MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves kept possession, trailing by two in the final minute, and Anthony Edwards knew exactly what he was doing next.
After teammate Julius Randle made his first free throw and missed the second, Rudy Gobert leaped to tap the ball into the backcourt and help keep the Wolves within reach of Oklahoma City on Friday night.
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Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, right, celebrates his three-point basket as Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren, left, looks on during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) celebrates during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards celebrates his three-point basket against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards celebrates his three-point basket against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) smiles during a timeout in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Memphis Grizzlies, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Edwards quickly took possession, steered Thunder guard Cason Wallace toward the wing, faked a drive, and swished a 25-foot step-back 3-pointer with 38.5 seconds left to give the Wolves the lead for good in a 112-107 victory.
“I’m not passing the ball. I knew it was going up,” said Edwards, who returned from a three-game injury absence with 26 points and 12 rebounds. "When it left my hand, I knew it was going in. He played great defense. It was a tough shot. But I probably shoot that shot 1,000 times in a week when I’m in the gym, so it felt like a natural shot.”
Edwards, who's been managing a foot injury, said there was no doubt in his mind he would play against the Thunder, who ousted the Wolves in five games in the Western Conference finals last spring and beat them 113-105 in Oklahoma City last month.
“At the end of the day, we’re putting the ball in his hands, asking him to bring us home,” said Donte DiVincenzo, who had 15 points. “That’s exactly what he did.”
Edwards didn't stop with the hero shot, either.
He blocked reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's shot at the rim on the next possession and grabbed the defensive rebound after the Thunder hung onto the ball for another try, setting up Randle for two free throws that put the Wolves up by three.
Then as Gilgeous-Alexander drove up the court, Edwards saw teammate and defensive ace Jaden McDaniels in the gap on Gilgeous-Alexander's left, made sure to cut off his path to the right, and swiped the ball as it crossed his face.
“I knew he was trying to go for a 3,” Edwards said. “Just trying to be solid."
Edwards, sitting in front of his locker after the game, then added the relevant levity to the revelry of handing the Thunder (25-3) a rare loss.
“That’s just one win, man. That’s a regular-season win,” said Edwards, also noting the Thunder had played at home the night before. “They're the best team in the league by far.”
But the defending champions clearly brought out the best in the Wolves (17-10), who might well have produced their best performance of the young season in terms of the opponent, the meaning, their energy and their defense — offsetting a rough night shooting from the floor and the foul line.
“You could feel every defensive stop, every rebound, every offensive rebound. You could feel how much energy the arena had, the ball had, the teammates had,” DiVincenzo said. “That’s the atmosphere we need every single night.”
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Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, right, celebrates his three-point basket as Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren, left, looks on during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) celebrates during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards celebrates his three-point basket against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards celebrates his three-point basket against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) smiles during a timeout in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Memphis Grizzlies, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
HELSINGBORG, Sweden (AP) — NATO allies and defense officials expressed bewilderment Friday at U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would send 5,000 U.S. troops to Poland just weeks after ordering the same number of forces pulled out of Europe.
The apparent change of mind came after weeks of statements from Trump and his administration about reducing — not increasing — the U.S. military footprint in Europe. Trump's initial order set off a flurry of action among military commanders and left allies already doubtful about America's commitment to Europe's security to ponder what forces they might have to backfill on NATO's eastern flank with Russia and Ukraine.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration said it was reducing levels in Europe by about 5,000 troops, and U.S. officials confirmed about 4,000 service members were no longer rotating into Poland from Germany. The dispatch to Germany of U.S. personnel trained to fire long-range missiles was also halted.
But in a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump said he would now send "an additional 5,000 Troops to Poland,” citing his strong ties with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, whom Trump endorsed in elections last year.
“It is confusing indeed, and not always easy to navigate,” Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard told reporters Friday at a meeting she was hosting of her NATO counterparts, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Ministers from the Netherlands and Norway were sanguine about Trump’s latest move, as was Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže, who said allies knew the U.S. troop “posture was being reconsidered, and now there is no change of posture. For now.”
U.S. defense officials also expressed confusion. “We just spent the better part of two weeks reacting to the first announcement. We don’t know what this means either,” said one of two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters.
But Rubio said Washington’s allies understand that changes in the U.S. troop presence in Europe will come as the Trump administration reevaluates its force needs. “I think there’s a broad recognition that there are going to be eventually less U.S. troops in Europe than there has historically been for a variety of reasons,” he said.
The latest surprise came despite a U.S. pledge to coordinate troop deployments, including one from NATO’s top military officer, U.S. Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, on Wednesday.
Trump's initial announcement that he would withdraw troops came as he fumed over remarks by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said that the U.S. was being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership and criticized what he called a lack of strategy in that war.
Trump told reporters that the U.S. would be cutting even more than 5,000 and also announced new tariffs on European cars. Germany is the continent’s biggest auto producer.
Rubio insisted that Trump’s decision “is not a punitive thing. It’s just something that’s ongoing.”
About 80,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Europe. The Pentagon is required to keep at least 76,000 troops and major equipment on the continent unless NATO allies are consulted and there is a determination that such a withdrawal is in U.S. interests.
The withdrawal of 5,000 troops might drop numbers below that limit.
But Trump's latest post suggests that troop numbers in Europe would not change. Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski welcomed the decision to send more forces to his country, saying it ensures that “the presence of American troops in Poland will be maintained more or less at previous levels.”
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte also welcomed the move. On Thursday, before Trump took to Truth Social again, Rutte had underlined that it was important for Europe to take care of its own security. “We have a process in place. This is normal business,” he told reporters.
At NATO headquarters in Brussels, meanwhile, U.S. officials briefed the allies on the Pentagon's aims for its commitments to the NATO Force Model, which involves contingency planning for Europe’s defense in the event of serious security concerns. It was widely expected that a further reduction of U.S. forces would be coming.
Asked whether any cuts were announced, Rutte said: “I’m afraid it’s much more complicated than that.” He said the procedure “is highly classified” and declined to give details.
Rubio played down concerns about a shift in U.S. force levels in Europe, saying: "Every country has to constantly reevaluate what their needs are, what their commitments are around the world, and how to properly structure that.”
Cook reported from Brussels. Associated Press writer Emma Burrows in London contributed.
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks with journalists during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, front second left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, front left, speak with each other during a group photo at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte look at each other as they deliver a statement during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže speaks at the doorstep of the NATO foreign ministers' meeting at Sea U in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte deliver a statement during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks to media at the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives with his wife Jeanette at Malmo Airport, Friday, May 22, 2026, in Malmo-Sturup, Sweden, ahead of a NATO foreign ministers meeting. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, second from left, shakes hands with Prime Minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson, as he is greeted by King Carl Gustaf of Sweden, Queen Silvia of Sweden and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden Maria Malmer Stenergard, right, before a dinner at Sofiero Castle in Helsingborg, Sweden, Thursday May 21 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)
Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard speaks to media at the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)
