If the Spurs are able to take a 3-1 lead on the Timberwolves, they’ll need to do so without Victor Wembanyama for the rest of Game 4.
Wembanyama, the San Antonio superstar, was ejected with 8:39 left in the second quarter after elbowing Naz Reid while fighting for possession and being assessed a Flagrant 2 in Minnesota on Sunday.
When Wembanyama initially made contact, Reid fell to the ground, and after the referees reviewed the play, the 7-foot-4 center was sent down the tunnel and to the locker room.
It marked a seismic shift in a critical juncture of the series, with the Spurs staring down a chance to take a commanding series lead over the No. 6-seed Timberwolves before play shifts back to San Antonio but now needing to adapt on the fly without their best player for the final 32-plus minutes.
Victor Wembanyama elbows Naz Reid during the Spurs’ May 10 game. Imagn Images Victor Wembanyama (1) reacts after he was ejected for a flagrant foul during the first half of Game 4 of a NBA basketball second-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves. AP Reid made both of his free throws, and Luke Kornet replaced Wembanyama — who finished with just four points on 2-for-5 shooting across 12 minutes — on the court.
The Timberwolves led the Spurs by two points at the time of the ejection, and midway through the second quarter, they’d built a 44-38 advantage — led by 11 points from Anthony Edwards and 10 points from Julius Randle.
