Anthony Edwards scored 16 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter as the Minnesota Timberwolves capitalized on Victor Wembanyama’s ejection in the second quarter to defeat the San Antonio Spurs 114-109 on Sunday night in Minneapolis, tying the Western Conference second-round series at two games apiece.
Naz Reid contributed 15 points and nine rebounds off the bench for Minnesota. He also took an elbow from Wembanyama to his chin on the play that led to the Spurs star’s ejection.
Jaden McDaniels added 14 points, Julius Randle scored 12, Rudy Gobert posted 11 points and 13 rebounds, and Ayo Dosunmu chipped in 10 points for the Timberwolves.
For the Spurs, De’Aaron Fox and reserve Dylan Harper each scored 24 points, Stephon Castle added 20, and Devin Vassell had 14. Wembanyama finished with four points, four rebounds, and no blocks in just over 12 minutes.
Game 5 is set for Tuesday in San Antonio.
The Spurs trailed by seven before Harper hit two free throws with 29.1 seconds left and Julian Champagnie made two more with 20.6 seconds remaining, cutting San Antonio’s deficit to 112-109. Dosunmu answered with two free throws with 9.8 seconds left to seal the win.
Earlier, Wembanyama grabbed a rebound and was trying to protect the ball from two Timberwolves when he turned and delivered a hard right elbow to Reid’s chin. He was called for a foul with 8:39 left in the first half. After reviewing the play, the officiating crew upgraded the call to a flagrant 2, resulting in an automatic ejection. Crew chief Zach Zarba explained, “There was windup, impact, and follow-through above the neck of an opponent.”
Minnesota led 60-56 at halftime. Edwards scored 18 in the first half, while Castle led San Antonio with 14.
Despite losing Wembanyama, the Spurs scored 20 of the first 28 points in the third quarter and took a 76-68 lead after a basket by Vassell with 4:33 left in the period. Keldon Johnson’s driving hoop with 21.9 seconds remaining in the quarter gave San Antonio an 84-80 advantage heading into the fourth.
Fox buried a 3-pointer to give the Spurs a 94-86 lead with 8:51 left in the game. Edwards then scored 12 points during Minnesota’s 14-5 run. He started the burst with a jumper, then scored five straight points on a short floater and a long straightaway 3-pointer to cut the deficit to three with 7:10 remaining. He later sank two free throws with 5:51 left to bring the Timberwolves within 97-95, then drilled a 3-pointer 39 seconds later to give Minnesota a one-point lead. Gobert followed with a thunderous dunk to make it 107-101 with 1:56 to play.
Minnesota shot 44.7% from the field, including 10 of 27 from beyond the arc. The Spurs shot 47.7% but hit only 6 of 26 from 3-point range.
