The Timberwolves beat the Spurs 114-109 on Sunday in Game 4 to level the series at 2-2, but the night turned on Victor Wembanyama’s early exit. The 7-foot-4 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year was disqualified in the second quarter after slamming his right elbow into Naz Reid’s neck, a Flagrant 2 foul that sent him to the bench after only 12:29.
San Antonio was leading 36-34 when Wembanyama was ejected, and the Spurs could not hold the edge from there. Minnesota outscored them 80-73 the rest of the way, turning a tight game into a missed opportunity for the visitors and a series reset for the Timberwolves.
The result gives Game 5 real stakes on Tuesday at 8 ET on NBC and Peacock. With the series knotted, the Spurs need more than a flash of Wembanyama’s talent; they need him on the floor long enough to control the game. Sunday showed how quickly the balance changes when he is not there.
The outing also landed in odd company. Wembanyama’s 12:29 ranks among the shortest healthy postseason performances ever cited alongside some of the league’s biggest names. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had one playoff game in which he played 10 minutes. Bill Russell logged 20 minutes after an ankle injury in Game 3 of the 1958 NBA Finals. LeBron James once played 24 minutes in Game 5 of the 2014 East Finals, Michael Jordan played 29 minutes in the Bulls’ 114-90 playoff win over Atlanta in 1993, and Wilt Chamberlain played 34 minutes in Game 4 of the 1971 West Finals.
Other stars have also been cut short by injury or foul trouble. Shaquille O’Neal had playoff games of 8:29 and 3:31 in 2011, David Robinson played 7:11 in the Spurs’ opener of their 2002 first-round series against Seattle, and Tim Duncan finished Game 4 of the West semifinals against Oklahoma City in the final series of his career at 12:06. Wembanyama’s night was not that brief, but it was brief enough to shape a playoff game.
That is the tension now for San Antonio. Wembanyama can absorb the physical play Minnesota has been bringing, respond in kind, or turn any edge he feels into production at both ends. Game 4 did not go well when he chose the second path. If the Spurs want to keep control in Game 5, they may need their best player to stay out of trouble and stay on the court longer than Sunday allowed.
