Timberwolves Even Playoff Series After Wembanyama Ejection

Anthony Edwards scored 16 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter, and the Minnesota Timberwolves capitalized on Victor Wembanyama's ejection to secure a 114-109 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday night in Minneapolis, leveling the Western Conference semifinal series at 2-2.

Naz Reid added 15 points and nine rebounds off the bench for the Timberwolves. He was also the player who took Wembanyama's elbow to the chin in the play that led to the Spurs star's ejection in the second quarter.

Jaden McDaniels scored 14 points, Julius Randle had 12, Rudy Gobert posted 11 points and 13 rebounds, and Ayo Dosunmu contributed 10 points for Minnesota.

For the Spurs, De'Aaron Fox and reserve Dylan Harper each scored 24 points, Stephon Castle added 20, and Devin Vassell chipped in 14. Wembanyama finished with just four points, four rebounds, and no blocks in just over 12 minutes of playing time.

“We never thought they would give up,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “They won a game in a series against Portland without Wembanyama, so they are a very good team.”

The Spurs trailed by seven before Harper hit two free throws with 29.1 seconds left, and Julian Champagnie also knocked down two free throws with 20.6 seconds remaining, pulling San Antonio within 112-109. Dosunmu responded with two free throws with 9.8 seconds left to seal the win for Minnesota.

“Just the small plays,” Edwards told reporters when asked how the Timberwolves won Game 4. “The small plays win big games. That’s what we needed. Diving on the floor, getting offensive rebounds, and it was a great substitution by Finchie putting Ayo in for the last minute and a half.”

Early in the game, Wembanyama grabbed a rebound and, while trying to protect the ball from two Timberwolves players, spun and threw a hard elbow to Reid's chin, drawing a foul with 8:39 left in the first quarter. The officiating crew reviewed the play before upgrading it to a flagrant 2, resulting in an automatic ejection. Lead official Zach Zarba said: “There was a swing, contact, and it followed through into the neck area of the opponent.”

“I’m glad that he [Wembanyama] handled it himself,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “Not in the sense of hitting Naz Reid, I want to be clear. I’m glad Naz Reid is okay and I didn’t want him to elbow that guy. But Wemby has to protect himself if no one else is going to do it for him. And I think that’s disgusting.”

Minnesota led 60-56 at halftime. Edwards scored 18 points in the first half, while Castle led San Antonio with 14 points in the opening two quarters.

Despite losing Wembanyama, the Spurs scored 20 of the first 28 points in the third quarter and took a 76-68 lead on a Vassell score with 4:33 left in the period. “I think offensively, we did a lot of good things,” Finch said. “We kind of lost our way and let them back in it.”

San Antonio’s Keldon Johnson scored with 21.9 seconds left to give the Spurs an 84-80 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Fox hit a three-pointer to put San Antonio ahead 94-86 with 8:51 remaining before Edwards scored 12 points in a 14-5 Timberwolves run.

“We had a chance to win,” Johnson said. “We didn’t finish the way we wanted to. … Minnesota made some plays and closed out the game.”

Edwards started his outburst with a jump shot, then quickly scored five straight points on a layup and a long three-pointer, cutting the deficit to three with 7:10 left. He then made two free throws with 5:51 remaining to pull the Timberwolves within 97-95, and hit a three-pointer 39 seconds later to give Minnesota a one-point lead.

Gobert followed with a powerful dunk, putting the Timberwolves up 107-101 with 1:56 left. Minnesota shot 44.7% from the field, including 10 of 27 from three-point range, while the Spurs shot 47.7% and made just 6 of 26 from beyond the arc.

Game 5 is scheduled for Tuesday in San Antonio.