Edwards’ 36 points led Minnesota to a 114-109 victory and a 2-2 tie with the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals.
Published May 11, 2026
Anthony Edwards scored 16 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter, and the Minnesota Timberwolves took advantage of Victor Wembaneyama’s ejection to beat the San Antonio Spurs 114-109.
The Timberwolves’ victory Sunday night in Minneapolis tied the Western Conference second-round series at two games apiece.
Recommended stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
Naz Reid contributed 15 points and nine rebounds off the bench for Minnesota. The Spurs star was also ejected in the second quarter when he took an elbow to the jaw from Wembaneyama.
For the Timberwolves, Jayden McDaniels had 14 points, Julius Randle had 12 points, and Rudy Gobert had 11 points and 13 rebounds. Ayo Dosunmu added 10 points for Minnesota.
For the Spurs, De’Aaron Fox and backup Dylan Harper each had 24 points, and Stephon Castle added 20 points. Devin Vassell scored 14 points for San Antonio. Wenbanyama played over 12 minutes and recorded 4 points, 4 rebounds, and no blocks.
“We didn’t expect them to just leave,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “They won the Portland Series game without Wenbanyama, so they’re a very good team.”
The Spurs trailed by seven points, but Harper made two free throws with 29.1 seconds left and Julien Champagnie made two with 20.6 seconds left to put San Antonio ahead 112-109.
As Minnesota closed out the game, Dosunmu responded with two free throws with 9.8 seconds left.
When asked about how the Timberwolves won Game 4, Edwards told reporters: “It’s just the little plays. The little plays win big games. That’s what we needed. Diving to the floor, offensive rebounds, great subs from Finchy, who brought in Ayo in the last minute and a half.”
Before that, Wenbanyama grabbed a rebound and tried to protect the ball from two Timberwolves, then turned and delivered a hard right elbow to Reed’s jaw, resulting in him being called for a foul with 8:39 left in the first half.
After considering the play, the referee upgraded the foul to red-handed offense 2, which is an automatic sending off. “There was windup, impact and follow-through above the opponent’s neck,” crew chief Zach Zarba said.
“I’m glad he (Wenbanyama) took matters into his own hands and not in terms of bashing Nas Reid. I want to be clear about that,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “I’m glad Naz Reid is OK and I didn’t want him to get elbowed. But (Wenbanyama) has to protect himself if no one is going to replace him. And I think that’s a bad thing.”
Minnesota led 60-56 at intermission. Edwards scored 18 points in the first half, and Castle led San Antonio with 14 points in the first half.
Despite missing Wenbanyama, the Spurs scored 20 of the first 28 points in the third quarter and took a 76-68 lead on Vassell’s basket with 4:33 left.
“Offensively, I thought we did a lot of really good things,” Finch said. “We got a little lost and gave them life.”
San Antonio’s Keldon Johnson hit the hoop with 21.9 seconds left to take an 84-80 advantage into the final period.
Fox sank a 3-pointer with 8 minutes, 51 seconds left to give San Antonio a 94-86 lead, and Edwards scored 12 points while the Timberwolves led 14-5.
“We had a chance to win,” Johnson said. “We didn’t end the game the way we wanted. … Minnesota made some plays to close out the game.”
Edwards got off to a explosive start with a jumper, then quickly scored five points in a row with a short floater and a long straight 3-pointer, cutting the gap to Minnesota to three points with 7:10 remaining. He then made two free throws with 5 minutes, 51 seconds left to bring the Timberwolves within 97-95, and sank a 3-pointer 39 seconds later to put Minnesota within one point.
Gobert then made a spectacular dunk to give the Timberwolves a 107-101 lead with 1:56 remaining.
Minnesota shot 44.7 percent from the field, including 10 of 27 from 3-point range, while the Spurs shot 47.7 percent from the field and just 6 of 26 from behind the arc.
Game 5 will be played Tuesday in San Antonio.
