Thunder overwhelm Timberwolves to reach NBA Finals

Thunder overwhelm Timberwolves to reach NBA Finals
Oklahoma City Thunder chairman Clay Bennett celebrates after his team beat the Minnesota Timberwolves to win the Western Conference Finals for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center. (Imagn Images)
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Updated 29 May 2025
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Thunder overwhelm Timberwolves to reach NBA Finals

Thunder overwhelm Timberwolves to reach NBA Finals
  • Oklahoma City advances to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012
  • Thunder captured the best-of-seven Western Conference finals series 4-1

WASHINGTON: Oklahoma City, sparked by 34 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012 by routing Minnesota Timberwolves 124-94 on Wednesday.

Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA Most Valuable Player, added eight assists and seven rebounds as the Thunder captured the best-of-seven Western Conference finals series 4-1 and will host game one of the NBA Finals on June 5.

“This is a step in the right direction but we have a lot more work to do and we know that and that’s what we’re focused on so let’s buckle up and get ready,” said Gilgeous-Alexander.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do to get to our ultimate goal and this is not it. That’s all that I’m focused on.”

Oklahoma City will face the Eastern Conference champion, either the Indiana Pacers or New York Knicks, for the NBA title.

Gilgeous-Alexander, a 26-year-old Canadian who was named the series MVP, could become the first NBA scoring champion since Shaquille O’Neal in 2000 to win an NBA title in the same season.

Chet Holmgren added 22 points and Jalen Williams netted 19 for the Thunder, whose average age of 25.6 years makes them the youngest team in the NBA Finals since Portland in 1977.

“We have 17 dudes on the roster who will bring it every single game whether it’s a closeout game or not,” Holmgren said.

“It’s a step in the journey. We still have a season to play (in the Finals) so we’re not done.”

Williams was proud of the way players have melded into a team.

“We’ve been through ups and downs this entire season and that has only brought us closer. We’ve been able to bond and get better and that’s why we’re here now,” he said.

“We’ve still got a job to do but it’s very exciting.”

Julius Randle led Minnesota with 24 points while Anthony Edwards added 19 for the Timberwolves, who have never reached the NBA Finals.

“They came ready to play. We didn’t,” Edwards said. “They dominated the game from the tip.”

Oklahoma City have never won an NBA title, although the franchise won a crown as the Seattle SuperSonics in 1979 before relocating in 2008, and the Thunder last reached the finals in 2012, losing to Miami.

The Thunder had the best record in the NBA this season at 68-14.

“These guys are uncommon,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “They do everything right. They are professional. They are high character... They are competitive and most of all they are team first.”

From the start Oklahoma City overpowered Minnesota in epic fashion, as the visitors suffered a nightmare performance when it mattered most.

“We kept our foot on the gas for 48 minutes,” Daigneault said. “The tone we set in the game was really good from the jump.”

“We were beat by the better team,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. “This hurts.”

Gilgeous-Alexander scored 12 points in the first quarter as the Thunder grabbed a 26-9 lead, holding the Timberwolves to their lowest points total in any quarter all season.

“They came out and punched us,” Minnesota’s Mike Conley said.

Minnesota shot 3-for-20 in the first quarter, 1-of-9 from three-point range, and lost four turnovers.

Minnesota missed 10 of their first 11 shots as Oklahoma City jumped ahead 11-3 then closed the quarter on a 13-2 run.

The Thunder rolled to a 48-20 advantage early in the second quarter on the way to a 65-32 half-time lead as Minnesota surrendered a season-high 14 first-half turnovers while making only 12 baskets.

The Timberwolves trailed by as many as 37 points before reducing the deficit to 88-62 after three quarters, but never looked like overcoming the Thunder’s dominant performance.

“It hurts,” Conley said. “For me it’s going to take a while to dissect what we weren’t able to do.”


England forward Rashford joins Barcelona on loan from Man United

England forward Rashford joins Barcelona on loan from Man United
Updated 58 min 15 sec ago
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England forward Rashford joins Barcelona on loan from Man United

England forward Rashford joins Barcelona on loan from Man United
  • Barcelona would cover Rashford’s wages this season after the player accepted a pay cut
  • The forward said he was feeling fitter and better after joining Villa

BARCELONA: England forward Marcus Rashford has joined Barcelona on a 12-month loan deal from Manchester United with an option to buy, the LaLiga club said on Wednesday.

