Why Spurs Won't Use Victor Wembanyama's Ejection as Excuse for Game 4 Loss

SAN ANTONIO — Mitch Johnson instructed his squad to deny the stakes. By no means should his San Antonio Spurs have treated Sunday evening any differently.

With the Minnesota Timberwolves up against the wall at home, down 2-1 in the Western Conference Semifinals, they were going to be on a mission. A Spurs win meant taking a 3-1 lead back home with a chance to advance to the Western Conference Finals on Tuesday.

None of that mattered within the confines of the Spurs' locker room in Minnesota. Even after falling short 114-109 as the Timberwolves evened the series at two games each.

"Every game has a ton of circumstances," Spurs coach Mitch Johnson explained pregame. "Tonight's game is the only game that matters ... and that's that."

Through one quarter and three minutes of the second, the Spurs felt they had a handle on Game 4, despite another round of offensive struggles for Victor Wembanyama. That was until the Frenchman decided he'd had enough of the scratching and clawing.

After corralling an offensive rebound off Carter Bryant's missed 3-pointer, Wembanyama protected the ball with his right arm while Naz Reid and Jaden McDaniels swarmed him. With his left arm held back by McDaniels, Wembanyama threw an elbow, striking Reid in his neck. It took all but five minutes for the foul to be upgraded to a Flagrant 2.

"What's that mean?" Wembanyama asked Harrison Barnes on the bench.

It meant he was done for the night. With four points to his name.

"I don't think he even knew he was ejected at that point," Stephon Castle said. "He was trying to get everybody back and locked in, focused on the next couple of possessions."

May 10, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) commits a Flagrant 2 foul against Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid (11) in the second quarter of Game 4 of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Target Center. Wembanyama had to leave the game. | Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

Wembanyama retreated to the locker room to a shower of boos from Target Center after high-fiving each of his teammates still on the bench and clapping on his way out.

From then on, San Antonio found itself in familiar territory.

"We've played now 18 games without Vic this year," De'Aaron Fox said in the locker room. "Seventeen in the regular season and one playoff game. We have some experience."

Fox, who combined with Castle and Spurs rookie Dylan Harper to score 68 points Sunday evening, changed gears offensively. Knowing he'd be without the help of his 7-foot-4 superstar allowed him to spend more time with the ball in his hands.

"Whenever you don't have him out there, you've got to figure out a way to pick up the production he leaves behind," Fox said. "No one person is going to pick that up."

Reaching 62 wins this season didn't come easy for San Antonio. In other words, it knew being adaptable was going to be its best chance at survival in a hostile arena.

"We just had to move on," Castle said.

May 10, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) works around San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) in the fourth quarter of Game 4 of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Target Center. | Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

In the ensuing minutes after Wembanyama's ejection, the Timberwolves got out to a 6-0 run to take an eight-point lead. Led by their guard trio and Luke Kornet — filling in for the absent Wembanyama — the Spurs managed to keep pace for most of the second half.

Minnesota rallied behind Anthony Edwards, who scored 36 points, marking his second straight 30-point outing while still shaking off a left knee bone bruise suffered in Game 4 of the first round. With every basket he scored, the Spurs' hopes grew slimmer.

Edwards, who felt the need to take advantage of a Spurs squad without its best player, contributed heavily to the Timberwolves' 37 percent 3-point shooting clip. A desperate San Antonio couldn't slow him down, leading to the demise of its one-game cushion.

"He did a good of making shots tonight," Kornet said, declining to speak on how healthy Edwards felt now six games removed from his injury.

Down to the full court pass to Ayo Dosunmu that buried the Spurs with under a minute to play, they had a chance to win. The last thing they'd counter their loss with is an excuse.

"We had a chance to win," Johnson said. "Things we could have been better. We didn't close it out the way we wanted to, but I thought the reaction, obviously, was phenomenal."

With Game 5 at home, the Spurs see another chance to capitalize. Announced Monday afternoon, Wembanyama will not be suspended for his flagrant foul; while winning without him would have been sweet, winning with him, for a team searching for its first Western Conference Finals berth since 2017, will certainly be sweeter.

San Antonio is banking on that feeling back in South Texas.

"I would've liked to win," Harper said, "but it being close, you gotta nod your head to something. All the good things we did, we can do even better. I think that's a positive."

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