EXTENDED: #6 Timberwolves at #2 Spurs | Full Game 5 Highlights | May 12, 2026

It's a warm mid-May Tuesday in San Antonio. We're three miles from downtown. Frostbank Center filling up. Crucial Game 5, Round 2 here in the West. Our series tied two games apiece. Injected for an elbow after playing just a dozen minutes in Game 4. How will Victor Wembenyama respond? Anthony Edwards back-to-back 30-plus point games. Getting Minnesota the split at home. Setting up Game 5 as the NBA playoffs continue. John Goebel, Ben Taylor, currently in the official. Somebody's going to be one win from the Western Conference Final. Game 5 underway in San Antonio. This place is popping. De'Aaron Fox, we'll watch him closely. Right ankle injury. Mike Kimark has really warmed up before the game. He's got the ball now. Went to his right. Passed McDaniels off his left foot. The whistle early in the foul. Who's contested the rim? Julius Randle back the other way. He'd love to see one go in early to get going. On cue. He heard you, Mike. Pass and shot the ball from three. Particularly great in this series. Shot the point up towards the rim for De'Aaron Fox. It got to him. Probably not the way it was intended to be delivered. Fox. Nice move to spin and score. I think that ankle's okay. He is getting wherever he wants right now. Randle from the outside. Well, Bair got rid of Wembanyama. Goes up and dunks it. Where they want to come out of here in the Game 5 win. Dominate the glass. Fox worked inside. Hits Wembanyama trying three again. Finally hits one. To move straight on the spot. McDaniels. Three-point shooting. Been a struggle for him. Went for the ball. Wembanyama's got it the other way. Pitch to the corner. Champagney. Block inside. Nothing going on. Tough shots. Wow. Wembanyama from the outside. Ball in his hands a lot. To the basket. Out, Minnesota. So Randle on the bench with two. And the veteran eighth-year man Reed is in. Wemby putting the moves on Gobert. Has 11. Reminiscent of the start Minnesota had in Game 3. As Wembanyama has the ball a lot and is doing a lot. Get out of my way. I'm going to come. So he pitches it. Cast it right back to him. Feeling it. Unbelievable start here tonight. McDaniels over Wembanyama for two. Gets her point across. Wembanyama goes to the bench. Three subs in for San Antonio. I like it. Three. Knocked down by Nas Reed for Minnesota. And Kelton Johnson. He's got to get going. In this series he's been non-existent. And scores. Minnesota dodging bullets here with these turnovers. And Connelly on bench. Got Cornett. And Mike Connelly getting two at age 38. Johnson trying to attack. Looks more aggressive here, Reggie. And one. Shannon the foul. Brian Wright. GM. R.C. Buford. His voice still heard. The CEO. Long time GM. Ant-Man. A deep and much needed Minnesota three. It is not. Three-minute mark. Connelly has been really good shooting the three in this series. Bags another one. It's a big lead when he was in there. It's evaporated in his absence. So he returns. Again only a dozen minutes in Game 4. So a bit of rest. Edwards pulls up. Dylan Harper right by his side. The FPL was just rejected from the screens and that's why he's getting to the plate. Janpenny missed the three. Johnson puts it back. Loving it. Kept alive by Harper. Plenty of shot clocks. When Benyama sees two, then three, and they take it away. Dosumo can fly. But by Janpenny. Got it up there before Wembenyama could get back. No one player other than Harrison Barnes with significant playoff experience in the road. Oh my goodness. Josh Reed bumping right into Wembenyama using the physicality on offense. Reed challenges Wembenyama. Turns and pitches to Bryant. Changes a lot of minds. Shannon had to get that one up quick. Imprint of Wembenyama defensively on that trip. Fox with time. Takes three. 6-0 to start the quarter. Spurs feeling it. Fox flying. Castle going. Contact. Blocking foul. Where the shooter was supposed to be. McDaniels settles into a three and Wembenyama just reached out to try to block that. Fighting for his space and got two. Good toughness on that. We'll take a timeout. That was positive for Minnesota earlier. See how they do this. Through contact to the basket for two. And that's exactly it. No Wembenyama if you're Minnesota. Put your head down and get to the rim. Griseldo is right to the line for three. Hit up and in at the basket by Johnson. Fitzfinch stepped out to try to get it but not in time. Just catch the ball and dunk it Rudy. Oklahoma City and these two teams here in the West. Griseldo is jacking three. Gets one to go. There's a double team on Edwards. Daniels got Fox. Toshimu the cut. That's a basket. Beat Harper to the rim for two. Toshimu. Harper loses him. Bumps him. Blocked the shot. Great defense there by Ayo. And it's interesting because some of these current players, they get advice from the alumni. Nice alley loop there to LaFleur from Harrison Barnes. They played. You've been talking about that for three months waiting to see