Edwards, Wembanyama enjoy another showdown between two of the West's best as Spurs top Timberwolves

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Anthony Edwards does not want to be the face of the NBA, but the Minnesota Timberwolves star is becoming a focus of one the league’s marquee matchups when he goes up against San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama.

Though Edwards had a career-high 55 points, Wembanyama scored 39 points and captured a key offensive rebound in the final seconds as San Antonio held off Minnesota 126-123 on Saturday.

Wembanyama and Edwards exchanged highlights and baskets in a showdown between two of the Western Conference’s top teams.

“They’ve got Wemby,” Edwards said. “He’s supposed to be the face of the league. So, I always got to get up for that one.”

Edwards averaged 36.7 points in three games against the Spurs this season.

He banked in a 3-foot runner with 16.8 seconds remaining to complete a 19-point rally as Minnesota beat San Antonio 104-103 on Jan. 11.

Edwards almost did it again Saturday, going 19 for 33 from the field and 9 for 16 from 3-point range to score the most points of his seven-year NBA career.

“It’s an honor and it’s the best thing to have the best players go as hard as they can because, first of all, it makes us better, it makes me better,” Wembanyama said. “And it’s a show of respect and also progress stepping up because now the standings make us that we’re a respectable team.”

Wembanyama was 12 for 23 from the field and 4 for 9 on 3-pointers Saturday, falling a point shy of matching the season high he set in the season opener against Dallas on Oct. 22.

“He actually done put on a lot of weight,” Edwards said of Wembanyama. “Looking at him from last year and this year, I was trying to box him out, he done put on a lot of weight. I can see from a distance that he has worked. I can’t do nothing but respect that.”

Edwards has been a three-time All-Star since joining the league as the No. 1 draft pick in 2020, but he reiterated he would rather be himself than be the league’s featured star.

While he prefers to have the charismatic Wembanyama shine in that off-court spotlight, Edwards demonstrated Saturday he's not yielding to the 2023 No. 1 pick on the court.

Edwards drained an 11-foot, fadeaway jumper that put Minnesota ahead 110-108 with 3:28 remaining. Wembanyama responded with an 18-foot jumper. Edwards put the Wolves back up with a 25-foot 3-pointer and Wembanyama tied the game at 113 with a 26-foot 3. The back-and-forth took only 53 seconds, electrifying the sell-out crowd at the Frost Bank Center.

“I loved it. I loved it,” Edwards said, smiling. “I wish we could have just moved everybody out of the way and just checked up me versus him."

Wembanyama and Edwards didn't get to face off one-on-one, but they set up some tense final seconds.

Edwards had 26 points in the fourth quarter and Wembanyama had 12.

Edwards made the first of two free throws to cut San Antonio's lead to 125-123 with six seconds remaining but missed the second. Spurs forward Julian Champagnie was immediately fouled after rebounding the miss but missed both free throws. Wembanyama skied above Minnesota defenders to rebound the second miss and salvage the victory.

San Antonio (29-13) remains second in the West with Minnesota 2 1/2 games back in fourth.

“It was fun,” Wembanyama said. “Not the most fun, but it was a fun game for sure. And this one is worth a lot because of the way the West looks right now.”

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Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) drives to the basket against San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in San Antonio, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) shoots over Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in San Antonio, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, center, scores against Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, left, and forward Joan Beringer (19) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in San Antonio, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) drives against Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in San Antonio, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

BERLIN (AP) — The eight European countries targeted by U.S. President Donald Trump for a 10% tariff for opposing American control of Greenland blasted the move Sunday, warning that his threats “undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.”

The joint statement by some of America’s closest allies signaled a possible turning point in the recent tensions over sovereignty and security nearly 24 hours after Trump’s threat.

It was also the most forceful rebuke of Trump from the European allies since he returned to the White House almost a year ago. In recent months, Europeans have mostly opted for diplomacy and flattery around him, even when seeking an end to the war in Ukraine. Sunday’s statement, as well as some European countries sending troops to Greenland for a Danish military training exercise, appeared to be a step away from that strategy.

The unusually strong joint statement from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland said troops sent to Greenland for operation “Arctic Endurance” pose “no threat to anyone.”

Trump's Saturday announcement sets up a potentially dangerous test of U.S. partnerships in Europe. He appeared to indicate that he was using the tariffs as leverage to force talks over the status of Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark that he regards as critical to U.S. national security.

“We stand in full solidarity with the Kingdom of Denmark and the people of Greenland," the group said. “Building on the process begun last week, we stand ready to engage in a dialogue based on the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity that we stand firmly behind. Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.”

