The San Antonio Spurs will have their superstar center Victor Wembanyama back on the floor Tuesday night when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals. The best-of-seven series is deadlocked at 2-2 after the Timberwolves pulled out a 114-109 victory Sunday in Minneapolis.
Game 6 shifts back to the Twin Cities on Friday, and a potential Game 7 would be played Sunday in San Antonio. The series has grown increasingly physical, with Wembanyama’s ejection in Game 4 serving as a major turning point.
May 10, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) shoots against Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27) in the first quarter of Game 4 of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images
The Timberwolves rode Anthony Edwards’ 36-point outburst to win Game 4, a contest the Spurs played without Wembanyama for more than two and a half quarters. The 22-year-old phenom was ejected with 8:39 left in the second quarter after receiving a Flagrant 2 technical foul for swinging his right elbow into Naz Reid’s neck during a scramble. It was Wembanyama’s first career ejection and dramatically shifted the momentum of the game and the series.
The NBA announced Monday that Wembanyama would face no further disciplinary action, clearing him to play in Tuesday’s pivotal matchup. The winner of Game 5 will move within one victory of advancing to the Western Conference finals.
“It shows how deep we can dig and the toughness that we have,” Reid said of the Wolves’ resilience. “We have a lot more basketball to play. We’ve been through a lot. We’ve been together, been to two Western Conference finals. That’s the experience they talk about.”
Some observers have attributed Wembanyama’s ejection to playoff inexperience, but Spurs coach Mitch Johnson defended his young star, noting the constant physical punishment Wembanyama has endured all season — not just in the postseason.
“At some point (Wembanyama is) gonna have to protect himself,” Johnson said. “We’ve been asking him to do that now for a while. The call was warranted, but in terms of the game plan of every single team we face since that young man’s been in the league, the physicality that people try to impose on him and the lack of protection is really disappointing.”
Even without Wembanyama, San Antonio built an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter before Edwards took over. Despite playing through a knee injury sustained in Minnesota’s first-round series against Denver, Edwards scored 16 of his 36 points in the final period and assisted on two Rudy Gobert dunks in the closing minutes, allowing the Timberwolves to surge ahead and hold on.
“Honestly, I think it was kind of harder (without Wembanyama),” Edwards said. “Of course, they are a really great team with him on the floor, but they play a lot slower when he’s on the floor. It’s just like when every team is missing their best player and everyone (else) plays free, more confident.”
Reid added 15 points and nine rebounds off the bench for Minnesota. Jaden McDaniels chipped in 14, Julius Randle had 12, and Gobert posted 11 points and 13 rebounds.
For San Antonio, De’Aaron Fox and reserve guard Dylan Harper each scored 24 points. Stephon Castle contributed 20, and Devin Vassell added 14.
“We will keep our head,” Harper said. “This series wasn’t gonna be easy — we all knew that. But for all of us, just keeping that mentality and just keep on attacking, and then just keep going with the game plan, just being us.
“We just got to tighten up as a team on the little things because the little things kind of come out the most in those stretches. It’s just staying together, being together, just battling to the end.”