Media reports said that Barcelona would cover Rashford’s wages this season after the player accepted a pay cut, with the option to buy set at around 30 million euros ($35.25 million).


The move came after Manchester-born Rashford, who made 426 senior appearances and scored 138 goals for United in all competitions, fell out of favor with manager Ruben Amorim, who called the 27-year-old’s workrate into question.

Rashford, who won two FA Cups, two League Cups and a Europa League title with United, joined Aston Villa on loan in February after Amorim said he would rather put a goalkeeper coach on the bench than a player not giving their all.

The forward, who has scored 17 goals for England in 62 appearances, said he was feeling fitter and better after joining Villa, where he netted two goals in 10 league games, while United had their worst-ever Premier League campaign, finishing 15th in the standings.

LaLiga champions Barcelona are set to play three pre-season friendlies in Japan and South Korea starting on July 27.


War-torn Sudan’s prodigal premier league returns to cheers

War-torn Sudan’s prodigal premier league returns to cheers
Updated 23 July 2025
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War-torn Sudan’s prodigal premier league returns to cheers

War-torn Sudan’s prodigal premier league returns to cheers
  • “It’s a wonderful feeling, it’s indescribable, to see this beautiful return,” football fan Ahmed Taj said
  • “We’re so happy to see Al-Hilal come back, to see Sudanese football come back, after everything we’ve lost in the past two years“

BERBER, Sudan: In the Sudanese town of Berber, hundreds of kilometers away from the frontlines of war, a modest stadium seems to shake with the roar of football fans jumping to their feet.

“It’s a wonderful feeling, it’s indescribable, to see this beautiful return,” football fan Ahmed Taj told AFP from the sidelines of the penultimate league match between newly-crowned champions Al-Hilal and Hay Al-Wadi.

“We’re so happy to see Al-Hilal come back, to see Sudanese football come back, after everything we’ve lost in the past two years,” he added.

Since April 2023, war between Sudan’s regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has killed tens of thousands and made Sudan the scene of the world’s largest hunger and displacement crisis.

But for a few hours each week in July, the country seemed to pause during match time, a welcome respite for a population buffeted between mass displacement, starvation and death.

The first Sudan Elite League in two years was held in River Nile state, about 300 kilometers (185 miles) northeast of the war-ravaged capital Khartoum.

In small stadiums in the cities of Atbara, Berber and Al-Damer, teams faced off on pitches streaked with massive brown patches as dozens of fans cheered from the bleachers.

Despite Atbara’s power stations and army bases coming under drone strikes — most recently last month — the area is still considered safer than Khartoum.

The season reached its climax on Tuesday as the country’s favorite teams — rivals Al-Hilal and Al-Merrikh — met in a title-deciding match-up.

Al-Hilal claimed victory and finished top of the table, with second-placed Al-Merrikh also qualifying for the African Champions League.

For Al-Hilal’s celebrated captain and national team striker Mohamed Abdel Rahman, playing on Sudanese soil, even if not on his home turf in the capital, was thrilling.

“We’re so happy to be home, playing in front of our fans,” he told AFP on the pitch before kick-off in the crucial encounter with Hay Al-Wadi last Wednesday.

Both Al-Hilal and Al-Merrikh had been forced to compete abroad, participating in the Mauritanian league last season.

Al-Hilal reached the quarter-finals of this year’s African Champions League, cheered on from afar by street celebrations back home.

“We’re giving our all to make our fans happy, to offer some joy,” the forward added.

But not everyone can go home.

All but one of this year’s eight competing teams — down from the usual 24 — are based in cities under army control.

Hay Al-Wadi hail from the South Darfur state capital Nyala, under paramilitary control and regularly targeted by military air strikes.

Sudan’s vast western Darfur region has witnessed some of the war’s worst violence, with entire displacement camps besieged, bombed and burned to the ground.

For captain Jibril Mohamed Nour, the league has been bittersweet.

“I can’t even believe it... it’s an indescribable feeling to play again,” the Darfur native told AFP before taking on Al-Hilal.

