Spurs Notes: Wemby, Edwards, Bryant, Two-Way Players
Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson made the “ultimate gamble” on Friday when he decided to leave Victor Wembanyama in the game after the star center picked up his fifth personal foul with six-plus minutes remaining, writes Jared Weiss of The Athletic. Instead of backfiring, the decision paid dividends, as San Antonio defeated Minnesota by seven points to regain home-court advantage in the Western Conference semifinals.
Wembanyama put up incredible numbers in the victory, recording 39 points (on 13-of-18 shooting), 15 rebounds and five blocks in 37 minutes. The Spurs were plus-16 when he was on the court and minus-nine in the 11 minutes he didn’t play.
“It’s the feeling I get before games, I dunno, this excitement, this heat in my heart,” Wembanyama told “NBA on Prime Video” after the Spurs’ win. “It just gets stronger and stronger as the game goes on. I’m built for this. I love this more than anything else.”
According to Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com, Wembanyama became the fourth player since blocks became an official statistic in 1973/74 to record a 35-15-5 stat line in the playoffs, joining Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The French big man also limited his opponents to 4-of-21 shooting on field goals he contested, Wright adds.
“He really imposed himself on the game,” Johnson said. “He established himself dominating the paint and rim on both ends. When he does that, it kind of feels like everything opens up for himself and his teammates. Then he gets some shots on the perimeter. He gets some closeouts. He gets the gravity in terms of teams trying to be physical with him. He did a good job of playing though contact and not expecting calls. [He] just met the physicality with the proper execution.”
Here’s more on the Spurs, who are now up 2-1 in the second-round series:
- After Anthony Edwards scored 27 points through three quarters, Devin Vassell and Stephon Castle helped limit the Timberwolves star to five points in the final frame, per Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. “We know he likes to get to that left-hand step back for sure, so we just tried to pressure him and make him go right,” Vassell said. “And then sending doubles, and doing stuff like that. But ultimately it was to wear him down all through the game, so at the end of the game, he wasn’t feeling comfortable.”
- Rookie forward Carter Bryant only played eight minutes in Game 3, but he made the most of his opportunity, knocking down both of his three-point attempts in the second quarter, Orsborn notes in another story. “I think the biggest thing is just coming in and just doing my job,” Bryant told the San Antonio Express-News. “Sometimes it calls for me to hit those two shots. Sometimes I miss those two shots, but I’m playing spectacular defense on the other end. So it’s just understanding you can’t allow yourself to get out of the game. Just something as simple as that.”
- Two-way players aren’t eligible to compete in the postseason, but Emanuel Miller, Harrison Ingram and David Jones Garcia are viewing this playoff run as an opportunity to learn and improve their games, according to Orsborn. “It’s something you can’t really put into words, seeing what we’re doing (to prepare),” said Miller. “It’s been a blessing, a learning experience for sure, learning from the best coaches, learning from (president Gregg Popovich), learning from the players, learning how to attack each game, how to attack each series and how they attack, really, each day.”
Timberwolves’ Dosunmu, Edwards Available For Game 3
Timberwolves guards Ayo Dosunmu and Anthony Edwards have been upgraded to available for Friday’s Game 3 vs. the Spurs, the team announced (Twitter links).
Dosunmu, who is battling right heel soreness, and Edwards, who has a left knee bone bruise, were previously listed as questionable for tonight’s game.
Dosunmu sustained the right heel injury during Wednesday’s Game 2 loss in San Antonio. He was limited to 10 minutes played after missing the previous two contests (Game 6 vs. Denver and Game 1 vs. San Antonio) due to right calf soreness.
Edwards, meanwhile, suited up for the first two games of the second-round series after suffering the left knee injury in the Game 4 win vs. Denver on April 25. The four-time All-Star provided a major spark of the bench in the upset victory in Game 1 against the Spurs, but he and the rest of the team struggled during the lopsided loss on Wednesday.
The Wolves and Spurs are currently tied at one game apiece as they vie to make the Western Conference finals. Minnesota has reached that round each of the last two years, an unprecedented feat for the organization.
Wolves Notes: Dosunmu, Edwards, Game 2, McDaniels, Clark
Timberwolves guard Ayo Dosunmu returned to action on Wednesday at San Antonio after missing the previous two contests (Game 6 vs. Denver and Game 1 vs. the Spurs) due to right calf soreness. However, the former second-round pick exited the lopsided loss in the second quarter due to right heel pain and did not return (Twitter link via the Wolves).