that and unlocking it here in the playoffs. Edwards sees two again. Do the basket with Wembenyama fighting at him. And he's upset about it. Rebound Toshimu. Go fly. Reed finds the line and knocks down that three. That's a big time shot right there by Nas Reed. Will Steve Nash keep that alive and see if Randall, can they get it to 10 or 9 on this trip? Randall. Dish goes bare at the rim. Can't fit it. Wembenyama was there. Had help. Held in a putback dunk right off the bench. I know it's what you do but what led to your immediate impact tonight? Just being locked in. We know we had to come in tonight to set the tone. We lost a close one up there that we feel like we should have won. And so you just make sure we're coming out ready, especially coming off the bench, keeping the tone going, keeping the guys with energy and just doing my job. How do you hold on to this lead? We got to continue to play together. Lean on our habits. Have fun and execute. Thank you. Have a great day. Minnesota Timberwolves are so lucky right now to only be down 12 points without their main guys going. Can they start something? Ayo Dosumu does it with a three to get this third quarter going. With Johnson, if they score here, this might be a quick timeout just to settle your young team down. And a step through that double. So hard with Wembenyama. But he took it and made it. Wow. Five point game. Holding foul on Dosumu, his second. Quiet in here compared to the start of the game. Castle gets inside and gets the Spurs going. Clock at six. Rangel using the size on Castle. Wrap around to the corner. McDaniels. That's a fine. McDaniels sees Wembenyama, tries to get away from him. High archer is good. And the timeout here, it is a two point game. If you want to dive deeper into that or any other NBA playoff topic, ask AI mode in Google search. San Antonio searching for Wembenyama. It got knocked away. Dosumu having a great quarter. Oh, the run to the basket. Wemby posted. Inside, he's got Edwards. Pitched it out to Champagny. Got the three. See if they can steady the ship here while McDaniels is on the bench. Castle trying to lose Edwards. Spins on him. Over at nine. Castle for two. There's the double. There's Randall popping free. Quarter pitch, Shannon. Off the bench, can't hit. Goes bare. Johnson. Off, go bare. Wemby on the pitch. Castle on the push. Inside. Up two feet for the dunk. Seven straight for the Spurs. We've worked so hard to get back in it. Now the Spurs defense. Dosumu with that crossing traffic to Wembenyama. Couldn't challenge the shot. What a game for Iowa, Dosumu. Fourteen and nine points. Castle on a little run here. Hoping inside. On Edwards. For two. Timeout Minnesota. Hit the ball. You mentioned this too. Get it lower and make a decision there. If they want to bring the double team. Nice play right there. Split the double team. It's so cool. It's fun to watch. Veteran connector. Important little stuff that matters. Harper on the miss. Wemby put it back in. And one. It is and he can register and pick up what you're saying at the drop of a hat. It was unbelievable experience. Good defense right there by Harper. Wembenyama comes away with it. Johnson a blur. Right at Shannon's house. He's an important witness right here for both teams. How are they going to close this quarter going into the fourth? Minnesota tied it. San Antonio's back at their halftime edge. 12. Edwards. No Wemby. Right to the basket for two. Oklahoma City awaits the winner of this series in the West final. Trying to get through the traffic. Edwards had to go to the net. Turned it over. Helden Johnson. Three chases. Johnson wins. That was a lot of chatter coming into the playoff with little experience. Couldn't finish but he took down bowling pins of Timberwolves inside. Pitch. Fox three. Okay. Harper. He got that over Conley. Strong for two. For number two. Randall trying to go strong. Go bear. Lost it again on the way up. Back the other way Sometimes knowing what you don't know can help you. The moment's never too big for you. You're just figuring it out and taking what's there. Wembenyama inside over Shannon. Had an unbelievable first quarter with 18 points and six boards. Everybody get their home called out. We're all even now. A nice job by McDaniels on the reverse to get it inside. James McDaniels. Edwards back the other way. It was sensational. A quarter four game four. Trying to get unleashed through the contact. Nas. Oh man. Back to man here for Minnesota. They spin Castle. All of it there. Every little bit. Cuffed it. Took that extra dribble. Hit the lossy pad. He's knocked down through the contact. McDaniels hits the three. Gets it back to 11. See if pitch goes back to the zone here. Yep. There it is. Fox attacks it. Shannon. 10 to go. Wemby piece. He cannot take a relaxed shot on that guy. 13 with 8.20 to go. Randall got it on quick before Wemby could finish. 