Timberwolves to blame for crushing Game 5 loss to Victor Wembanyama, Spurs

The Minnesota Timberwolves knew that they were not going to have an easy time on the road in Game 5 of their semifinal clash against the San Antonio Spurs. Victor Wembanyama did not get suspended on Tuesday night despite getting himself ejected in Game 4 for throwing an elbow towards Naz Reid, and he proved to be the main difference-maker as Minnesota suffered a 126-97 loss in Game 5 to come to within one loss away of seeing their season come to an end.

The most disappointing part of this loss for the Timberwolves was that they came storming out of the gates after halftime, as they trimmed a 12-point deficit at the break and even tied the game at 61 at the 7:51 mark of the second quarter. But the Spurs regained control of the game shortly after and they did not let up, building a huge lead from thereon out as they ended up outscoring Minnesota, 67-50, in the second half.

It’s difficult to single out certain players for the Timberwolves, as they broke down as a unit in the third quarter and did not recover. But a few poor performances stand out as the Timberwolves come dangerously close to falling short of the Western Conference Finals.

Timberwolves get dominated in the paint

Wembanyama was such a singularly dominant force that the Timberwolves have found it difficult to score in the paint against him all series long. In Game 1, Wembanyama did get away with a few goaltends here and there, but it was clear just how much of a force he was for the Timberwolves to overcome. It helped the Timberwolves that their defense was also on point for that game, which allowed them to steal a game on the road.

That’s exactly the kind of defensive performance the Timberwolves needed to put up in Game 5 with Wembanyama back in action. Suffice to say, they were not able to do that. Everything snowballed for Minnesota in the third quarter of Tuesday night, but the story of the night was their inability to control the paint on both ends of the floor.

Rudy Gobert, in particular, looked out of his depth on Tuesday, as he couldn’t pick on someone his own size. He turned the tide for Minnesota in Game 4 when Wembanyama was absent due to an ejection, but he barely belonged on the court in Game 5, recording just four points and five rebounds in 23 minutes as Chris Finch decided to roll with a smaller lineup in hopes of squeezing more offense from the team.

On the night, the Spurs outscored the Timberwolves in the paint, 68-36. San Antonio’s defense was certified elite on the night, as they held Minnesota to just 9-33 from beyond the arc, without a doubt owing to the many contested looks they’ve had to settle for due to how the Spurs patrolled the paint.

Gobert said that “size matters” and that rang ever so true, as the Spurs had so much success on Tuesday by virtue of having the biggest guy in the room.

Minnesota gets stuck in negative feedback loop

It was jarring to see the Timberwolves struggle to the degree they did to close out the third quarter of Game 5. After Minnesota tied the game at 61, they went 3-13 from the field with three turnovers for the rest of the period. Seven of those misses came on layups/floaters. Of those seven missed layups/floaters, three were blocked — one by Keldon Johnson, one by Dylan Harper, and one by Luke Kornet.

Missed layups/floaters hurt, as this leaves the floor rather imbalanced going back on defense. The Spurs took full advantage of this, going on a 30-12 run to finish the quarter. Of the seven missed layups the Timberwolves had during that fateful third quarter stretch, the Spurs scored 10 points on the subsequent possession. The Spurs converted all of their three giveaways to two points every time.

Minnesota allowed a total of 16 points directly after missed layups/turnovers, and they ended up being outscored by 18 points to end the period.

The Timberwolves cannot be careless against the Spurs, as losing the transition game away from home is basically a death sentence — especially against a younger and quicker team. There is no blaming a single player for this, as the entire squad just collapsed during that time frame and could not recover.

The Timberwolves will have to be careful not to fall into the same traps in Game 6 with their season on the line. Getting good quality shots through quality execution on offense is a must, and they cannot get into a track meet against this rapid Spurs team.

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