内容摘要：Trees surround a lake at Xochimilco Ecological Park, in Mexico City, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

Trees surround a lake at Xochimilco Ecological Park, in Mexico City, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

as a habit and not a hiccup, a noticeable gap remains between them and anReaching the last two Western Conference finals, particularly this spring after a

of the roster right before training camp and the pains of adjustments and injuries throughout the regular season, was a remarkable accomplishment. The last team to appear in two in a row was Golden State in 2018 and 2019.Edwards will turn 24 in about two months, a superstar only beginning his prime years with a handful of mid-20s role players around him. But the five-game defeat delivered in machine-like fashion by Oklahoma City raised fair questions about whether these Timberwolves can clearto win their first championship.

“Nobody’s going to work harder than me this summer. I’ll tell you that much,” Edwards said after the 30-point lossthat ended the series in five games.

The offseason commitment has never been in question for Edwards, whose set career highs in 2024-25 in points per game (27.6), 3-point shooting percentage (39.5) and free-throw shooting percentage (83.7) while playing in 79 of 82 games. He also led the league in made 3-pointers (320). In five seasons, Edwards has missed a total of nine games.

But the Thunder and their NBA-best defense posed a distinct challenge. Edwards shot just 6 for 31 from 3-point range in the four losses and was held under 20 points in three of them. He still found ways to drive to the basket and kick the ball through traffic to teammates in the corner, but the discrepancy in production between his counterpart Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was stark. The NBA MVP outscored Edwards 157-115, with a 116-87 edge in field goal attempts and a 51-32 edge in free throw attempts., Philippe Lazzarini, said in a statement.

In a separate statement, Israeli military chief of staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir ordered that more aid sites be established — and that troops’ ground operation be expanded in unspecified parts of northern and southern Gaza.on crowds near the foundation’s sites. Before Sunday, 17 people were killed while trying to reach them, according to Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the Gaza Health Ministry’s records department.

The foundation says private security contractors guarding its sites have not fired on crowds. Israel’s military has acknowledged firing warning shots on previous occasions.The foundation said in a statement it distributed 16 truckloads of aid early Sunday “without incident,” and dismissed what it described as “false reporting about deaths, mass injuries and chaos.”