Victor Wembanyama on Tuesday had at least one teammate who hoped the San Antonio Spurs superstar would return angry, while his coach expected a mature approach from Wembanyama after his first career ejection a game earlier.
The Spurs got both, much to the dismay of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
“They ain’t mutually exclusive,” Wembanyama said. “I’m looking for both.”
Photo: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images
Wembanyama had 27 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and three blocks as San Antonio beat Minnesota 126-97 to take a 3-2 lead in their NBA Western Conference second-round series.
“I feel like we got the Vic that you’ve seen all year,” Spurs guard Stephon Castle said. “I think his maturity level was off the charts. I mean, he played smart, didn’t really foul much, took the shots that were there for him. So, I mean, when he’s playing like that, playing aggressive with everything that he brings for us defensively, I feel like we’re pretty hard to beat.”
Wembanyama was ejected from Game 4 on Sunday for throwing an elbow early in the second quarter after getting tangled with Minnesota’s Naz Reid and Jaden McDaniels while grabbing a rebound. Wembanyama swung his arms and his elbow struck Reid in the face.
Officials looked at the play and upgraded the foul to a Flagrant 2, which comes with an automatic ejection. The NBA, as it always does in those situations, further reviewed the play after the game and decided on Monday that the ejection was sufficient. It could have fined or even suspended Wembanyama for Game 5 and beyond if it felt that was warranted.
San Antonio have a chance to reach the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2017 and Wembanyama’s historic post-season has been key.
The 2.24m Wembanyama (22 years, 128 days) is the third-youngest player in league history with 25 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in a post-season game behind Magic Johnson (20 years, 276 days) and Luka Doncic (21 years, 177 days).
Wembanyama set an early tone, becoming the first Spurs player since Tim Duncan in 2002 with 20 points and 10 rebounds in the first half of a playoff game.
Although the series continued to be extremely physical, Wembanyama remained calm.
After Minnesota’s Ayo Dosunmu approached him following a tangle with McDaniels in the first quarter, Wembanyama ran untouched to the rim for an emphatic windmill dunk.
“Yeah, I feel like the rage baiting would’ve been maybe one of the strategies,” Wembanyama said. “I feel like I need to stay composed as a team.”
Anthony Edwards, who led Minnesota with 20 points, admitted that the Timberwolves had been powerless to stop Wembanyama’s early onslaught.
“Some of the stuff that Wemby was doing, you just don’t really have too much of an answer for it,” Edwards said. “Just kind of hope he misses.”
Additional reporting by AFP
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