11. I'm headed to your next barbecue my friend. Michelle. Thirds of an answer again. You can tell Minnesota doesn't play a lot of zone, right? They're used to man to man and that pressure. On the hit. Castle. Timeout. Timberwolves. It's a little paint probe. Randall couldn't catch a clean. It was a tough pass. He gets hit. Hits the reverse. Randall bumped by Champagny and one. Chance of a three-point play. It was the free throw. Champagny's foul by the way. As his fifth for a scurry five. That's saying a lot. Can't wait. Wait a minute. Are we doing some Harlem Globetrotters stuff out here? This is getting a little ridiculous now. Victor Wemby-Nyama. And work with those three guys. So that takes some of the luster off of it. Yes. Okay. Fox. Fancy with the dribble. Sumo. Try to go quick again. Randall will clean it up. Fox. Edward's holding his hand all the way to the basket. Sweet. Johnson. Now San Antonio will do the same as Harper goes inside. And the pitch has been held in Johnson for the three. Why not? Off the hands of Jordan McLaughlin. The three knocked down by Waters. From the outside. So we saw it tonight. A big first quarter. 18.6 rebounds. Wemby-Nyama ends with a double-double 27-17. It was a Spurs night. And their one win from the Western Conference Finals. Sir, a return to the floor tonight for you. What do you think of the way that you responded? Yeah, well, we were supposed to do at home, you know. We have to set the tone. And this is your first time speaking publicly since you were ejected in Game 4. What are your thoughts on how all of that played out? How all of that played out? What are your thoughts on it? I mean, we won, so that's the point. But as I said, the job's not finished. We have one more game to get to the Conference Finals. And you talk about there being one more game for you all to get to the Western Conference Finals. How did you all hold on to that lead in the second half? What will it take to get to where you want to go? Appreciate the time. Mitch, you guys came out of the locker room at halftime pretty slow, sluggish. What triggered that outburst there in the third? I'm not sure, Tommy. We tried. I gotta watch the field back. I thought that we played with the appropriate, which is hard to do, as we've learned in the first 10 games. We've played with the appropriate fear, discipline, execution, physicality, poise. And I thought we had it from an array of people tonight. And it was really good to see. And we needed everybody because at different moments of the game, different guys stepped up. One of those guys, obviously, was Keldon. Best game of the playoffs. What did you see from him? As simple as it sounds, it just felt like he was being himself. He wasn't trying to do something or trying to be anything. He just played with energy. And as he's shown in his career, and most specifically this year, when he plays with that type of energy, the basketball finds him. He's in the middle of plays. He's in gang rebound situations where there's multiple people. And he's a catalyst for that energy and that physicality and that dynamic of our team. And we need it. Devin told us that cheer on this morning that he expected to see upset Vic tonight coming out. Was that kind of an example of what upset Vic looks like? Or at least determined Vic? Yeah, I don't know what the word was. I think the one word I'd like to use is just mature. I think there was a lot that's happened in the last 48 hours in the last game. And I think that young man came out tonight and played in a variety of ways, in a variety of situations, not just in terms of his production, was extremely mature. And then defensively, start to finish, what did you think about the performance? Another sub 100 point game in the playoffs for you guys? I thought we did a good job of having resistance early in the clock. They've shown as the series got on, they've tried to play faster at times. And they're tough when they get downhill. And I think when we've had better starting spots, more connectivity at the start of possessions, I think it's really helped us be on a string and be organized and connected defensively. And that helps you out when they have so many guys that get downhill and thrive and get momentum in space. Were De'Aaron and Dylan close to not playing? Or was it a tough call at all? It was close because I didn't know when I walked in the building if they were gonna play. It was real. And I thought for that young rookie and De'Aaron who hardly misses games ever, for those two guys to have performances like that was as strong as a statement for us in that locker room as victors. Different circumstances and obviously different attention from the external, which we understand. But from what those two guys did and when we know where they're at and what we needed, it's a big time performance. This series from both sides where leads are built and leads evaporate and it turns into a dogfight. I think y'all entered the fourth quarter up 18 and it never dropped below 11, went up as many as 29. What did you make of their response to not letting that lead slip