Victor Wembanyama appeared to be unbothered by his first career ejection Tuesday night as Wemby and the Spurs delivered another primetime performance, beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 126-97 to a take a 3-2 lead in the second round of the NBA Playoffs.
Without a fine or suspension to worry about after elbowing the jawline and neck of Naz Reid in Game 4, Wemby took over immediately for the Spurs on Tuesday night, scoring 18 of his 27 points in the first quarter against the Wolves, ultimately adding 17 rebounds, five assists, three blocks to his stat line.
"It was two days ago," Wembanyama said of the ejection. "I was focused on the game today. And now, I'm focusing on the game in Minnesota in three days. It's the playoffs. We've got to move on, and I've got to care about my team."
As for the Timberwolves, head coach Chris Finch said his team once again got off to a slow start and it showed throughout the game.
"We gotta make some shots," Finch said. "Better offensive decisions. I think some our shot selection in the first quarter is a little iffy. I think there's some better shots. We're going to have to work a little harder to find some better shots early."
Anthony Edwards finished with 20 points while Julius Randle and Jaden McDaniels each score 17. As a team, Minnesota shot 39% from the floor, and made just 9 of 33 three-pointers on Tuesday night.
A 14-2 third quarter run by Minnesota tied the game at 61, but Spurs regained a double-digit lead later in the quarter.
"We give up 30 points in the last six minutes of the third quarter," Finch said. "A lot of it was just ball contain stuff. Offensively we found something that was working and then we just started breaking off plays. That's my job, I got to get us back on track. That's on me."
The series shifts back to Target Center in downtown Minneapolis on Friday night in a must-win game for the Wolves to stay alive in the playoffs. Tip-off on Friday is set for 8:30 p.m.
