Good evening sports fans, and welcome back to the NBA playoffs, where the Spurs and Timberwolves will face off Tuesday night in what is sure to be a chippy Game 5, if the rest of the series has been any indication.
To note: San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama will be available for the contest despite his ejection from Sunday's Game 4. The big man was tossed after violently elbowing Minnesota's Naz Reid in the head/neck, but still managed to avoid a suspension at the hands of the league office.
Now, were the T'Wolves at all bothered by this good-faith treatment, considering the possible implications for their playoff run? Not at all. In fact, they seem quite eager for the opportunity to face the Alien in a scale-tipping Game 5.
"I don't think we even thought about it much at all," Mike Conley told reporters before the game on Tuesday. "I think once the ruling came down, it was like, we expected that. Just move forward. We don't want guys to miss games. We want to play against the best."
Plus, as star Wolves guard Anthony Edwards explained on Sunday, it might actually work in Minnesota's favor to have Wembanyama out on the floor, just considering the increased pace of the Spurs offense with him on the bench.
"Honestly, man, I think it was kind of harder?" Ant said of Game 4 after Wemby's ejection. "Just because, of course, they're a really great team with him on the floor, but they play a lot slower when he's on the floor, because everything is involved around him. When he's not on the floor, everybody's [playing]," Edwards said. "It's just like, when every team is missing their best player, everybody plays free. They get more shots, more confident. So I think it was a lot harder."
So, there you have it-the league might have actually done the Wolves a solid in letting Wemby play, at least according to Edwards, as hard as that is to believe. That said, we'll have to see how both sides feel when we get a final look at the box score later tonight.
Until then, we'll have live scores, updates, and stats for you below:
Live NBA playoff updates, scores and stats ahead of Game 5 of Spurs vs. Timberwolves
How we got here in the Spurs-Timberwolves series
Game 1: Timberwolves 104, Spurs 102 (San Antonio)
Game 2: Spurs 133, Timberwolves 95 (San Antonio)
Game 3: Spurs 115, Timberwolves 108 (Minnesota)
Game 4: Timberwolves 114, Spurs 109 (Minnesota)
So far, this has probably been the best series of these NBA playoffs. Minnesota overcame a Wembanyama triple-double, including 12 blocks, in Game 1 to steal a win in San Antonio. The Spurs got their revenge in the rematch, scoring the only true blowout of the series so far.
Wembanyama came out on top in an incredible shootout with Anthony Edwards on the road in Game 3. The Alien dropped 39 points and 15 rebounds, while Edwards had 32 points and 14 boards for the losing side. Ant took advantage in Game 4 after Wembanyama's ejection, taking over in the fourth quarter and finishing with 36 points as the Wolves evened the series.
Game 5 takes us back to San Antonio, setting up what should be a thrilling final few games of this Western Conference semifinal.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Spurs vs. Timberwolves Game 5: Minnesota Players Eager to Face Victor Wembanyama After No Suspension From NBA.
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