away or any part of the game get away from them? Yeah, we had a few times where... And some of their runs also felt like we might have just missed a shot or two and it snowballed a little bit and we just didn't stay with it quite enough. And then whether they made a couple shots because they're a hell of a team and they're gonna make shots or we allowed it to seep in just even a little bit. That's how fast leads can evaporate. I thought we had a couple times tonight where we just... We kind of drew the line and said enough was enough, whatever that meant. Sometimes that's making a shot. Sometimes that's setting the right screen. Sometimes that's blocking your guy out so your teammate can get a rebound. But there's a lot of little things that go into stopping runs and starting runs. And I think the more that we continue to commit to all of that, it'll really help us out. Coach, during the playoffs, the emotions seem to be a lot more prominent, especially within the last 48 hours. So how do you coach emotional discipline without taking away the edge of what makes a player special? You're referring to Victor or in general? Victor in general or Victor as well. I think that our team has been in... Even in these playoffs, a lot of different situations and we play without Victor and Victor's come back while missing a game or part of a game. And I think our group is very secure with where we're at and who they are. And I think when you have that with the level of fearlessness, you may be lacking in some things like experience or in reference points in terms of what you're walking through. But we're very comfortable with who we are and where we're at. We're going to continue to just try to lean into our habits and our execution that we go over every day and things about being connected and together. Victor, starting with figuring out what a playground two was in Minnesota, what's the last 48 hours been like for you? I've been working with the team to come back after a loss, taking care of my body, watching film, being locked in at practice, simple as that. Victor, your start tonight, how much of that was concerted, looking to get going early, and how much of that was within the flow of the way the game started? I think it's super important for us, the way we start a game because it sets the tone. Now, the challenge is to do it for 48 minutes. Whether it was stemming from the flagrant two or not, something Devin said at shootaround this morning was that the Spurs were going to need an upset Vic to come out tonight to get this win. Mitch called it more of a mature Vic. I'm just curious if there's either one of those that you prefer or maybe another word. They ain't mutually exclusive, so I'm looking for both. Victor, after having time to reflect, would you have done things differently? Did you have any regrets about the elbow? Just reflecting on after having time to reflect. I mean, it was two games ago, it's the playoffs. I'm focused. I was focused on the game today and now I'm focusing on the game in Minnesota in three days. It's the playoff. We got to move on and I got to care about my team. Victor, obviously, when they would grab you, hit you, whatever, you appeared frustrated in the past. But tonight, it seemed like it didn't phase you anymore, that there was a point where Io early in the game was coming over to you saying something. You just kind of seemed to laugh it off. Do you feel like after maybe getting that release, the physicality doesn't phase you in the same way anymore and you're more used to it? Yeah, I feel like the rage baiting would have been maybe one of the strategies. I feel like I need to stay composed as a team. How much were you itching to just get back on the court after what happened in game four? Sorry? How much were you just itching to get back on the court? Very much. I mean, I was fresh, feeling good. But honestly, it's hard to tell if it was just game five. Obviously, I'm going to be excited. I'm going to have butterflies. So excitement is not something abnormal at this point in the playoffs. The effort from your team defensively tonight and throughout the playoffs, how would you put that into words? The defensive effort? Yes. I would say it's an area where you need to be willing to do it and to do the sacrifices and to do the extra effort. And it's been working pretty well. We can get better. But when we're locked in and apply discounting, we're really, really good. What role do you throw? How much credit do you give Sweeney for what you guys have become defensively? Oh, I mean, all of it. Victor, there's a viral video of you going around arriving back in San Antonio and Coach Pop is waiting for you at the airport. And you look very attentive to what he's saying, not asking you to give away anything private. But what does it mean to you knowing that Coach Pop was waiting for you at the airport after such an emotional game? And was there something from that conversation, whether it was a lesson, a message or tone that stayed with you heading into tonight's game or in tonight's game? Yeah, I mean, I feel like I'm not going to leak anything he said, obviously. But he maybe wanted to make a statement or make his talking even more impactful by being there. But he gives feedback and talks to us regularly, you know, throughout series, throughout games. So as always, when he speaks, everybody listens. Victor, on the whole of the series, we have the impression that you are globally in control, but there are still regular gaps in the games where you leave them runs, especially tonight. End of the first quarter and beginning of the third. How do you explain these gaps, these holes? And how do you do it so that it doesn't happen in the next game to manage to close there? I explain it through their experience. It's a team that knows how to take advantage of the mistakes of their opponents. Of his opponents. And it's something that has hurt us in the past, on which we simply have to progress. And to come back to the fact of taking runs sometimes and being in weak moments, how do you manage these dynamics alternations? And tonight, for example, in the beginning of the third quarter, you take a 14-2, then you pass a run directly after. How do you shift your mindset a little to pass a run after having taken one? We also know that at this level, in the playoffs, there are no bad teams. And they will necessarily have a run at some point or another. But what we say when the coach takes his time, it's that it's dirty. It was between the beginning, when it started, and the timeout. After that, it's over. It's up to us to take things by the hand. Thank you, thank you. That's my job. I've got to get us back on track. That's on me. It seems like slow starts have been a problem for you the last couple of games. How do you get off to just better starts and not dig a big hole that you have to climb out of? We've got to make some shots. Better offensive decisions. I think some of our shot selection in the first quarter in particular is a little iffy. I think there's some better shots. We're going to have to work a little harder to find some better shots early. When you say you feel like you found something, what did you feel like you found and where specifically did you kind of veer off? Well, I mean, they were super heavy in the gaps. So we did a better good job of cutting the gaps and finding people and moving around the floor and re-spacing the floor better. Chris, with Rudy guarding Victor, what's made it so hard for Rudy to try to contain him at times this series? Well, I think he's done a good job in large. The first quarter was execution of some coverages to help him out. We blew three or four of them. Then in the second half, it was similar, just kind of not executing the things we need to do around him or him executing the things he needs to do to give himself the best chance so we can help him. How much has foul trouble just played a role? Yeah, it was huge tonight. I mean, it was different guys. Julius super early, then Jaden all game long. That certainly hurts, yeah. Chris, Julius got going in the fourth quarter a little bit. What's the key to more consistency from him on the offensive side? Yeah, I mean, I think you saw he played with force, played through contact, the first level of contact, stayed on balance a little bit better. With your bigs just in general, are you getting over the course of the series more pointed with which big lineup combinations you want to have out there, specific to what frontcourt San Antonio has out there, or is it not that meticulous? Well, I mean, there's certainly matchups that we've been trying to get to all series. Hasn't changed a whole lot really, other than foul trouble changes that. Chris, on Julius's defense, are you seeing enough from him on that end of the floor? Is that where some of the breakdowns are coming right now? Honestly, no. I don't think there's a ton of breakdowns around Julius's defense right now. It's a combination of a lot of different things. Hello. What would you all identify as kind of the biggest problem tonight? I think they had a lot of second chance points. I don't know, man. I got to go look at the film to really answer that question. But first thing that come to mind is second chance points. I'm trying to find offensive rebounds. I can't really find them. 39. I mean, 27. How many rebounds we had? No, they had 11. They had 11 offensive rebounds. I mean, we had 10 offensive rebounds, so it's kind of even. But I think they converted on theirs more than we did. And it's been a couple games now in a row with slow starts to the game. You guys have kind of been digging out of a hole at the start. What do you think has been going on just at the start? I mean, tonight, some of the stuff that Wimby was doing, you don't really have too much of an answer for it. Just kind of hope he misses. But he was making, he came out high. He made a bunch of shots. I feel like we adjusted, fought back, fought back, fought back in the game. Tried to dig ourselves out of the hole. But I mean, eventually they created another lead. And running out in transition. We got to get back, get matched up. Just game plan mistakes that we keep making. And it's too late in the series to make these mistakes. Is it like going under guys on screens? Is the transition defense? It's a little bit of everything. Not knowing the game plan. Executing on offense. We know they're going to come out and be physical defensively. We know how to go against that. And then us defensively. We know our coverage is what we're supposed to be doing when they're in pick and roll. And I think we're just not doing it enough. I know you guys fought back to tie the score in the third quarter. And then they outscored you 30 to 12 from that moment on. Where do you think that got off the rails for you guys? What maybe one or two things that happened there? Like Ann said, I think a lot of it has to do with game plan mistakes. Just when you're in a tight series like this. And 2-2 game on the road. Anything, any momentum, they feed off of that. So I just think that down the stretch. Not even down the stretch. I think after we made a run. I was telling Ann, it was a tight game. I think he missed a jumper. And then we came down, gave up a three. And it just went down here from there. In turn, them going on the run. But what I would say off the top of my head is game plan mistakes. Anthony, you've played I think 40-40 and 39 the last three games. You're about to get a two-day break. How welcome is that within this series? I'm so happy. Yeah, I'm ready to get two days. I mean, it's not gonna really be a break. But it's gonna be two days. I'm excited for it. So you feel like the overall belief level. Obviously, you're down 3-2. You would have to come back here in a seven. But that you guys can kind of still climb out of this. Yeah. Yeah, I don't see nobody in the locker room. That's the word. At the end of the day, man, it's another basketball game. So you come out, put your boots on and get ready to go to war. Yes. Is there a challenge to game plan disciplines? You guys are talking about in a road environment. That's maybe a little more difficult. Whether it's the crowd noise affecting communication or things like that. That makes it maybe a little more difficult than maybe at home. I can't really pinpoint why we keep making the game plan mistakes. We just got to be better on it. Yeah, it's just that simple. We just got to be better at whatever the coaches draw up for the game plan. We got to go out there and execute it at the highest level. Much like in game two, they blew the game open when Jaden McDaniels was in foul trouble. He goes out and you guys were down by, I think, 18 at the end of third quarters. What does it do for you guys when he's in foul trouble? And does it give them an advantage when he's resting like that? Of course. He means so much to our team. I always get selfishly frustrated when he gets in foul trouble. But just because his presence out there on the defensive end and being able to make plays and be aggressive, we need that. So when he goes out in foul trouble, it hurts us because he means so much to our team. He's one of our anchors defensively. And he'd been in those positions before also. So yeah, he means a lot to our team for sure. Anthony kind of mentioned what Wemby did early. Is that the type of energy y'all kind of expected from him coming out considering what happened last game? I guess from your perspective, how hard is that type of burst for him to contain? Yeah, I mean, he's one of the best players in the league. So I always say in playoff times, the best players rise to the occasion. And at any given moment, they can go off. You've seen Ant last game, how he was able to just erupt. Once he gets it going, it's hard to stop. And I think Wemby, he came out with that same mindset. He made some easy ones. And then the basket starts to look a little big for him. So I wouldn't say we expected it. We came into the game trying to win a game. And we understand what kind of player he is. So when you're a good player like that, at any given moment, you can just break out. Ant, two years ago, you were in this same situation. You lost game five to Denver, and you came back and won the series. What do you maybe draw from that experience? And how did you guys, looking back on it, kind of refocus backs against the wall and come back and get that series? I mean, we know, like I said, the game plan. We know what we got to do in order to beat the team. And I think everything starts with Jaden McDaniels trying to keep him out of foul trouble. Because he's so important to the team. He's so important to us. It hurts everybody when he gets in foul trouble. And some tough calls being made out there against a man. So it's not too much we can say. But yeah, we just we try to avoid him getting foul trouble. And if we can do that, we give ourselves a great chance to win the ball game.