MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Much of this season for the Minnesota Timberwolves has been harder than it needed to be, so it's fitting they might have to play their final game — which they need to win to improve their seed for the playoffs — without star Anthony Edwards.
Edwards was slapped with his NBA -high 18th technical foul of the season for using profanity to complain about a call in Minnesota's 117-91 win over Brooklyn on Friday night, prompting an automatic suspension for the next game against Utah on Sunday.
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Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) gestures after making a 3-point basket during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Brooklyn Nets, Friday, April 11, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) looks to shoot as Brooklyn Nets guard Reece Beekman (4) defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, April 11, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards looks on after missing a basket during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Brooklyn Nets, Friday, April 11, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards hangs from the rim after making a basket during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Brooklyn Nets, Friday, April 11, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
NBA rules dictate a one-game suspension for any player who reaches 16 technical fouls during the regular season. Each two additional technicals trigger another suspension.
The league has the right to review and rescind a technical foul, which the Timberwolves will hope for considering they lost at Utah on Feb. 28 the first time Edwards was suspended.
Edwards was whistled for a personal foul while closely guarding Brooklyn's Keon Johnson on the wing midway through the second quarter. After spreading his arms out in disbelief with a furrowed glance at official Ray Acosta, Edwards quickly got the technical, too.
Crew chief Bill Kennedy told a pool reporter after the game that the technical was assessed for the profanity used toward Acosta, which Edwards confirmed.
“I tried to play good defense. They called a foul," Edwards said, adding he then asked what the foul was while using profanity. "And he gave me a tech. I hope they look at it and rescind it, so I can play in a couple days.”
Edwards separately from the technicals has been fined six times for a total of $320,000 for various behaviors.
“I’m praying they rescind it," he added. "I don’t feel like it should’ve been a tech, but me and Ray got a good relationship. We talked it out after the fact. But I don’t think I deserved a tech for just that little gesture.”
The Timberwolves agreed.
“I did not really get a good or clear explanation of why the technical occurred. It didn’t seem like there was anything egregious or overly demonstrative,” coach Chris Finch said.
The Timberwolves (48-33) can still finish as high as fourth in the crowd of Western Conference contenders, which would come with home-court advantage for the first round of the playoffs. They can also drop as low as eighth, which would require them to win a play-in game to get a spot in the bracket.
Minnesota is 16-4 since the loss to Utah with Edwards sitting out. The Jazz are tied with Washington for the NBA’s worst record at 17-64.
“We’ll try to see if he can appeal it and if not, everyone’s going to have to step up,” said Rudy Gobert, who matched his career high with 35 points against the Nets.
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Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) gestures after making a 3-point basket during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Brooklyn Nets, Friday, April 11, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) looks to shoot as Brooklyn Nets guard Reece Beekman (4) defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, April 11, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards looks on after missing a basket during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Brooklyn Nets, Friday, April 11, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards hangs from the rim after making a basket during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Brooklyn Nets, Friday, April 11, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
BOSTON (AP) — A woman who worked as a live-in personal chef for former New England Patriots receiver Stefon Diggs declined to answer questions Tuesday about financial demands made on her behalf, as defense attorneys pressed her over claims she was owed money and inconsistencies in what she said she was paid.
Defense attorneys pressed Jamila “Mila” Adams about money she said she was owed after working as a live-in chef. She testified she was paid about $2,000 a week and believed she had not been fully compensated after being sent home. They pointed to a $19,000 demand made on her behalf and suggested the amount grew over time, culminating in a separate claim that her attorney sought $5.5 million.
Diggs has pleaded not guilty to a felony strangulation charge and a misdemeanor assault and battery charge stemming from a December incident at his home.
When asked about the $5.5 million claim, Adams said, “I can’t speak on that,” and at other points told jurors, “I don’t understand the question” and “I don’t know how to answer the question.”
Defense attorneys also questioned Adams about a public statement she issued Feb. 13 in which she said, “I have never sought money to settle this matter,” and about hiring a lawyer by mid-April. Adams said she retained an attorney for a workers’ compensation claim, saying she believed she had been injured on the job.
They challenged her accounting of what she was owed, presenting records of payments and suggesting she had sought compensation for weeks she did not work. Adams said she had been confused about the amount and “sent the incorrect amount,” maintaining she believed she was owed money.
Prosecutors pushed back on the defense’s financial-motive argument, eliciting testimony that Adams viewed the dispute as a wage issue, not a settlement. She said her statement that she had “never sought money to settle this matter” referred to the criminal case and that she later retained an attorney for a workers’ compensation claim after she believed she was injured on the job.
At times during her second day on the stand, Adams was instructed by the judge to answer questions directly and not include additional details beyond what was asked. Portions of her responses were struck from the record as nonresponsive, with jurors told to disregard them.
“This is not an opportunity for you to interject your own narrative,” Judge Jeanmarie Carroll, told her at one point, warning that continued nonresponsive answers could result in her testimony being stricken.
The testimony followed sharply conflicting accounts presented to jurors a day earlier.
Adams testified Monday that Diggs “smacked me with an open hand” before wrapping his arm around her neck and choking her, leaving her struggling to breathe. She described what she called a “complicated” relationship, saying it had previously been sexual but was not at the time of the alleged assault. She said she lived in his home, preparing meals and snacks, and had known him for more than four years.
Defense attorneys told jurors the alleged attack never happened, pointing to a lack of medical records, photos or video documenting injuries and saying no one else in the home reported seeing or hearing anything unusual. They also suggested Adams had a financial motive.
Prosecutors say the case centers on what happened on Dec. 2, when they allege Diggs entered Adams’ bedroom, slapped her and put her in a headlock that made it difficult to breathe.
A jury was seated Monday in Norfolk County District Court in Dedham.
Former New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs appears in court during his trial at Norfolk County District Court, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, Pool)
Witness Jamila Adams testifies during the trial of former New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs at Norfolk County District Court, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, Pool)
Witness Jamila Adams, right, walks past former New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs during Diggs' trial at Norfolk County District Court, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, Pool)
Former New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs listens to his defense attorney cross examine witness Jamila Adams during his trial at Norfolk County District Court, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, Pool)
Witness Jamila Adams testifies during the trial of former New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs at Norfolk County District Court, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, Pool)
Judge Jeanmarie Carroll questions potential jurors as the assault trial of Stefon Diggs begins in Dedham, Mass., Monday May 4, 2026. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
Former New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs leaves Norfolk County District Court, Monday, May 4, 2026, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Stefon Diggs' former personal chef, Jamila Adams, is questioned by Assistant District Attorney Drew Virtue in Dedham District Court in Dedham, Mass., Monday May 4, 2026. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
Stefon Diggs' former personal chef Jamila Adams is sworn in before giving testimony in Dedham District Court in Dedham, Mass., Monday May 4, 2026. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
Former New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs returns to Norfolk County District Court, Monday, May 4, 2026, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
