NBA Playoffs Takeaways: Spurs Look Unstoppable, Eliminate Timberwolves; Pistons Force Game 7

Just five teams remain in the NBA playoffs.

The Spurs eliminated Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves from championship contention Friday night with a wire-to-wire 139–109 victory at Target Center in Game 6. Meanwhile, over in Cleveland, the Pistons kept their season alive with a 115–94 win at Rocket Arena, setting up a Game 7 on Sunday in Detroit.

Here are four takeaways from Friday night’s slate:

Pistons' all-around effort proves crucial with their backs against the wall

Detroit's collective team effort in Game 6 showed up in a big way. It was obvious throughout the box score—six players had double-digit points, including two guys off the bench—but nowhere was it more apparent than in the emergence of center Jalen Duren, who finally posted a stat line reminiscent of his All-Star regular season after struggling to produce all series long.

On Friday, Duren dropped 15 points on 7-for-10 shooting, with three blocks and 11 rebounds, his most since Game 1. Ausar Thompson was also back in the mix with nine rebounds, four steals and one electric two-handed block that put the kibosh on an already-doomed attempt from Max Strus.

The bottom line: Cade Cunningham was a star Friday night, as was to be expected with the Pistons' season on the line, but so was his supporting cast. That played a big difference in the team’s 21-point win Friday.

The Cavs must either slow or keep up with Pistons in the paint to win Game 7

Detroit dominated Cleveland in the paint on Friday, outscoring the Cavs 48–26 from close range. That’s not a shock as Detroit lives near the rim, leading the NBA in points in the paint during the regular season with 57.9 per game. Duren and Thompson are two key players for the Pistons near the hoop, and as noted above, both made their mark in Game 5.

Cleveland was a bit better than league average in the paint this year, and it has the manpower—in the form of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen—to battle inside. The Cavs’ big men were a combined 5-for-7 in the paint Friday, but they need to have more of a presence inside in Game 7. Comparatively speaking, the duo combined for 14 shots in the paint (nine makes) in Cleveland's Game 5 win. An added inside presence presents second-chance opportunities on offense and could lead to foul trouble for the Pistons' big men.

Good luck to the rest of the West

These Spurs are good. Really good. And they are way ahead of schedule.

Six players scored in double figures for San Antonio in Game 6 on Friday night. Three of those players are 22 years old or younger—Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper. The old, wise vets of that group are 28-year-old De’Aaron Fox, 25-year-old Devin Vassell and 24-year-old Julian Champagnie.

This team wasn’t supposed to be ready for a run to the Western Conference finals just yet. They were supposed to follow the old NBA tradition of earning their stripes over several years of playoff heartbreak before having a true chance at a championship. But this team is ready to win a championship now.

The Spurs did look like an inexperienced playoff team in Game 1 against Minnesota. But they were the better team he rest of the series and probably would’ve taken care of business in five games if Wembanyama hadn’t been ejected in Game 4.

Perhaps those tough playoff lessons are ahead for San Antonio, as a matchup against the mighty Thunder awaits in the Western Conference finals. Either way, the rest of the Western Conference is in trouble. The Spurs have officially arrived.

What, exactly, was the Timberwolves’ identity in this series?

Ever since the Timberwolves shockingly traded for Rudy Gobert in the summer of 2022, defense has been their calling card. They’ve boasted a top-10 defensive rating the past three seasons, and that—paired with Anthony Edwards’s ascent to superstardom—has been Minnesota’s ticket to the Western Conference finals.

The Timberwolves’ defense was nowhere to be found against San Antonio, especially in Game 6. The Spurs—a franchise with many, many playoff games in the record books—scored 74 points in the first half, the second-most points in the first half of a postseason tilt in franchise history. San Antonio shot 56% from the field and 47% from three-point range while grabbing more than twice as many rebounds (60–29) as Minnesota in Game 6.

Many nights, there is no answer for 7’4” phenom Victor Wembanyama. But Minnesota didn’t have an answer for the rest of the Spurs’ rotation, either.

Catch up on Sports Illustrated’s live blog from the two Game 6 matchups Friday night:

How it happened: Spurs beat Timberwolves; Pistons force Game 7

Others

How we got here in the Pistons-Cavaliers series

Game 1: Pistons 111, Cavaliers 101 (Detroit)
Game 2: Pistons 107, Cavaliers 97 (Detroit)
Game 3: Cavaliers 116, Pistons 109 (Cleveland)
Game 4: Cavaliers 112, Pistons 103 (Cleveland)
Game 5: Cavaliers 117, Pistons 113 (OT) (Detroit)

Game 6 is taking place on the heels of a truly thrilling Game 5. The Cavs won their first road game of the postseason by erasing several Pistons leads—most meaningfully a nine-point deficit in the final three minutes— in front of a hostile Detroit crowd. Despite some controversy in the final seconds, Cleveland managed to force overtime and pull out the victory behind 51 combined points from the James Harden-Donovan Mitchell star pairing.

The Cavaliers know tonight is a big one. Win, and they’re in their first ECF since 2018. Lose, and they’ll be headed back to Little Caesars Arena for Game 7 on the road. The Pistons aren’t going to make it easy, but with zero home losses this playoff run, the Cavs figure to have the upper hand.

How we got here in the Spurs-Timberwolves series

Victor Wembanyam — The Spurs and Timberwolves will battle in Game 6 tonight. | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Game 1: Timberwolves 104, Spurs 102 (San Antonio)
Game 2: Spurs 133, Timberwolves 95 (San Antonio)
Game 3: Spurs 115, Timberwolves 108 (Minnesota)
Game 4: Timberwolves 114, Spurs 109 (Minnesota)
Game 5: Spurs 126, Timberwolves 97 (San Antonio)

Wembanyama dominated last time out to give the Spurs a 3–2 series edge. While the young star brushed off any questions about his ejection in Game 4 stemming from an elbow thrown at Naz Reid, it certainly felt like he was trying to make up for things in Game 5. And boy, did he. Wemby had 27 points and 17 rebounds to lead San Antonio to a rout of a victory. Now, he’ll be locked in on trying to power the Spurs to their first Western Conference finals showing in nine years.

The Wolves, meanwhile, will have the home crowd behind them and, as always, you can bet on Anthony Edwards showing up ready to play. His supporting cast has been too inconsistent in these playoffs (hence the 3–2 series deficit), but if they can step up, Minnesota has the combination of physicality and shot-making to give San Antonio all it can handle.

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