There are immediate questions about how the White House could try to implement the tariffs because the European Union is a single economic zone in terms of trading. It was unclear, too, how Trump could act under U.S. law, though he could cite emergency economic powers that are currently subject to a U.S. Supreme Court challenge.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said China and Russia will benefit from divisions between the U.S. and Europe. She added in a post on social media: “If Greenland’s security is at risk, we can address this inside NATO. Tariffs risk making Europe and the United States poorer and undermine our shared prosperity."

Europe has been trying to keep Trump on its side to ensure U.S. support for Ukraine, including Washington sharing intelligence with Kyiv and its involvement in security guarantees if a peace agreement is reached with Russia.

Rasmus Søndergaard, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, called Trump’s announcement “unprecedented” because tariff threats normally stem from trade disagreements, not territorial disputes between allies.

“That’s of course why we’re seeing the response from European countries saying ’enough is enough,’” he told The Associated Press. “I think there’s in part probably a strategic calculation, of course, from the governments in these countries that if you give in to Trump on this, what will be the next thing? And at some point you have to sort of push back.”

Søndergaard also said Trump leveled the playing field for Europe with the tariff threat. Europeans cannot compete militarily, but the EU can wield an economic weapon through reciprocal tariffs.

“The EU has the ability to really strike back with force if they want to, and it will hurt European economies,” he said. “It will hurt American economies. The challenge for Trump is he has midterms coming up and it’s not going to help him if the U.S. goes into more of an economic recession or more of a economic turmoil than is already the case.”

Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte wrote on social media Sunday that he’d spoken with Trump. Rutte has been criticized in recent days for largely sidestepping questions about Trump and Greenland and any NATO tensions over the island.

“We will continue working on this, and I look forward to seeing him in Davos later this week,” Rutte said.

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer also spoke to Trump and told him that “applying tariffs on allies for pursuing the collective security of NATO allies is wrong,” a Downing Street spokeswoman said. That call followed conversations with Rutte, Danish Prime Minister , Mette Frederiksen, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Trump's move was also panned domestically.

U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, a former U.S. Navy pilot and Arizona Democrat, said Trump’s threatened tariffs on U.S. allies would make Americans “pay more to try to get territory we don’t need.”

“Troops from European countries are arriving in Greenland to defend the territory from us. Let that sink in,” Kelly wrote on social media. “The damage this President is doing to our reputation and our relationships is growing, making us less safe. If something doesn’t change we will be on our own with adversaries and enemies in every direction.”

Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said he supports the United States ultimately owning Greenland, but not how Trump is trying to accomplish it.

He said he had concerns whether Trump had the constitutional authority to impose unilateral tariffs on NATO allies, as well as about a threat of a military invasion. Trump’s current position threatens “to fracture that strong relationship, not just with Denmark, but with all of our NATO allies,” Pence said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Six of the countries targeted are part of the 27-member EU, which operates as a single economic zone in terms of trading. It was not immediately clear if Trump's tariffs would impact the entire bloc. EU envoys scheduled emergency talks Sunday evening to determine a potential response.

The tariff announcement also drew blowback from Trump's populist allies in Europe.

Italy’s right-wing premier, Giorgia Meloni, considered one of Trump’s closest allies on the continent, said she had spoken to him about the tariffs, which she described as “a mistake.”

The deployment to Greenland of small numbers of troops by some European countries was misunderstood by Washington, Meloni said, adding it was not a move against the U.S. but aimed to provide security against “other actors” that she didn’t identify.

Jordan Bardella, president of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party in France and a European Parliament lawmaker, posted that the EU should suspend last year’s tariff deal with the U.S., describing Trump’s threats as “commercial blackmail.”

Trump also achieved the rare feat of uniting Britain’s main political parties — including the hard-right Reform UK party — all of whom criticized the tariff threat.

“We don’t always agree with the U.S. government and in this case we certainly don’t. These tariffs will hurt us,” said Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, a longtime champion and ally of Trump. His social media post stopped short of criticizing Trump's designs on Greenland.

Also in London on Sunday, a heckler yelled “leave Greenland alone!” while Vanessa Williams sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” before tipoff of an NBA game between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Orlando Magic. The outburst drew scattered laughs and applause.

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Lawless reported from London and Burrows reported from Nuuk, Greenland. John Leicester in Paris, Lorne Cook in Brussels, Barry Hatton in Lisbon, Portugal, Aamer Madhani in Washington, Edith M. Lederer in New York, and Josh Boak in West Palm Beach, Florida, contributed.

A woman pulls her children on a sled during a protest against Trump's policy towards Greenland in front of the US consulate in Nuuk, Greenland, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

A crowd walks to the US consulate to protest against Trump's policy towards Greenland in Nuuk, Greenland, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

A boy holds a crossed out map of Greenland topped by a hairpiece symbolizing U.S. President Donald Trump, during a protest against Trump's policy towards Greenland in front of the US consulate in Nuuk, Greenland, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

People protest against Trump's policy towards Greenland in front of the US consulate in Nuuk, Greenland, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)