The Oklahoma City Thunder found all kinds of soft spots in the defense and consistently hit those open shots over two decisive wins to start the Western Conference finals.

The Minnesota Timberwolves made quite an entrance in the Western Conference finals even if their 143-101 victory in Game 3 was a late arrival.

There will be a new NBA champion.

The Minnesota Timberwolves are in the Western Conference finals for the second straight year.

Anthony Edwards scored 30 points for his second straight 30-point performance, Julius Randle had 31 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Golden State Warriors 117-110 for a 3-1 lead in their Western Conference playoff series.

Anthony Edwards hit a baseline 3-pointer with 1:19 remaining and scored 36 points, Julius Randle had a triple-double of 24 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds, and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Golden State Warriors 102-97 for a 2-1 lead in their second-round playoff series.

In more trouble than they faced at any time last year, the Boston Celtics take a 2-0 deficit into Game 3 against the New York Knicks.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have seen Anthony Edwards writhing in pain on the floor several times throughout his career before eventually welcoming their star guard back to the game.

The Golden State Warriors are planning to play without Stephen Curry for at least the next three games of their second-round series against Minnesota.

It’s now reasonable to think that Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo finished third in this season’s balloting for the NBA MVP award.

Minnesota star Anthony Edwards was slapped with his NBA-most 18th technical foul of the season.

Nikola Jokic will average a triple-double for the season, making the Denver star the third player in NBA history to pull off such a feat.

Regular-season defeats don’t get much more brutal than the one the Minnesota Timberwolves suffered Tuesday.

Five players and two coaches were ejected after a fight broke out in the second quarter in the Minnesota Timberwolves’ victory over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night.

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards was fined $35,000 by the NBA for failing to leave the court in a timely manner following his ejection from a recent game and throwing the ball into the stands.

Donte DiVincenzo, who recently moved into the Minnesota Timberwolves starting lineup, is out indefinitely with a big toe injury.

Ja Morant made a tiebreaking jumper with 18 seconds left, Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 33 points and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 127-125 on Saturday night in a game that was tight from start to finish.

A person familiar with the meeting tells The Associated Press that the Cleveland Cavaliers will interview Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori for their head coaching vacancy in the next few days.

Anthony Edwards had the ball for Minnesota with a two-point lead and threw the ball out of bounds with 13 seconds left against Dallas in the Western Conference finals.

Karl-Anthony Towns has seen the payoff this spring for his commitment to and sacrifice for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Minnesota Timberwolves advanced to the Western Conference finals for the first time in two decades Sunday night when they roared back from a 20-point deficit to defeat the reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets 98-90.

Anthony Edwards was seeing double everywhere he turned.

The Minnesota Timberwolves did the hard part by winning the first two games of their Western Conference semifinal series in Denver against the defending champion Nuggets.

Another dominant performance by the Minnesota Timberwolves has the reigning but reeling NBA champion Denver Nuggets on the cusp of a stunning early exit from the playoffs.

Anthony Edwards scored a playoff career-high 43 points, Naz Reid had 14 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets 106-99 in Game 1 of the second-round series Saturday night.

After having knee surgery, Minnesota coach Chris Finch was in the second row of the bench for Game 1 of a second-round series with Denver on Saturday night.

The Minnesota Timberwolves will enter their second round playoff series against defending champion Denver with an unsettled bench because coach Chris Finch will be recovering from knee surgery.

The Minnesota Timberwolves are off to the second round of the NBA playoffs for the first time in 20 years.

Anthony Edwards scored 40 points, Karl-Anthony Towns added 28 and the Minnesota Timberwolves pulled away late to beat the Phoenix Suns 122-116 and sweep the first-round playoff series.

Minnesota coach Chris Finch has a ruptured patellar tendon in his right knee after a collision with Timberwolves guard Mike Conley in the fourth quarter of the team’s playoff win over the Phoenix Suns.

Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns will have surgery next week to address a meniscus tear in his left knee.

