It was apparent — actually from the bounce, when skyscrapers Rudy Gobert and Victor Wembanyama squared off at midcourt — that each bucket of the Western Convention semifinals sequence between the Minnesota Timberwolves and San Antonio Spurs could be hard-earned. Such was the case in a decent Sport 1, which the Wolves received 104-102 Monday evening at Frost Financial institution Middle.
Anthony Edwards returned to the Timberwolves’ lineup — his first motion since April 25 — and led a balanced assault whereas coming off the bench with 18 factors within the sixth seed’s upset of the No. 2 Spurs.
The Timberwolves had six gamers end with double figures in scoring, and the crew countered a historic effort from Wembanyama, whose 12 blocks have been probably the most in a playoff sport because the stat turned official within the 1973-74 season. Julius Randle led the Wolves with 21 factors and 10 rebounds. Terrence Shannon Jr., who began instead of Edwards, added 16 factors and 5 rebounds.
Wembanyama, who had 11 factors and 15 rebounds to go together with his blocks, commanded the tempo of flooring from the beginning. The 7-foot-4 middle and 7-foot-1 Gobert traded blocks within the opening seconds to tee up what could be a defensive conflict between French nationwide teammates. Wembanyama racked up seven blocks by halftime. Gobert had 10 rebounds and 7 factors for the sport.
Listed here are some takeaways from Monday’s aggressive Sport 1.
Anthony Edwards returns for Wolves
Monday was mythic stuff from Edwards.
Most believed it will take him till a minimum of Sport 3 on Friday to attempt to give it a go in opposition to the Spurs after hyperextending and struggling a bone bruise in his left knee within the earlier sequence in opposition to the Denver Nuggets. Not solely did he get again in time for Sport 1, however he took the sport over within the fourth quarter, scoring 11 of his 18 factors within the first 5 minutes of the interval to push the Timberwolves in entrance.
Then, after a fast relaxation, he returned to complete the sport with 25 minutes performed.
Edwards was enjoying 9 days after the knee harm. He threw himself into rehab to get again a minimum of 5 days prior to anticipated, then spent the primary three quarters attempting to determine what he might and couldn’t do on the courtroom.
Within the fourth quarter, he pounced. He hit two 3s and fed Randle for one more 3 to tie the sport at 84, then put his head down and bought to the basket to get the Wolves the lead.
His solely blemish was a late turnover that Dylan Harper was a dunk to chop the deficit to 2 factors. However Julian Champagnie missed a 3 to win the sport, and the Wolves stole Sport 1.
It was the sort of gutty efficiency that faces of the franchise give. Nobody believed he was going to play. Then, not solely did he play, however he led. — Jon Krawczynski
A actuality verify for the Spurs
It’s reality-check time for the Spurs, who bumped into the brick wall of the Timberwolves’ protection and couldn’t get their half-court offense going.
Minnesota offered a starker problem with their defensive size throughout the board, making it exhausting for Wembanyama to get wherever until he was taking Rudy Gobert in iso out on the perimeter. This was the second the expertise issue got here into play, because the Spurs appeared like they may not discover their half-court id, and Wembanyama struggled to create attractiveness till the very finish.
De’Aaron Fox had a tough capturing evening, and Wembanyama went 0 of 8 from deep, so the Spurs couldn’t depend on two of their key offensive engines to execute. Then, Stephon Citadel fouled out heading into crunch time, taking away the crew’s most dependable dribble penetrator who will help create open 3s.
The Spurs might want to discover a technique to generate higher nook seems to be and get Wembanyama the ball on the roll, however additionally they have to get used to the size and energy Minnesota brings. — Jared Weiss