The Minnesota Timberwolves found themselves in a must-win Game 4, down 2-1 to the San Antonio Spurs. In the second quarter, Victor Wembanyama was ejected after he elbowed Naz Reid in the throat. From that point on, the need to win the game increased even further.
It was a tight one, but the Wolves ultimately pulled it off, winning 114-109. Frankly, with Wemby, it's unlikely that they would have won, and if they were down 3-1, the Wolves' season would have essentially been over.
However, thanks to his ejection, the Wolves were able to even up the series. And while it wasn't pretty, the Wolves have proven that even if things aren't perfect, they can't be counted out.
Without a doubt, evening the series on Sunday night opens the door for a Wolves' upset in a major way, and it's largely thanks to Wemby not being able to control his emotions.
The Wolves still need to make some adjustments, but Wemby's ejection clearly saved their season
I'm not going to gush over the performance from the Wolves. Truthfully, I think they could have done a better job of taking advantage of Wemby's ejection.
San Antonio's ball pressure continued to bother the Wolves, who recorded 17 turnovers. The Wolves' offensive process wasn't ideal as they mainly relied on isolation, and once again, outside of Anthony Edwards, Minnesota didn't have many consistent sources of offense or shot creation.
They also struggled with their ball containment on defense, allowing the trio of De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper to combine for 68 points.
It's great that they got the win, but the Wolves still have plenty of work to do.
The bright side is that the Wolves frequently exceed expectations, and now that they're two games away from moving ahead to the conference finals, nobody should count them out. Chris Finch has also proven that he is great at creating game plans.
Furthermore, Edwards was fantastic, scoring 36 points, including 16 points in the fourth quarter. It's hard to believe Ant-Man is coming off a knee injury. If Edwards' stellar play continues and the Wolves get some more production from his co-stars, an upset could be in the cards.
The Wolves need to make some adjustments with the series tied up, there's no doubt about it. Nevertheless, had Wemby not been tossed, the Wolves would, within all likelihood, be staring down a 3-1 deficit, which is essentially a death sentence in the NBA.
Now, though, their season is still very much alive, and with some tweaks, they could suddenly be poised to clinch their third straight conference finals appearance.
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