05/10/26 10:53:00
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05/10 22:51 CDT Edwards guides the Timberwolves past the Spurs 114-109 to tie
the series after Wembanyama's ejection
Edwards guides the Timberwolves past the Spurs 114-109 to tie the series after
Wembanyama's ejection
By DAVE CAMPBELL
AP Sports Writer
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) --- Anthony Edwards had 16 of his 36 points in the fourth
quarter to help the Minnesota Timberwolves even their second-round NBA playoff
series against the San Antonio Spurs with a 114-109 victory, following the
stunning ejection of star Victor Wembanyama early in the second quarter of Game
4 on Sunday.
Naz Reid took the fateful elbow to the neck from a frustrated Wembanyama and
finished with 15 points and nine rebounds to help the Timberwolves finish
strong after some shaky stretches.
"Pain is weakness in the body," Reid said. "That's it."
Edwards hit a 27-footer to bring the Wolves within 94-91, turning to shout at
the crowd for some help down the stretch as the Spurs. His catch-and-shoot
3-pointer from the wing with 5:12 left put them up 98-97, their first lead
since midway through the third quarter.
Then the big men went to work without Wembanyama patrolling the paint. Rudy
Gobert, who had 11 points and 13 rebounds, converted a three-point play with
3:02 left off a high-low feed from Reid and later threw down a dunk for a
107-101 lead with 1:56 to go after a slick pass from Julius Randle.
Reid's follow shot with 40 seconds left gave the Wolves a seven-point lead,
before Dylan Harper had a rebound, a drawn foul, a steal, and two free throws
to help the Spurs pull within three.
After managing to corral a full-court baseball toss from inbound passer Jaden
McDaniels as De'Aaron Fox undercut his leaping catch and caused a loose ball,
Ayo Dosunmu drew a foul and sank two free throws with 9.8 seconds left to put
the game out of reach and tie the series at two games apiece.
San Antonio hosts Game 5 on Tuesday, with Wembanyama's status to be determined
by the league following the Flagrant 2 foul call and automatic ejection he was
levied for the excessive contact to Reid.
Harper and Fox each scored 24 points and Stephon Castle added 20 as the Spurs
guards unflinchingly took the baton from their 7-foot-4 superstar and turned
the rest of the night into a mid-range clinic with an array of pull-up jumpers
in and around the paint.
"Just trying to be what the team needed me to be," said Harper, the second
overall pick in the NBA draft last year. "I think I did OK. Obviously the main
goal is to win. We didn't get that done."
The crowd at Target Center went wild when Wembanyama walked off the floor with
Minnesota leading by two, but the Wolves never fully took advantage of the gift
created by his absence. They've long had a tendency of losing their edge,
particularly defensively, when an opponent's star player is missing.
"When every team is missing their best player, everybody plays free. They get
more shots, more confident," Edwards said. "So I think it was a lot harder on
us."
After committing six turnovers in a 20-point third quarter, the Wolves found
themselves in another eight-point hole early in the fourth following Fox's
3-pointer before delivering another clutch finish.
"We have a resilient group of guys. No matter the circumstances, we are going
to keep fighting and give everything we have and keep trusting one another,"
Gobert said. "Just making the right play. That's who we are. We might not be
always consistent with that, but I feel like when it matters, we raise our
level."
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