Victor Wembanyama delivered a dominant performance with 39 points, 15 rebounds and five blocked shots, leading the San Antonio Spurs to a 115-108 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal matchup Friday night in Minneapolis.
The towering star shot an impressive 13-of-18 from the field and connected on three of five three-point attempts, propelling San Antonio to a 2-1 advantage in the best-of-seven playoff series.
“I’ve really been waiting since I’ve been in the league to live those moments, those high-stakes games,” Wembanyama said postgame on Prime Video. “That’s what I love. … I’m built for this. I love this more than anything else.”
Supporting Wembanyama’s stellar effort, De’Aaron Fox contributed 17 points while Stephon Castle recorded 13 points and distributed 12 assists for the Spurs.
When asked about what fans are witnessing from Wembanyama during his inaugural postseason run, Fox didn’t mince words.
“Greatness,” Fox said. “We all know that. We see him every day. We see the work and the time that he puts into his game and his body, knowing that teams are going to come out here and try to be physical with him.”
“He fights through that. He doesn’t complain. He knows what he’s going to endure, and he comes out here and he produces.”
For Minnesota, Anthony Edwards paced the scoring with 32 points while collecting 14 rebounds. Naz Reid provided a spark off the bench with 18 points and nine boards, while Jaden McDaniels chipped in 17 points.
Timberwolves guard Ayo Dosunmu acknowledged his team allowed San Antonio too much offensive freedom throughout the contest.
“I don’t think our point-of-attack (defense) was where it needed to be,” Dosunmu said. “There were too many times that we made a shot and then they came right back and got a good look. So we’ve got to do a better job of matching up and do a better job of controlling the point of attack and not letting them just live off attacking us.”
The series continues with Game 4 scheduled for Sunday evening in Minneapolis.
Minnesota, which fell behind by 15 points during the opening quarter, managed to close the gap to 106-103 with 3:27 left on the clock when Reid sank a three-pointer.
Wembanyama answered immediately on San Antonio’s following possession, draining his third long-range shot of the night. Late free throws from both Wembanyama and Dylan Harper in the final minute helped secure the win for the Spurs.
The Spurs held an 86-79 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Tensions flared during the third period when Harper became entangled with McDaniels and struck his head while falling to the floor. As Harper remained down, Castle approached McDaniels, sparking a brief confrontation before officials intervened to restore order.
Both Castle and McDaniels were assessed technical fouls, while Harper was able to continue playing.
The teams entered halftime deadlocked at 51-51.
San Antonio opened the game with an explosive 18-3 run, fueled largely by Wembanyama’s early dominance as he tallied nine of the Spurs’ initial 11 points. Minnesota struggled mightily out of the gate, missing their opening 13 field goal attempts.
Edwards eventually found his rhythm as the Timberwolves closed the first quarter with a 19-5 surge, trimming their deficit to just one point. Minnesota’s early rally reached its peak when Edwards connected on a spectacular 31-foot buzzer-beater, bringing the score to 23-22 at the end of the first period.