“But we miss our fans, we miss our hometown, we can only hope we’ll be able to go back soon.”

Since the war began, his team has trained in Saudi Arabia, only returning weeks before the championship kicked off.

Even with some of the players out of practice and facilities hardly top-tier, Sudanese football is on the rise, according to the league’s only foreign coach, the Egyptian Shawky Gharib who helms Al-Merrikh.

“The fans are here, the players are here... as long as we can play and there’s a system in place, the infrastructure, everything can be fixed,” he told AFP.

For his part, Sudan Football Association board member Mohamed Abdel Samee beams with pride that the association “insisted on holding the championship.”

“As soon as it wraps, we’re planning next season, when we hope every team will be able to play in their hometown.”

Yet there is no end in sight to the war, and even in army-controlled areas millions suffer hunger and lack of services.


Saudi cueists shine at World Pool Championship

Saudi cueists shine at World Pool Championship
Updated 23 July 2025
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Saudi cueists shine at World Pool Championship

Saudi cueists shine at World Pool Championship
  • Mohammed Baabad: I believed in myself and knew I had the capabilities to defeat Kledio Kaci
  • Mohammed Al-Balkhi: In my second match I was able to control myself and focus on my game which resulted in an impressive win for me against Felix Vogel

JEDDAH: Saudi cueists put on a strong display on the second day of the World Pool Championship in Jeddah, with top national players securing victories in their respective matches.

The talented Saudi cueist Mohammed Baabad began his first day with an impressive performance and was able to defeat one of the most dangerous players in the world Albanian Kledio Kaci.

Speaking after the match, Baabad expressed his joy and happiness to win against one of the best players in the world, he said: “I feel so happy and I am over the moon. I always dreamed of being on this stage to compete with the top players. In this match, I believed in myself and knew I had the capabilities to defeat Kaci.”

He pointed out that Saudi players have the skill and talents but they need the opportunity to compete with the best in the world, “With such competitions held here in Saudi Arabia, we really can learn from those champions,” he said.

Despite losing his first match in the opening day against the number five in the world, Filipino Johann Chua 9-0, Saudi new rising star Mohammed Al-Balkhi was able to come back in his second match and claim a strong victory against Felix Vogel from Germany 9-7.

Al-Balkhi explained after his big win: “My first match against Johann Chua was my first international match in my career and I was really nervous especially because it was on the main table and in front of one of the best in the world. In my second match I was able to control myself and focus on my game which resulted in an impressive win for me against Felix Vogel.”

On the other side of the arena, Saudi champion Khalid Al-Ghamdi also registered a victory against Canadian John Morra 9-3. 

Expressing his happiness, Al-Ghamdi said: “First of all, I am very proud to represent my country in this international event, it is really a great feeling. I am so glad to win my first match during the second day despite the pressure I felt before the match. Anyhow, glad to win and hope to continue winning in the next rounds.”

Earlier, Nayef Aljawini, President of the Saudi Billiard and Snooker Federation, emphasized how the event inspires young Saudis and elevates local players internationally.

Saudi Arabia Billiards and Snooker Federation Players taking part in this year’s World Pool Championship are: Mohammed Baabad, Muhannad Al-Ghumaiz, Abdullah Al-Shammari, Khaled Al-Ghamdi, Fahad Al-Dhayan, Meshary Al-Hazzah, Abdulaziz Al-Amoudi, Sulaiman Al-Juleidan, Al Waleed Al-Mudayan, Khaled Al-Otaibi, and Mohamed Al-Balkhi.


Cricket-England toil as India ease to 78-0 after being put in to bat

Cricket-England toil as India ease to 78-0 after being put in to bat
Updated 23 July 2025
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Cricket-England toil as India ease to 78-0 after being put in to bat

Cricket-England toil as India ease to 78-0 after being put in to bat
  • Stokes cited the favorable bowling conditions as the reason behind his decision
  • KL Rahul looked untroubled as he passed 1,000 test runs in England

MANCHESTER: England struggled to trouble India’s openers after putting the touring side in to bat in the fourth test at Old Trafford on Wednesday, as they cruised through to lunch on 78-0.

Leading 2-1 in the five-test series, risk-taking England skipper Ben Stokes ignored historical precedent after winning the toss for the fourth successive match — no side winning the toss and bowling first has ever won a test at Old Trafford.

