Rested Timberwolves look listless in 114-88 loss to Thunder in Game 1 of Western Conference finals

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Minnesota hadn't played in nearly a week and Oklahoma City had just played in a Game 7 two days earlier.

It was the Timberwolves who lacked energy as the Thunder rolled to a 114-88 victory in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on Tuesday night.

Minnesota coach Chris Finch said his team was just a bit off.

“There were a lot of good shots out there," he said. "I think we’ve got to clean things up a little bit. You know, sometimes the passes were late, sometimes we weren’t quite shot ready. Sometimes we need to turn to other plays, you know. But I did think that we got a number of really good looks.”

Julius Randle scored 20 points in the first half to help the Timberwolves take a 48-44 lead, but Oklahoma City shot 61.9% from the field after the break while Minnesota shot just 35%.

Randle scored just eight points in the second half and only took five shots.

“Whether there’s misses or makes, we’ve still got to defend at a high level," Randle said. "And I think that was probably the difference in the second half.”

Minnesota's Anthony Edwards, who had averaged 26.5 points per game in the playoffs, scored 18 on 5-for-13 shooting. No other Minnesota players scored in double figures.

Edwards never delivered one of his highlight-reel dunks as Oklahoma City packed the paint. The Timberwolves made just 15 of 51 3-pointers.

“It’s kind of hard to get to the paint honestly," Edwards said. "I mean, regardless, that’s my game. But they definitely took that aspect of my game away tonight from getting downhill. So good job to those guys.”

Minnesota center Rudy Gobert was a nonfactor. He committed two quick fouls and finished with two points and three rebounds in 21 minutes. Finch said he took the 7-foot-1 Gobert out and went with a smaller lineup to see if he could shake things up.

Meanwhile, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 20 of his 31 points in the second half to help Oklahoma City outscore the Timberwolves 70-40.

Minnesota's sluggishness showed in how it defended Gilgeous-Alexander. The MVP finalist and scoring champion made 11 of 14 free throws and played a role in Jaden McDaniels fouling out in just 24 minutes of action.

In two examples of Minnesota's mental state, Edwards drew a technical early in the game for throwing the ball at Gilgeous-Alexander and later picked up another foul for shoving Gilgeous-Alexander in the chest.

“There was a lot of frustration out there, but we’ve got to — we know we talked about that before the series started," Finch said. "And we have to be able to kind of put that aside and get on with the next play.”

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Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren, right, attempts a block on a shot by Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid (11) during the second half of Game 1 of an NBA basketball Western Conference Finals playoff series Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, center, drives to the basket against Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, left, forward Julius Randle (30) and guard Mike Conley (10) during the first half of Game 1 of an NBA basketball Western Conference Finals playoff series Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle (30) competes for a rebound against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2), guard Isaiah Joe (11) and forward Jalen Williams (8) during the first half of Game 1 of an NBA basketball Western Conference Finals playoff series Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) is double-teamed by Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso (9) and forward Jalen Williams (8) during the second half of Game 1 of an NBA basketball Western Conference Finals playoff series Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

SIDON, Lebanon (AP) — Israel’s air force struck areas in southern and eastern Lebanon on Monday and early Tuesday, including in the country's third-largest city.

A strike around 1 a.m. Tuesday leveled a three-story commercial building in the southern coastal city of Sidon, a few days before Lebanon’s army commander is scheduled to brief the government on its mission of disarming militant group Hezbollah in areas along the border with Israel.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in a statement Tuesday condemned the attacks as counter to both international efforts to deescalate hostilities and Lebanon’s efforts to extend the government's authority into areas long dominated by Hezbollah and to disarm militants.

An Associated Press photographer at the scene in Sidon said the area was in a commercial district containing workshops and mechanic shops and the building was uninhabited.

At least one person was transported by ambulance and rescue teams were searching the site for others, but no deaths have been reported.

Israel's military said Tuesday they targeted weapons storage sites and infrastructure belonging to the militant groups Hezbollah and Hamas. They acknowledged the sites were located in civilian areas but blamed the groups for operating there.

The strikes were the latest in near-daily Israeli military action since a ceasefire signed more than a year ago that included a Lebanese pledge to disarm militant groups, which Israel says has not been fulfilled.

They took place nearly two hours after Israel’s military Arabic language spokesman Avichay Adraee posted warnings on X that the military would strike targets in two villages in the eastern Bekaa Valley and two others in southern Lebanon.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said a home struck in the village of Manara in the Bekaa Valley belonged to Sharhabil al-Sayed, a Hamas military commander who was killed in an Israeli drone strike in May 2024.

The areas were evacuated after Israel's warning. There were no reports of casualties in those strikes. Earlier Monday, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said a drone strike on a car in the southern village of Braikeh earlier Monday wounded two people. The Israeli military said the strike targeted two Hezbollah members.

The Lebanese army last year began the disarmament process of Palestinian groups while the government has said that by the end of 2025 all the areas close to the border with Israel — known as the south Litani area — will be clear of Hezbollah’s armed presence.

The Lebanese government is scheduled to discuss Hezbollah’s disarmament during a meeting Thursday that will be attended by army commander Gen. Rudolph Haikal.

Monday’s airstrikes were in villages north of the Litani river and far from the border with Israel.

The disarmament of Hezbollah and other Palestinian groups by the Lebanese government came after a 14-month war between Israel and Hezbollah in which much of the political and military leadership of the Iran-backed group was killed.

The latest Israel-Hezbollah war began Oct. 8, 2023, a day after Hamas attacked southern Israel, when Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel in solidarity with Hamas. Israel launched a widespread bombardment of Lebanon in September 2024 that severely weakened Hezbollah, followed by a ground invasion.

The war ended in November 2024 with a ceasefire brokered by the U.S.

Israel has carried out almost daily airstrikes since then, mainly targeting Hezbollah members but also killing at least 127 civilians, according to the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Mroue reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Abby Sewell in Beirut contributed to this report.

People check a destroyed building that was hit by an Israeli airstrike at a commercial district, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

People check a destroyed building that was hit by an Israeli airstrike at a commercial district in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

People check the site where an Israeli strike destroyed a building at a commercial district in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

People look through the rubble of a destroyed building that was hit by an Israeli airstrike at a commercial district in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Lebanese fire fighter extinguish a building destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, early Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Rescue workers search for possible victims in a building destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, early Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Lebanese Red Cross volunteers search for possible victims in a building destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, early Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)