Defense wasn’t really played in the All-Star Game, which explains why the Eastern Conference scored a record 211 points and the game saw nearly 400 points combined on Sunday night.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have kept center Naz Reid off the market by agreeing to terms on a three-year, $42 million contract that comes with a player option after two seasons.

Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert threw a punch at teammate Kyle Anderson during a timeout in the second quarter against New Orleans.

Close games are becoming the norm for the Miami Heat.

Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns had to be helped off the court in the third quarter at Washington because of what the team is calling a right calf strain.

Anthony Edwards scored 25 points, D’Angelo Russell had 19 and the Minnesota Timberwolves survived a late scare and won their third straight game, 112-109 over the undermanned Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night.

D’Angelo Russell had season highs of 30 points and 12 assists, Karl-Anthony Towns scored 29 points, and the Minnesota Timberwolves held off the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers 129-124.

Rudy Gobert will miss the Minnesota Timberwolves’ game against Houston after being placed in the league’s health and safety protocols.

Anthony Edwards scored 16 of his 29 points in the third quarter, Rudy Gobert added 22 points and 21 rebounds, and the Minnesota Timberwolves extended the Los Angeles Lakers’ winless start with a 111-102 win.

Alex Rodriguez was standing near his courtside seat, oblivious to a few fans who were snapping a quick photo of the baseball great as they walked by.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have brought in Denver Nuggets President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly to take a similar role.

Ja Morant scored on a layup with a second left, and the Memphis Grizzlies rallied from 11 points down in the fourth quarter to edge the Minnesota Timberwolves 111-109 and grab a 3-2 lead in their first-round Western Conference series.

Scoring has rarely looked so difficult for Kevin Durant.

Desmond Bane made seven 3-pointers and had 26 points and the Memphis Grizzlies overcame a 26-point deficit to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 104-95 on Thursday night for a 2-1 lead in the first-round playoff series.

Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch has signed a multi-year contract extension.

Deandre Ayton scored a career-high 35 points and had 14 rebounds, Devin Booker had 22 of his 28 points in the second half and the Phoenix Suns surged past trash-talking Minnesota 125-116 on Wednesday night.

This is the seventh season for Karl-Anthony Towns with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Karl-Anthony Towns had a team-record 60 points, the most scored in the NBA this season, and the Minnesota Timberwolves outlasted the San Antonio Spurs 149-139.

Karl-Anthony Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves blew out the depleted Los Angeles Lakers for a second time this season with a 110-92 victory.

Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch talks to Malik Beasley during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Milwaukee Bucks Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard Malik Beasley has been suspended for 12 games without pay by the NBA for his recent guilty plea to a felony charge of threats of violence. The league announced Thursday the punishment, which will begin with Minnesota's game Saturday at Washington. Beasley, in his fifth NBA season, is averaging a career-best 20.5 points. As part of Beasley’s plea deal, prosecutors dropped a felony fifth-degree drug possession charge.

Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch reacts during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Milwaukee Bucks Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)CHICAGO – The leadership of the National Basketball Coaches Association spoke out Wednesday about its “concern and level of disappointment” with the way the Minnesota Timberwolves went about their coaching change earlier this week. The statement came from NBCA president Rick Carlisle of the Dallas Mavericks and NBCA executive director David Fogel. Ad“There were other candidates, minority candidates we considered at this time,” Timberwolves president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas said. “During this past offseason, we saw many NBA head coaching vacancies where teams led searches that were both diverse and transparent,” Fogel and Carlisle wrote in their statement.

FILE - This Dec. 15, 2011, file photo shows Houston Rockets assistant coach Chris Finch during an NBA basketball media day in Houston. Chris Finch is the new coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves, the team announced Monday, Feb. 22, 2021, after dismissing Ryan Saunders the previous night. The team quickly hired Finch, who was in his first season as an assistant with the Toronto Raptors. Finch replaced Ryan Saunders, who was fired Sunday night after Minnesota lost at New York and fell to a league-worst 7-24. “I think we can breathe some confidence back into the roster,” Finch said, "and these guys can maybe find some joy.”___More AP NBA coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports