"The Spurs arrived in Minnesota on Friday with a 3-2 lead in their best-of-seven semifinals, and led throughout a victory that sets up a tantalising showdown series with the reigning champions and top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. It is the first time a revitalised San Antonio has reached the conference finals since 2017. While the Thunder are heavy favourites for another championship, the dangerous Spurs enjoyed a 4-1 record against Oklahoma City in the regular season."
"Stephon Castle led Friday's wire-to-wire win with 32 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 11-of-16 from the field, ably backed up by De'Aaron Fox and Victor Wembanyama, who added 21 and 19 apiece. The win was vindication for French superstar Wembanyama, who was ejected from game four for smashing an elbow into the throat of Minnesota's Naz Reid, and was predictably targeted by the Timberwolves for the rest of the series."
"I knew, obviously, what they were going to do I felt like if I gave in to the physicality and the dirtiness, that would have helped them, said Wembanyama. I knew I couldn't go over the edge again. So, you know, I had to beat them by playing basketball."
"The Spurs got off to a fantastic start, tearing ahead in the first quarter, dominant in the paint and led by a rampant Castle. Just when it was looking ugly for the Timberwolves, they fought back, their aggression spearheaded by Anthony Edwards. But from a 74-61 halftime lead, the Spurs roared clear in the third quarter, successfully double-teaming Edwards to shut down Minnesota's most"
San Antonio secured a Western Conference Finals berth with a 139-109 win over Minnesota. The Spurs led from start to finish after arriving with a 3-2 series advantage, producing a wire-to-wire performance. Stephon Castle led with 32 points and 11 rebounds on 11-of-16 shooting, supported by De'Aaron Fox and Victor Wembanyama. Wembanyama, previously ejected for an elbow incident, was targeted physically and responded by staying disciplined and winning through basketball. Minnesota briefly fought back, but San Antonio pulled away in the third quarter, including double-teaming Anthony Edwards. In the East, Detroit defeated Cleveland to level their series at 3-3, keeping their playoff hopes alive.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]