampire facial” procedures at an unlicensed New Mexico medical spa, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a report last week, marking the first documented cases of people contracting the virus through cosmetic services using needles.

Federal health officials said in a new report that an investigation from 2018 through 2023 into the clinic in Albuquerque, VIP Spa, found it apparently reused disposable equipment intended for one-time use, transmitting HIV to clients through its services via contaminated blood.

WHAT IS A VAMPI

RE FACIAL? IS IT SAFE?

Vampire facials, formally known as platelet-rich plasma microneedling facials, are cosmetic procedures intended to rejuvenate one’s skin, making it more youthful-looking and reducing acne scars and wrinkles, according to the American Academy of Dermatology.

After a client’s blood is drawn, a machine separates the blood into platelets and cells.

The plasma is then injected into the client’s face, either through single-use disposable or multiuse sterile needles.

Vampire facials have gained popularity in recent years as celebrities such as Kim Kardashian have publicized receiving the procedure.

HIV transmission via unsterile injection is a known risk of beauty treatments and other services, officials say.

Despite this, the Academy says vampire facials are generally safe.

Health officials say spa facilities that offer cosmetic injection services should practice proper infection control and maintain client records to help prevent the transmission of bloodborne pathogens such as HIV.

HOW WERE THE HIV CASES LINKED TO THE SPA?

The New Mexico Department of Health was notified during summer 2018 that a woman with no known HIV risk factors was diagnosed with an HIV infection after receiving the spa’s vampire facial services that spring.

Four women — former spa clients — and one man — the sexual partner of one of the spa clients but who did not receive services at the spa himself — received HIV infection diagnoses there during 2018-2023. Analysis showed similar HIV strains among all cases, according to the CDC’s report last week.

The HIV diagnoses for two of these patients “were likely attributed to exposures before receipt of cosmetic injection services,” according to the CDC.

Evidence suggested that contamination from services at the spa resulted in the positive HIV infection tests for the other three patients.

Health officials found equipment containing blood on a kitchen counter, unlabeled tubes of blood and injectables in the refrigerator alongside food and unwrapped syringes not properly disposed of. The CDC report said that a steam sterilizer, known as an autoclave — which is necessary for cleaning equipment that is reused — was not found at the spa.

ARE ANY OTHER PATIENTS AT R

ISK?

Through the New Mexico Department of Health’s investigation, nearly 200 former clients of the spa, and their sexual partners, were tested for HIV, and no additional infections were found.

According to the CDC, free testing remains available for those who previously frequented the spa.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE SPA OWNER?

The former owner of VIP Spa, Maria de Lourdes Ramos de Ruiz, pleaded guilty in 2022 to five felony counts of practicing medicine without a license, including conducting the unlicensed vampire facials.

The New Mexico Attorney General’s office said Ramos de Ruiz also did illegal plasma and Botox-injection procedures.

According to prosecutors, inspections by state health and regulation and licensing departments found the code violations, and the spa closed in fall 2018 after the investigation was launched.

Ramos de Ruiz was sentenced to 7 1/2 years, with four years being suspended on supervised probation, 3 1/2 years time in prison and parole, according to court documents.

Raul A. Lopez, attorney for Ramos de Ruiz, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

___

Alexa St. John is an Associated Press climate solutions reporter. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, @alexa_stjohn. Reach her at ast.john@ap.org.

The Timberwolves made history Sunday, not just in terms of their franchise, but the Minnesota sports scene at large.

By taking out Phoenix in four games, the Wolves became the first Minnesota franchise to sweep a best-of-7 playoff series, which goes to show how rare it is to beat a fellow playoff team in four consecutive bouts. What makes the feat all the more impressive is that Minnesota lost all three contests to Phoenix during the regular season.

The Suns actually entered the first-round series as the betting favorite to advance.

So what changed? What keyed Minnesota’s unparalleled first-round success?

ANT

Should the Nuggets advance past the Lakers, Denver will likely be favored over Minnesota. Part of that is because Denver has home-court advantage. Part of that is because the Nuggets have the respect that comes with being the defending NBA champions.