Dosunmu is considered questionable to suit up for Friday’s Game 3 due to the heel injury, according to the team (Twitter link), as is star guard Anthony Edwards, who continues to battle a left knee bone bruise he sustained on April 25. Edwards has been on a minutes restriction and has come off the bench in the first two games of the second-round series vs. the Spurs.
Here’s more on the Timberwolves:
- After upsetting the Spurs on the road in Game 1, the Wolves “got punked” by a desperate San Antonio team in Game 2, head coach Chris Finch told reporters, including Anthony Slater of ESPN. Finch was critical of Minnesota’s offensive execution, and didn’t like how Edwards and the rest of the team responded to the Spurs’ ball pressure and selective double-teams on the former No. 1 overall pick. “Got to get off of it,” Finch said. “Got to use it as a catalyst for ball movement, what it should be. I thought we dribbled to tough spots. I thought we were late getting off it. I thought our spacing around it wasn’t really good.”
- Foul trouble limited Jaden McDaniels to under 20 minutes of playing time on Wednesday, and the Wolves know they need the versatile forward to stay on the court to have a chance in the series, according to Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. The Spurs went on a huge run when McDaniels picked up his third foul in the second quarter and the game was out of reach by the time he returned in the third, Hine notes. “Him being off the court is going to hurt us every time,” Edwards said. “He knows it, we know it. The whole gym knows it. Their team knows it. When he gets in foul trouble, they get happy. We need him on the floor. He gonna be better next game. He know he can’t really foul. We’re not gonna win if he’s not on the floor.”
- Second-year guard Jaylen Clark has received rotation minutes against the Spurs after only appearing in two of the six games against Denver. The 24-year-old talked about his role in the offense on Wednesday, per Dane Moore (Twitter video link). “Nobody is guarding me right now, so hitting the open shot. Those two, three buckets is enough to keep me out there right now,” Clark said.
Injury Notes: Edwards, Bryant, Doncic
The Timberwolves will have their top player for Wednesday’s Game 2 against the Spurs, as Anthony Edwards is officially playing. He was originally listed as questionable as a precautionary measure due to his ongoing recovery from a knee hyperextension in the first round, but has been upgraded to available.
Edwards’ return in Game 1 came as something of a surprise, but he managed to score 18 points in his 25 minutes while helping lead the Wolves to an upset victory over the Spurs with some timely shot-making.
Head coach Chris Finch said that the team will hopefully be able to increase his minutes restriction tonight, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (via Twitter). Edwards will come off the bench for the second straight game, per the Timberwolves (Twitter link).
We have more injury notes from around the league:
- Carter Bryant has been cleared to play for the Spurs in Game 2, per The Athletic’s Jared Weiss (Twitter link). Bryant missed Game 1 due to a right foot sprain and came into Wednesday with an uncertain outlook. His status was determined after going through warmups, Tom Orsborn reports for the San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link). Bryant played just 46 total minutes in the first round, but he is one of the few players on the Spurs’ roster with the size to match up with Wolves forward Julius Randle.
- Lakers fans are impatient for the return of their superstar, Luka Doncic, but it’s not worth it for him to rush back and risk a more severe injury, Melissa Rohlin writes for the California Post. Doncic knows this, as he has dealt with similar conundrums in the past. “It’s a tough one for me because I came back from injuries before too soon, and it wasn’t the best result,” he said. “But like I say, this is the first time I have the hamstring injury. It’s not the same like other injuries. You have to be very careful.”
- In case you missed it, we rounded up several other injury updates earlier today.
Wolves Notes: Edwards, Dosunmu, Finch, Randle
According to Timberwolves guard Mike Conley, “nobody” expected Anthony Edwards to be available for Game 1 of the second round on Monday after he suffered a left knee injury just nine days earlier that was projected to sideline him for multiple weeks.
However, as Anthony Slater of ESPN writes, Edwards made significant progress in his recovery over the weekend and was upgraded to questionable before being listed as available. The star guard was limited to 25 minutes off the bench, but scored 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting as Minnesota became the only one of four road teams to win Game 1.
“I know for a fact that me being out there calms everybody down,” Edwards said after the victory.
While Edwards presumably isn’t feeling 100%, he came through Game 1 with no setbacks, head coach Chris Finch said on Tuesday. According to Slater (Twitter link), it remains to be seen whether Edwards will be able to increase his minutes limit beyond that range of 25 in Game 2, but the plan was for him to do some light work and receive treatment on Tuesday in preparation for Wednesday’s contest.
