After a historic Victor Wembanyama eruption and a 29-point blowout loss in San Antonio, Anthony Edwards remains defiant. With their season on the line, Wolves head home for a must-win Game 6 to keep their Western Conference Finals dreams alive. Yanke Scores has the details.
As Minnesota Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards found himself in yet another tough spot against the dominant 62-win San Antonio Spurs team this postseason, he maintained a confident attitude about what was in store for him.
“I don’t see nobody in our locker room that’s too worried,” Edwards said. “There’s another basketball game. Come out, put your boots on and get ready to go to war.”
Historic First Quarter Blitz
The Spurs convincingly defeated Minnesota 126-97 in Game 5 on Tuesday night, outscoring the Timberwolves in each quarter to establish a commanding 3-2 lead in the series. The Spurs have dominated both of their home games in the series by a total of 67 points.
The Timberwolves started off on the wrong foot. The NBA elected not to suspend Victor Wembanyama after he swung an elbow into Naz Reid’s face and received a second-quarter ejection during the Timberwolves’ Game 4 victory on Sunday, which proved costly for San Antonio.
Spurs’ Dominant Game 5 Performance
Predictably, Wembanyama showed aggression from the get-go to make up for his error that could cost the Spurs the entire series. He recorded 16 points and five rebounds over the first seven minutes of play, propelling San Antonio to a 24-11 run behind his floater shots and tricky three-pointers from difficult angles.
“Some of the stuff Wemby was doing you don’t really have too much of an answer for,” Edwards said. “You just hope he misses.”
The Timberwolves showed a little bit of fight in the second half. With Jaden McDaniels drilling three three-pointers and Edwards recording 20 points, Minnesota managed to claw back to even the score at 61, trailing only 7:51 into the third quarter. However, the tide quickly shifted in favor of the Spurs.
“We went away from what was working [offensivel]),” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. “Then our defense just cratered. We gave up 30 points I think in the last six minutes of the third quarter. A lot of it was ball containment.”
Wolves’ Defensive Struggles
According to coach Chris Finch, Minnesota’s scorers got distracted by the game plan when the Spurs opened up space in the gaps and exploited it.
NBA veteran Julius Randle has had one of the worst series of his career. He went 6 for 17 from the field in Game 5, dropping his overall shooting percentage in the series to 36.6%, compared to the regular season’s stellar mark of 48.1%.
Foul troubles remain one of Minnesota’s biggest challenges in the series. McDaniels once again struggled to stay on the floor in Game 4 due to foul problems, impacting the Timberwolves’ ability to execute plays. He ended up picking up five fouls over 30 minutes of playing time, with Minnesota being outscored by 17 points while he sat on the sidelines.
“Everything starts with Jaden McDaniels, trying to keep him out of foul trouble,” Edwards said. “He’s so important to the team. It hurts everybody when he gets in foul trouble. Some tough calls being made out there against him. Not too much we can say.”
“I’m so happy and ready to get two days,” Edwards said of the break. I’m excited for it.”
