Wembanyama is back, Spurs rout Wolves for a 3-2 lead in NBA Playoff series | Basketball

Victor Wembanyama scored 27 points and grabbed 17 rebounds to lead the San Antonio Spurs past the Minnesota Timberwolves 126-97 and take a 3-2 lead in their Western Conference series.

Wembanyama returned to action on Tuesday after being ejected in the second quarter of Sunday’s 114-109 loss to the host Timberwolves in Game 4, where he elbowed an opponent in the face, prompting the ejection.

“Very, very,” Wembanyama said when asked how eager he was to get back on the court for Game 5. “I mean, I was fresh, I felt good. But honestly, it’s hard to know if it was just, well, just on fire. Obviously, I’ll be happy with the butterflies, you never know.

The Spurs led by 18 points in the second half before going cold and building a 12-point advantage at halftime. After Minnesota rallied to tie the game at 61-all four minutes into the third quarter, San Antonio scored 30 of the final 42 points of the period to take a 91-73 lead in the final 12 minutes.

“We got away from what was working, so, you know, the defense just broke down,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “In the last six minutes of the third quarter, a lot of it was just the ball. And, you know, when you get things working, we just started giving up plays, you know. And that’s my job. I’ve got to get us back. It’s on me.”

The Spurs pushed the lead to 20 early in the fourth. Minnesota responded with an 8-0 surge to pull within 93-81 with 9:34 remaining but never got closer than 11 points the rest of the game.

Keldon Johnson added 21 points off the bench for San Antonio, De’Aaron Fox scored 18, Stephon Castle scored 17 and Devin Vassell and Dylan Harper each scored 12 points. Harper also grabbed 10 rebounds.

“We played with the right amount of fear, discipline, execution, physicality, composure,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “And I thought we had a lot of people tonight, and that was great to see. We wanted everybody, because at different times in the game, different guys stepped up.”

Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves with 20 points. Jaden McDaniels and Julius Randle had 17 points each, Ayo Dosunmu scored 16 and Naz Reid finished with 12.

Wembanyama was on fire early in the game, scoring 16 of the Spurs’ 24 points as San Antonio took a 24-9 lead at the 6:17 mark of the first period. The Timberwolves weathered the storm, and Reid’s layup with 23 seconds remaining cut the deficit to 34-30 with 12 minutes to play.

“We knew it was going to be physical, so we’re just going to reassure them and try to keep them out of sight,” Castle said. “I thought we started the game well, with our home run, but obviously, they’re a good team, you know, they’re going to go themselves.”

The Spurs scored the first nine points of the second quarter, capped by a three-point play by Castle, to extend their lead to 43-30.

San Antonio built their lead to 58-40 after Wembanyama’s alley-oop dunk with 3:24 left in the period, but missed the final eight shots of the quarter, allowing Minnesota to pull within 59-47 at the break.

Wembanyama had a double-double in the first quarter alone, scoring 21 points and collecting 11 boards. Fox gave San Antonio 12 points before halftime.

“I think one thing, one word I want to use, ‘mature,'” Mitch Johnson said of Wembanyama. “There’s a lot that’s happened in the last 48 hours, in the last game, and I think the way the guy came out tonight and played in different ways, in different places, not in terms of his production, he was very mature and then defensively, he started to finish.”

Dosunmu’s nine points paced the Timberwolves offense in the first half while Reid and Edwards added eight points each.

Minnesota continued to dominate early in the third quarter, tying the game at 61-61 at the 7:51 mark when Dosunmu’s layup capped a 14-2 run.

“I don’t see anybody in our locker room that (is) worried at the end of the day,” Edwards said. “Guys, it’s another basketball game. So get out, put on your shoes and get ready to go to work.”

Game 6 of the best-of-seven series is Friday in Minneapolis, while Game 7 — if necessary — is back in the Alamo City on Sunday.