Here’s more on the Wolves:
- Both Edwards and guard Ayo Dosunmu (right calf) are listed as questionable to play in Game 3, the Wolves announced (via Twitter). Dosunmu missed Game 6 of the first round vs. Denver as well as Game 1 vs. San Antonio due to that calf issue.
- Although the Wolves won Monday’s game, head coach Chris Finch is doing what he can to make sure the officials keep a closer eye on Spurs star Victor Wembanyama after the Defensive Player of the Year registered a playoff-record 12 blocked shots in Game 1. Speaking on Tuesday to reporters, including Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, Finch said he thought at least four of those 12 blocks should have been goaltends. “Maybe even a fifth,” he said. “To me, it’s a little alarming that none of them were called. Here’s a generational shot blocker who is 7-6, who goes after everything, and there’s no heightened awareness that these blocks could be goaltends?”
- With Edwards leading the offense, Rudy Gobert anchoring the defense, and Jaden McDaniels emerging as a two-way star, Julius Randle has flown somewhat under the radar in Minnesota this spring. However, the three-time All-Star forward is a crucial part of the Wolves’ game plan against San Antonio due to his ability to be physical with Wembanyama and the Spurs’ front line, writes Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. “He’s the strongest player on the floor,” teammate Terrence Shannon Jr. said of Randle. “You know he can use his physicality against anybody. Any of them.”
Anthony Edwards Will Return For Game 1
8:04 pm: Edwards will indeed suit up on Monday, but he’ll come off the bench and be on a minutes restriction, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter links).
2:03 pm: Edwards has gained medical clearance and is expected to play, Charania tweets.
12:40 pm: Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards is lobbying to play on Monday in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Spurs, Shams Charania of ESPN tweets.
Edwards was a significant participant in Timberwolves shootaround this morning, according to Charania. Edwards and the team’s medical staff will make a final decision on his status later today.
On Sunday, the team upgraded Edwards to questionable. The star guard missed the last two games of the Wolves’ series against the Nuggets after hyperextending his left knee and was initially considered week-to-week with the injury. He played just 18 minutes and made only one field goal in Game 4 of the series before sitting out.
Injuries limited Edwards to 61 games during the regular season, making him ineligible for postseason awards.
Injury Notes: Edwards, Ingram, Dosunmu, Embiid
In a surprising turn of events, Anthony Edwards has been upgraded to questionable for the Timberwolves‘ Game 1 matchup against the Spurs on Monday, the team announced in a press release.
Edwards missed the last two games of the Wolves’ series against the Nuggets after hyperextending his left knee and was initially considered week-to-week with the injury.
A recent report had indicated optimism that he could return for Game 3 or 4 of the series, but Edwards takes pride in his ability to return to form quicker than expected.
“We call him Wolverine,” said Wolves’ vice president of medical operations and performance David Hine, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “Certain things you see other players might not be able to play through, those are injuries that Ant has been able to recover quickly from.”
Spurs star Victor Wembanyama expressed his desire to see the Wolves’ star shooting guard on the court in their series, as well as his sadness about the injuries to Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo, who tore his Achilles during the first round.
“Those two are players that I like watching, I like playing against,” he said, per Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News. “They go hard.”
We have more injury notes from around the playoffs:
- Raptors wing Brandon Ingram is out for Sunday’s Game 7 matchup against the Cavaliers, The Stein Line’s Marc Stein confirms (via Twitter). Ingram had previously been listed as doubtful with right heel inflammation. “We’ve gotta dig very deep. We’ve gotta find a way,” head coach Darko Rajakovic said of playing without two starters, per TSN’s Josh Lewenberg (Twitter link). “If we lose the game tonight, there’s no practice tomorrow, there is not another game tomorrow. So, we’ve gotta (find) our last energy tonight.” Ingram has struggled in the series, shooting just 32.8% from the field, but Toronto will still miss the threat his shot creation provides.
- Backup guard Ayo Dosunmu is also listed as questionable for Game 1 vs. San Antonio after missing the final game of the Timberwolves‘ first-round series due to right calf soreness, ESPN’s Anthony Slater writes. Dosunmu had two big games for the Wolves, helping them stay on track after the injury to Edwards. Head coach Chris Finch said that Dosunmu was “pretty much involved in all parts of practice” in Sunday’s medium-intensity workout, Chris Hine of the Star Tribune notes (Twitter link).
