It was a much-needed Game 4 victory for the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday. While it kept their series hopes alive by tying it up at two apiece with the San Antonio Spurs, there are plenty of NBA fans who are placing an asterisk over Minnesota’s most recent win.
That is because Victor Wembanyama was ejected from Game 4 early in the second quarter. Despite San Antonio being without their superstar, the Wolves had to fight tooth and nail to even up their Western Conference semifinals matchup.
Wemby will be in the lineup for Tuesday night’s Game 5, as it was announced that no suspension was coming for his elbow to Naz Reid’s throat. The Timberwolves have a major opportunity in Game 5 to quiet their doubters with a win on the road while Wembanyama is playing.
Wembanyama is back for Game 5
It’s not fair to say Minnesota only won because Wembanyama was tossed. At the time it happened, the Timberwolves were up by four points after Reid’s ensuing two free throws following the elbow he received.Â
Sure, there was still a lot of the game left to be played, but the Wolves have already won Game 1, in which Wemby was available the whole time. Julian Champagnie’s 3-point miss at the buzzer in that outing gave Minnesota a two-point win. Wembanyama played nearly 40 minutes.
This isn't the first time that a topic about the Wolves winning due to a player being out has occurred. As Minnesota is 2 wins away from its third consecutive Western Conference finals appearance, they defeated the Golden State Warriors in five games in last year’s Western Conference semifinals. Stephen Curry left Game 1 with a hamstring strain, the one game in which GS came out victorious.
He didn't play in the rest of the series, and many believe that the Timberwolves wouldn’t have advanced had Steph not gotten injured.
The narrative that the Wolves are winning playoff outings only because the opposition has a key player get injured (or ejected) ignores the fact that Minnesota has had its fair share of injuries this postseason. Donte DiVincenzo is out with a torn Achilles. Ayo Dosumnu missed two games with calf soreness. Anthony Edwards returned earlier than expected after missing two contests with a left knee hyperextension and bone bruise (on top of the runner’s knee he has been dealing with in his other knee).
San Antonio was still very good whenever Wemby missed time this season. They played well without him on Sunday. Having him back is important, but the Timberwolves have already proved in this series they can win on the road with him in the lineup.
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