San Antonio lost to Minnesota (104-103) on Sunday after having a 19-point lead and despite 29 points from Victor Wembanyama, starting for the first time since December 31.
San Antonio is scuttled. The Spurs, who had a 19-point lead in the 3rd quarter, ended up losing 104-103 to the Minnesota Timberwolves, after a terribly awkward last quarter. Present in the starting five for the first time in 2026, after being spared after returning from injury, Victor Wembanyama had a full game with 29 points and 7 rebounds in 27 minutes, and already had 16 points at the break.
Gobert takes a technical foul after a missed block on Wembanyama
But the 22-year-old Frenchman, decisive on Saturday in Boston, was this time well contained in the 4th quarter by the physical defense of Julius Randle (15 pts). After being clumsy for a long time, the Wolves woke up at the end, and saw Anthony Edwards (23 pts) score a decisive basket 16 seconds from the whistle. What the Wolves star announced to his teammates.
“Honestly, I wasn’t really in the game tonight,” Edwards said after the game. “Like I told them, ‘I don’t care what happens in the first three quarters. In the fourth quarter, with three or four minutes to go, let me see. You can score 50 points. But in the fourth quarter, with four minutes to go, for the rest of the game, let me do it.’
“It was clearly our match”, Wembanyama’s big regrets
The Spurs harvested the last minutes (5 out of 20 shooting in the last quarter) and multiplied the blunders in key moments. The French pivot Rudy Gobert (2 points, 14 rebounds), struggling to defend on “Wemby” at the start of the game, nevertheless gave them a nice breather 7 minutes from the siren with a blatant foul on his teammate in the French team for not having respected his “landing” zone. An error accompanied by a technical foul for his attitude with the referees, offering Wembanyama four throws and possession.
Gobert advanced too far in defense by jumping on a shot behind the Wembanyama arc, the giant (2.24 m) falling on the foot of the Wolves pivot before holding his left ankle, then still finishing the match. “It was clearly our match,” regretted Wemby after the match. “I think at times we lost sight of what we should have done. We dominated the three-point line in the first half. There were times, not all the time, but there were times where we gave them too much freedom.” San Antonio remains 2nd in the West (27v-12d) but sees the Wolves getting closer (4th, 26v-14d).
In the other matches of the evening, a great series from Canadian MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (29 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists) in the 3rd quarter offered a calm success to champion Oklahoma City against Miami (124-112). The Thunder, less effective in recent weeks, thus largely maintains the best record in the league (1st in the West, 33v-7d). For their part, the Toronto Raptors ended up winning 116 to 115 after overtime against the Philadelphia 76ers after an intense match. Tyrese Maxey shone with 38 points and 5 assists, but the Canadians found the answer in particular with Scottie Barnes (31 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists), author of the last point on the free throw line.
