The San Antonio Spurs suffered a home defeat at the start. The San Antonio Spurs were surprised at home by the Minnesota Timberwolves (104-102) on Monday, May 4, in their first match of the Western Conference semifinals, despite Victor Wembanyama setting a new shot-blocking record (12). After qualifying against Portland in the first round (4-1), the Spurs and their French star, who is experiencing the playoffs for the first time, realized that the level rises as the rounds progress. The experienced Timberwolves seized the moment to take a 1-0 lead in this best-of-seven series. The highly anticipated duel between Victor Wembanyama, voted best defender of the year, and Rudy Gobert (seven points, 10 rebounds), four times honored with this award, took shape from the first actions. This set the tone for “Wemby’s” evening, who continued to challenge the visitors’ attempts from high altitude, reaching halftime with seven blocks, for a total of 12, a new NBA playoff record (previously 10). The 22-year-old Frenchman ended with an impressive triple-double (11 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, 12 blocks) but finished his evening frustrated by his shooting inaccuracy. Victor Wembanyama shot 5 for 17, including 0 for 8 from long range, persisting behind the arc without success, and made some mistakes with three turnovers. “I need to start by taking and making shots, better utilizing my energy, I used it a lot on one side of the court. In attack, I also wasted energy on useless things for my team, it’s my fault,” commented the Frenchman in the press conference. “We have to do better, we have forty-eight hours to find solutions, and we will find them, I have no doubt,” he reassured. Between these two defensively specialized teams, the score remained close, with the margin never reaching 10 points, with 19 lead changes. The difference was made in favor of the Wolves, who aim for a third consecutive Western Conference final, while the Texan franchise returns to the playoffs for the first time since 2019. The next match between the two teams will take place on Wednesday in San Antonio.
