Spurs bounce back, beat Timberwolves by 38 to even seriesMichael C. WrightMay 7, 2026, 12:40 AM ETClose
- Joined ESPN in 2010
- Previously covered Bears for ESPN.com
- Played college football at West Texas A&M
SAN ANTONIO — As the locker room cleared after the San Antonio Spurs’ stunning loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals, Victor Wembanyama approached De’Aaron Fox at his locker.
They whispered briefly, and both left grinning.
Surely, they couldn’t have envisioned shellacking the Timberwolves 133-95 two nights later in Game 2 to even the series at 1 heading to Minnesota.
“We talked about how we were in a good place,” Fox told ESPN. “We played like s— and we lost [Game 1] by two.”
Wembanyama and Fox rebounded from shaky performances in the series opener to lead San Antonio on Wednesday to its highest-scoring playoff game since 1983. After combining for 21 points and shooting 32.2% from the field (including 0-for-12 from deep) to start the series, the Spurs’ All-Star duo knocked down 48% of their shots and served as catalysts for a team that notched its third-largest win (38 points in a game it led by as many as 47) in franchise history.
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Before Game 2, in a mildly chaotic, yet quiet San Antonio locker room subdued by the absence of Sixth Man of the Year Keldon Johnson’s booming music, multiple players, including Johnson, searched for the team’s veteran point guard. When Fox finally emerged, he explained he had been with Spurs coach Mitch Johnson.
“The message was simple,” the coach stated. “We’re at our best when he’s in attack mode. He has probably the strongest ripple effect on our team when he’s pushing the pace because you have [Stephon Castle] and Dylan [Harper] that follow suit with that. Then, our shooters get shots in transition, Victor plays in space and so on. I didn’t need to challenge him. I just wanted him to know that I may not always tell him that, but it’s true. He has not overdribbled or overshot one time for our team. So, when it’s time for him to impose his will, it doesn’t always have to be the last four minutes of the game.”
So, Fox started early, reeling off nine points in the opening frame while Wembanyama added seven.
With Fox and Castle, who scored a game-high 21 points, pushing the pace, the Spurs outscored Minnesota 34-8 in transition. The 34 transition points were San Antonio’s second most behind the 45 it rang up against Portland in the 2014 playoffs, since ESPN began tracking all NBA postseason games in 2013.
San Antonio also tied the most 3-point makes (16) in a playoff game in franchise history, led by Julian Champagnie, who connected on 4 of 4.
“We had the same game plan, had the same approach, maybe a wrinkle here or there,” Champagnie stated. “I think it was just [about] being more physical.”
That was most apparent defensively, where the home team shined brightest.
Wembanyama finished with 19 points and 15 rebounds to go with two blocks, marking his fourth consecutive double-double with two blocks or more and the longest such postseason streak for the franchise since 2010, when Hall of Famer Tim Duncan accomplished the feat. Wembanyama is now the first player to average at least 15 points and five blocks per game in his first six career postseason outings since 1973-74, when blocks were first tracked.
The Frenchman, Fox and Castle combined for five steals as the Spurs built a 24-point lead at intermission that swelled to 35 points by the end of the third quarter, despite Minnesota starting the second half on a 9-0 run.
“De’Aaron and Victor set a tone, and everyone followed suit,” Johnson stated.
That included Castle, who held Minnesota to 4-of-11 shooting with two turnovers on plays featuring him as the primary defender, per ESPN tracking.
“We respond well to adversity,” Castle stated. “We’ve done that all year. I don’t think we were too shellshocked coming out of Game 1. We knew why we lost Game 1 and addressed it right away. That’s what carried us tonight.”
Counting the regular season and the playoffs, San Antonio now owns a record of 17-5 coming off a loss, which is the best record in the NBA. The Spurs face the Timberwolves in Game 3 on Friday at the Target Center, where they haven’t won in their past seven tries.
Wembanyama later chimed in on the quiet late-night conversation he had with Fox at his locker after Game 1.
“As a team, we talk a lot whether it’s keeping everything tight or [giving] extra motivation to each other,” he stated. “There’s always a bunch of dynamics going on. But we were trying to keep the positivity.”
Because later, they’d manifest it.
ESPN Research contributed to this report.
