Online Reporter
Victor Wembanyama scored 19 points and grabbed 15 rebounds as the host San Antonio Spurs dominated the final three quarters on the way to a 133-95 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday, levelling the teams’ Western Conference semifinal series at one win apiece.
Second-seeded San Antonio has not lost back-to-back contests since Jan. 11 at Minnesota and January 13 at Oklahoma City, a stretch of 49 games.
San Antonio swamped the sixth-seeded Timberwolves in the second quarter, turning a seven-point lead after the opening period into a 24-point advantage at halftime.
The Spurs expanded the margin to 98-63 after three periods as Julian Champagnie poured in all 12 of his points on the night via four 3-pointers in the frame.
From there, San Antonio cruised to the finish, building its lead to as many as 47 points.
Stephon Castle’s 21 points led the Spurs, with De’Aaron Fox scoring 16, Harrison Barnes tallying 12, Dylan Harper adding 11, Devin Vassell hitting for 10 points and Keldon Johnson pulling down 10 rebounds. Wembanyama canned two 3-pointers but is just 2 of 15 from behind the arc for the series.
Wembanyama said of the difference between Game 1 to Game 2, “We had intensity early on. Crashing the offensive boards early, fighting for the ball and passing to the open man. …
“Of course, we’re gonna keep doubling up on what worked and the few things that didn’t. We’re gonna erase them. (Minnesota) is an experienced team —– we know they’re going to respond. … I love how everyone had everybody’s back. It looked like a system that worked.”
Julius Randle, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels and Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 12 points each to lead the Timberwolves. Naz Reid added 11 points, and Rudy Gobert snagged 10 rebounds.
“They just kicked their butt in every aspect of the game tonight. So offensively, defensively didn’t matter,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. “They took it to us. We didn’t really respond very well. It was, you know, a very disappointing performance. …
“I just told them, ‘We just got punked.’”
Games 3 of the best-of-seven series is scheduled for Friday in Minneapolis.
Meanwhile, Jalen Brunson scored eight of his 26 points in the fourth quarter Wednesday night for the host New York Knicks, who took control of their Eastern Conference semifinal by stopping the Philadelphia 76ers down the stretch to earn a 108-102 win in Game 2.
The Knicks lead the best-of-seven set series 2-0. Game 3 is scheduled for Friday night in Philadelphia. “Being down 2-0 after coming back to win in the first round, I think it’s more of a challenge,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said. “It was 1-1 after two games (against the Boston Celtics in the first round), right? So it’s 2-0. Puts a lot on this next game for sure, but that’s OK.”— Reuters.
Mathew Masinge