Why Spurs will silence Timberwolves in 5 games in 2026 NBA Playoffs

The San Antonio Spurs have been on a collision course with the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder for the majority of the season. Victor Wembanyama and his crew received a scare from the Portland Trail Blazers before eliminating those upstarts in five games.

The scare in that series came when they lost Game 2 of the series at home and Wembanyama went down with a concussion and had to miss the majority of that game as well as Game 3. The Spurs shook off that potential problem and registered a pair of memorable road victories to regain control of the series before blowing out Portland in the fifth and final game.

Now it’s a step up in class for the Spurs as they will take on the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round.

The Timberwolves put on an impressive performance in eliminating Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in six games. The Timberwolves suffered a slew of major injuries during the series that could have ruined them and given the series to the Nuggets, but head coach Chris Finch’s team never batted an eye.

Once the Timberwolves lost Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo, they received a huge performance from Ayo Donsumo to lead the team. Donsumo scored a shocking 43 points in Minnesota’s Game 4 victory over the Nuggets, but Donsumo was nowhere to be found in the clinching Game 6 victory as a result of a right calf injury. In addition to the other injuries, Naz Reid played with a banged up right shoulder. Nevertheless, the Wolves came through with a 110-98 triumph.

Spurs appears to have a singular focus

A lesser team could have weakened after seeing their superstar and possible league MVP Victor Wembanyama fall flat on his face in Game 2. The Spurs would eventually build a big lead in that game before losing it and giving the Blazers legitimate hope in the series.

It appeared that the Wemby injury was a serious problem when he could not play in Game 3 and the Blazers built a 15-point lead in the third quarter. However, instead of folding without their star, the Spurs used their speed, skill and defensive intensity to rip the game away from the Blazers and secure a 120-108 triumph.

San Antonio used the same formula to win Game 4. The Blazers had a 17-point lead at halftime and appeared to be in a great position to square the series. However, the Spurs got serious in the second half and turned that deficit into a 21-point victory. Wembanyama played a key role as he returned and filled up the stat line with 27 points, 11 rebounds and 7 blocked shots.

Despite his notable performance, the Spurs are not even close to a one-man team. Head coach Mitch Johnson knows he can count on De’Aaron Fox, Steph Castle and Dylan Harper to light the fuse for the Spurs on an every-night basis. Fox is averaging 20.2 points in the postseason, while Castle is right there with 19.8 points per night. Both men are averaging better than 6 assists per game. Harper has also been scoring at key moments, averaging 12.6 points per game.

Timberwolves didn’t let injuries slow them

The Timberwolves are one of the best defensive teams in the league, and if there’s one factor besides their resilience that head Finch can count on, it’s their ability to respond to a challenge and use their defense to gain control of any game or series.

Their defensive ability and overall experience came into play in their clinching win over the Nuggets and Jaden McDaniels had 32 points and 10 rebounds and Terrence Shannon came through with 24 points. The Timberwolves shut down the Nuggets in the final eight minutes of the game, outscoring them 22-11 that allowed them to turn a one-point edge into a 110-98 victory.

The Timberwolves should have Donsumo back early in the series and there are reports that Edwards could be back for the middle of the series. Julius Randle will have to carry a big offensive load after averaging 19.2 points against the Nuggets. However, DiVincenzo’s absence will be too much to overcome against a great team like the Spurs.

Minnesota has one of the league’s top defensive players in Rudy Gobert, and he has been one of Wembanyama’s biggest influences since both play for French national team. Gobert was brilliant against Jokic, particularly in the late stages of games. He knows Wembanyama as well as anyone and he may be able to slow him down a bit, but he won’t be able to stop him.

The T-Wolves will come at Wemby and the Spurs with everything they have. They will find a way to win one game and stay close in at least two others, but this series belongs to San Antonio in five games.

It will be on to a Spurs matchup with the Thunder for Western Conference superiority.

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