Victor Wembanyama bounced back from the first ejection of his NBA career with another dominant display, recording 27 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and three blocks as the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 126-97 on Tuesday night to take a 3-2 lead in their Western Conference second-round playoff series, News.Az reports, citing AP.
At 22 years old, Wembanyama became the third-youngest player in NBA history to post those numbers in a playoff game, behind only Magic Johnson, who achieved the feat at 20, and Luka Doncic at 21.
“I was fresh, feeling good,” Wembanyama said after the game. “Honestly, it’s hard to tell. It was just Game 5. Obviously, I’m going to be excited and have butterflies. So excitement is not something abnormal at this point in the playoffs.”
Keldon Johnson scored 21 points for San Antonio, while De'Aaron Fox added 18 and Stephon Castle contributed 17 as the Spurs moved within one victory of the Western Conference finals. San Antonio can advance to face the Oklahoma City Thunder with a win in Game 6 on Friday in Minneapolis.
For Minnesota, Anthony Edwards finished with 20 points after being held to just eight in the first half. Julius Randle and Jaden McDaniels each scored 17 points.
Wembanyama returned to action after being ejected early in the second quarter of Minnesota’s 114-109 win in Game 4 on Sunday in Minneapolis. The Spurs star received a Flagrant 2 foul after elbowing Naz Reid in the throat.
The physical nature of the series continued in Game 5, with Reid later receiving a technical foul for shoving Wembanyama in the back during a Timberwolves free throw late in the first half.
“I felt like, to start the game, we knew it was going to be physical,” Castle said. “So, just making that a point of emphasis and trying to keep them off the offensive glass. I feel like we started the game off well and that’s where our runs came from.”
The altercation appeared to energize Wembanyama even further. The French star exploded for 18 points in the opening quarter, shooting 6-of-8 from the field and hitting two of his three attempts from beyond the arc.
“I think it’s super important for us the way we start the game, because it sets the tone,” Wembanyama said. “Now the challenge is to do it for 48 minutes.”
Minnesota responded by opening the third quarter with a 14-2 run to erase an 18-point deficit and tie the game at 61. The Timberwolves also disrupted several alley-oop attempts intended for the 7-foot-4 Wembanyama.
San Antonio, however, regained control and held Minnesota below 100 points for the fifth time in 10 postseason games.
“I thought we did a good job of having resistance early in the clock,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “They’ve shown as the series has gone on, they’ve tried to play faster at times and they’re tough when they get downhill.”
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