Victor Wembanayama dominates 4th quarter as Spurs take one from Timberwolves originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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It was all Victor Wembanyama in the fourth quarter.
At Target Center, the San Antonio Spurs had to regain home-court advantage. With the 115-108 win, they did so against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals.
Wembanyama was the big reason the Spurs outscored Minnesota, 64-57, in the second half. The Spurs star rode the team on his back with 16 points (5-7 FG, 2-3 3PT) alone in the fourth quarter. He also came up with a clutch 3-pointer that essentially took the game away from the Timberwolves.
Overall, Wembanyama finished with 39 points on 13-18 shooting, including 3-5 from the 3-point line and 10-12 from the charity stripe. He added 15 rebounds, one assist, one steal and five blocks. 14 of 15 boards came on the defensive end.
De’Aaron Fox had 17 points, while Devin Vassell and Stephon Castle had 13 each in the game. Castle also had 12 assists in the game as he showed his poise against close-up defense from Minnesota in the fourth quarter.
The Timberwolves were led by Anthony Edwards, who had 32 points on 12-26 shooting, including 3-9 from beyond the arc. He also had 14 rebounds and six assists. Interestingly, Minnesota played Mike Conley only four minutes despite starting him.
MORE: Victor Wembanyama’s defensive masterpiece leaves one rival questioning everything
Victor Wembanyama compensates for terrible Game 1 shooting
Victor Wembanyama came up with a mixed bag in Game 1, registering a playoff record with 12 blocks but also shooting very inefficiently. He was rendered to 11 points on 5-17 shooting from the field. As a result, the Timberwolves took Game 1 on the road.
In Game 2, Wembanyama worked on his offensive miscues, delivering 19 points on 7-15 shooting. This was good, but the Defensive Player of the Year hadn’t pressed that final gear on offense.
He did in Game 3 and the result is the Spurs taking a 2-1 lead in the seven-game series.
Unless the Timberwolves can come up with a plan on how to stop Wembanyama from dominating both ends of the floor, the series will be over pretty soon.
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