Stokes cited the favorable bowling conditions as the reason behind his decision, but when the match got under way, England’s bowlers had little joy.

KL Rahul looked untroubled as he passed 1,000 test runs in England — only the fifth Indian to do so — while partner Yashasvi Jaiswal overcame a broken bat to blunt the home attack.

England did keep their frustrations under control, and there was no repeat of the feisty clashes between the teams in the third test at Lord’s, with Rahul unbeaten on 40 and Jaiswal on 36 at the interval.


A historic win by 45-year-old Venus Williams resonates and shows there are no limits for excellence

A historic win by 45-year-old Venus Williams resonates and shows there are no limits for excellence
Updated 23 July 2025
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A historic win by 45-year-old Venus Williams resonates and shows there are no limits for excellence

A historic win by 45-year-old Venus Williams resonates and shows there are no limits for excellence
  • Only one woman, Martina Navratilova, ever has won a tour-level singles match while older; her last victory came at 47 in 2004

WASHINGTON: There are plenty of reasons why this particular victory by Venus Williams in this particular tennis match — just one of hundreds — resonated with so many folks.

That she’s 45, for one thing. Only one woman, Martina Navratilova, ever has won a tour-level singles match while older; her last victory came at 47 in 2004.

That Williams hadn’t entered a tournament anywhere in 16 months.

That she needed surgery for uterine fibroids.

And when asked Tuesday night after beating her 23-year-old opponent, Peyton Stearns, 6-3, 6-4 at the DC Open what message others might take away from that performance and that result, Williams was quick to provide an answer.

“There are no limits for excellence. It’s all about what’s in your head and how much you’re able to put into it. If you put in the work mentally, physically, and emotionally, then you can have the result,” she said. “It doesn’t matter how many times you fall down. Doesn’t matter how many times you get sick or get hurt or whatever it is. If you continue to believe and put in the work, there is an opportunity, there is space, for you.”

Williams has been winning at tennis for decades. Her pro debut came when she was 14. Her first Grand Slam title came at Wimbledon in 2000, less than a month after her 20th birthday.

She accumulated four major singles trophies before Stearns was born and eventually wound up with seven, five at Wimbledon and two at the US Open, plus another 14 in women’s doubles — all with her sister Serena — and two in mixed doubles.

“I have so much respect for her to come back here and play, win or lose. That takes a lot of guts to step back onto court, especially with what she’s done for the sport,” said Stearns, who is ranked 35th and won NCAA singles and team titles at the University of Texas. “You have a lot behind you. You have accomplished a lot. And there is a lot of pressure on her and to kind of upkeep that at this age. So massive credit to her for that.”

There were challenges along the way for Williams, none more public than the diagnosis in 2011 of Sjögren’s syndrome, an energy-sapping auto-immune disease that can cause joint pain.

More recent was the pain from fibroids — noncancerous growths — and shortly before the DC Open, Williams said: “Where I am at this year is so much different (from) where I was at last year. It’s night and day, being able to be here and prepare for the tournament as opposed to preparing for surgery.”

As thrilled as the spectators — “Who I love, and they love me,” Williams said — were to be able to watch, and pull, for her under the lights Tuesday, other players were rather excited about it, too.

“I commend her so much for being out here,” said Taylor Townsend.

Naomi Osaka’s take: “She’s, like, the queen. There’s a royal air around her.”

“She’s one of the best athletes of all time,” Frances Tiafoe said. “Her and her sister, they’re not only great for the women’s game, not only great for women’s sports, but they are so iconic.”

Yet, there were some on social media who wondered whether it made sense for the tournament to award a wild-card entry to Williams instead of an up-and-coming player.

DC Open chairman Mark Ein said it took him about two seconds to respond “Of course” when Williams’ representative reached out in April to ask whether a spot in the field might be a possibility.

A reporter wanted to know Tuesday whether Williams took any satisfaction from proving doubters wrong.

“No, because I’m not here for anyone else except for me. And I also have nothing to prove. Zip. Zero. I’m here for me, because I want to be here,” she said. “And proving anyone wrong or thinking about anyone has never gotten me a win and has never gotten me a loss.”