Wembanyama’s 39 sinks Minnesota as San Antonio snaps through late push

Victor Wembanyama doesn’t just win this game — he hijacks the final minutes. Minnesota keeps leaning on Anthony Edwards, keeps throwing counters, keeps making the Spurs sweat, but every time the Timberwolves get within striking distance, Wemby answers with something impossible. A 7-foot-4 release-point nightmare. A turnaround fade. A pull-up three from 24 feet. San Antonio walks out of Minneapolis with a 115-108 win because its franchise center turns the closing stretch into a personal showcase.

The night starts with both teams trading early punches, and San Antonio lands the first real flurry. The Spurs rip off an 11-0 run in the first quarter, turning a 1-4 hole into a 14-1 advantage with K. Johnson burying a 25-foot three and Stephon Castle threading the offense into rhythm. Minnesota answers with a 10-0 run of its own, and then Anthony Edwards starts to settle in, driving for baskets and dragging the Wolves back into it. By the end of the first, it’s still a one-point game. By halftime, it’s tied at 51. Neither side gets separation, but the tone is set: every mini-run is going to matter.

Minnesota actually appears to grab control in the third. The Wolves push out to their biggest lead of the night at 15, and for a moment the game starts to tilt toward their physicality and shot-making. But San Antonio doesn’t panic. T. Shannon Jr. drills a 27-foot three in the middle of a 9-0 Spurs burst, and the momentum shifts from a possible Wolves blowout into a one-possession fight again. That sequence matters because it prevents Minnesota from turning a good stretch into a knockout. Instead of fading, the Spurs keep chopping, and by the time the fourth quarter arrives, they’re in position to attack the game instead of survive it.

Then Wembanyama takes over. Minnesota gets it to 100-104 on a D. Harper cutting layup, but Wemby immediately counters with an 8-foot turnaround fadeaway at 3:45, then splashes a 24-foot three at 3:06 to push the lead back to six. That’s the turning point — not just because he scores, but because he scores in both of the ways that break defenses: touch over length and range beyond the arc. The Wolves keep swinging. N. Reid drills a three, J. McDaniels slices in for a driving layup, and Anthony Edwards buries a turnaround 24-footer with 23.9 seconds left to make it 108-113. But by then San Antonio has already forced Minnesota to chase too many answers.

Wembanyama finishes with 39 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks on 72 percent shooting, a stat line that only tells part of the story. He scores 34 by 3:45 in the fourth, then keeps pouring it on as the game tightens. Edwards counters with 32 points, 14 rebounds and six assists, carrying Minnesota through long stretches and even setting up a late push, but he never gets the final blow. Castle adds 12 assists, controlling the flow and keeping the Spurs organized through the swings, while Julian Champagnie gives them needed glass work with 12 rebounds. San Antonio doesn’t win by a landslide; it wins by having the best player on the floor when the margin is smallest.

The bigger picture is obvious. This is the kind of road win that travels in the postseason conversation: a late-game closer, a superstar center who can score from everywhere, and a Spurs team that can survive when the opponent’s star gets hot. For Minnesota, the loss stings because they did enough to win — they had the big run, the biggest lead, and the closing push — but couldn’t contain Wembanyama in the final five minutes. If these teams meet again, the Wolves will remember exactly how quickly a manageable fourth quarter turned into a San Antonio win.