And part of it is because Denver has the advantage of the best player in the series, and in basketball, Nikola Jokic. But that gap likely isn’t as large as perceived because Anthony Edwards is closing it.

Before they started, Durant likely would have been considered by many the best player in the series with Phoenix. But Edwards thoroughly outplayed him over the course of the series. He’s a high-end on-ball defender with a jumper and an ability to attack the rim that require the eyes of multiple defenders to be glued on him.

And, when a defense commits to him in that way, Edwards evolved to the point where he’ll make the right read to free others. His mere presence put Phoenix at a massive disadvantage from the jump.

“Each year as a young kid, he’s 22 years old, and you see it, every year, things start to slow down,” Wolves assistant coach Micah Nori said. “What I mean by that is they’d put two on him at times. And now, he’s constantly making the right play. And I think as things slow down, he sees where he’s open from.

“I think a lot of it is that experience, but I think the other thing is … that I think the USA Basketball (last summer) was good for him to be around that level of competition all summer and continue to play. At the end of the day, I think it’s his experience, being around Mike, Rudy, Karl, pros and those types of guys have continued to talk to him and help him. He’s making the right play, and he’s got that ‘it’ factor.”

PHYSICALITY

Phoenix possesses as much offensive firepower as any team in the NBA. It has three all-star scorers in Durant, Brad Beal and Devin Booker, a skilled center in Jusuf Nurkic and a few shooters to place around them. Those lineups gave Minnesota fits in the regular season.

But Wolves wing Jaden McDaniels noted Minnesota did two things particularly well on the defensive end in the first-round series.

No. 1: The Wolves stuck to the gameplan. There were a few slippages in Game 4 — Phoenix’s most profitable offensive contest of the series — McDaniels noted. But, by in large, the Wolves were locked in.

No. 2, and perhaps most important: The Wolves ramped up their physicality.

“Like picking up the pressure full court,” McDaniels said. “Always making it hard for them.”

Any team with Rudy Gobert patrolling the paint will tout an inherent baseline of physicality. But Anthony Edwards, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and McDaniels were super handsy and consistently got into the bodies of the likes of Booker and Beal.

Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns dominated the glass, as Phoenix didn’t have the grit or size to compete for rebounds. Minnesota out-rebounded Phoenix 185-130 over the four games.

That will physically tire just about any player over the course of a game, and series. Eventually, you just run out of the juice required to make a defensive rotation or win a race to a 50-50 ball. McDaniels noted the Suns wearing down in the infant stages of the series.

“I knew, shoot, the first game, to be honest,” McDaniels said. “They was kind of crying about the physicality and stuff.”

And that’s when the Wolves likely had them beat.

“We just was more physical and played harder than them,” McDaniels said. “That’s what they did the first three times we played (in the regular season), and then we just flipped it on them.”

DEPTH

Nickeil Alexander-Walker was massive for Minnesota in Game 1 and Game 3. Mike Conley scored 10 points to keep Minnesota afloat in the second quarter of Game 3.

Jaden McDaniels starred in Game 2. Karl-Anthony Towns was Anthony Edwards’ Robin in Game 4. Rudy Gobert controlled the interior throughout the campaign. Phoenix got 82 points from Durant and Booker in Game 4, while no one else scored in double figures for the Suns.

It’s been a common theme throughout the campaign for Minnesota, and was again prevalent in this series. The Wolves are simply deeper than most foes. Players No. 6-9 in their rotation usually trump whatever the opponent is bringing off the bench. Foul trouble and even injuries don’t have nearly the same impact on Minnesota that those potential hazards have on others.

The Wolves come at you in waves. Phoenix’s army was nearly as large as the one Minnesota trotted out.

“That’s the way our team is built. We’ve got Ant and Kat and these guys that can take us home. We have a very deep roster,” Conley said. “Guys who maybe didn’t play as much this series but can win us games next series. Guys who didn’t play as well right now, Game 1 or 2, but they played well Game 3 or 4. We have a bunch of ways we can win, bunch of different ways to attack you, and that’s been our strength.”

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