- Joel Embiid is considered probable for the Sixers‘ Game 1 matchup against the Knicks on Monday, Adam Aaronson writes for the Philly Voice. He is dealing with a right hip contusion and was visibly struggling with the injury during Saturday’s Game 7 victory.
Charania’s Latest: Edwards, Doncic, Adelman, Nuggets
While Anthony Edwards will be sidelined to open the Timberwolves‘ second-round matchup vs. San Antonio, there’s optimism he could return to action as early as Game 3 or 4, league sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (YouTube link; story via ESPN’s Anthony Slater).
Edwards released a video on his YouTube channel about his recovery progress from the left knee injury he suffered in the second quarter of Game 4 against Denver. He hyperextended his knee at the time, causing a bone bruise, and he had already been battling patellofemoral pain syndrome (runner’s knee) in his opposite leg.
According to Charania, Minnesota will take a cautious approach to Edwards’ bone bruise, but he has historically healed quickly and is working diligently to come back. The four-time All-Star has done light on-court work the past two days, Slater writes.
Timberwolves VP of medical operations and performance David Hines said in the video that Edwards’ return timeline is one-to-two weeks, per Chris Hine of The Star Tribune (Twitter link). Game 3 will be played on Friday, with Game 4 scheduled for next Sunday.
Here’s more from Charania:
- Lakers superstar Luka Doncic appears unlikely to be active in the near future with Los Angeles set to face Oklahoma City in the Western Conference semifinals. The Slovenian guard, who is recovering from a left hamstring strain, is considered week-to-week, according to Charania. Although Doncic has been doing more on-court activities in recent days, a source tells Charania he hasn’t done any “full-fledged running or full-contact workouts” to this point.
- Confirming recent reporting from The Denver Post, Charania says Nuggets head coach David Adelman “is going to be back” for a second full season in Denver. “His job is safe,” Charania added.
- Charania reiterates that Nikola Jokic is expected to sign a maximum-salary contract to remain with the Nuggets. However, the rest of Denver’s roster could look much different in 2026/27. “There is going to be real roster changes coming to Denver to identify how they can surround Nikola Jokic with the right pieces to get this team over the top,” Charania reported. “… They’re going to get calls and listen to calls on everyone on the roster besides Nikola Jokic.”
Northwest Notes: Nuggets, Edwards, Dosunmu, Thunder
After a somewhat shocking first-round exit, the Nuggets need to figure out what comes next. Part of that will revolve around finding way to generate offense outside of Nikola Jokic, Bennett Durando writes for the Denver Post.
While the three-time MVP struggled, producing the first series without a 30-point game in his career, Durando notes that Denver’s offseason additions failed to provide any offensive spark to jump-start the team and help get Jokic in rhythm. As a team, the Nuggets shot 32.1% on wide-open threes, and Bruce Brown had nine turnovers to 10 assists for the series.
“I think you have to look at the different formulas of how we played (offensively) this year, what was most successful,” head coach David Adelman said of the offense not translating from the regular season. “And you have to really break it down more so into the types of teams that we struggled with, and what are the answers there to make things flow better for us. And I think that takes time.”
The Nuggets will now have to figure out what comes next, and that includes considering options that might not have been on the table before, such as trading Jamal Murray, coming off the most successful regular season of his career, writes Vinny Benedetto of the Denver Gazette.
We have more from around the Northwest Division:
- Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards is hopeful that he’ll be able to return for the second-round series against the Spurs, after missing Game 7 and being ruled week-to-week due to a hyperextended knee. Edwards has been doing constant rehab work and has told his teammates he expects to return at some point in the series, Jon Krawczynski writes for The Athletic.
- The Timberwolves lost Ayo Dosunmu in their close-out game over the Nuggets, and it’s unclear how soon he’ll be back. “Ayo is more day to day,” coach Chris Finch said, per Andrew Dukowitz (Twitter video link). “He went through things but just the light stuff.” Dosunmu was the hero of Game 4, scoring 43 points to lead the Wolves to a win without Edwards.
- The Thunder have built a culture that includes relationships with previous franchise mainstays, such as Serge Ibaka. Chet Holmgren spoke recently on how important that is. “I think it’s amazing. One, I think it speaks to the culture that those guys, Serge, still coming back around however many years since he left here,” Holmgren said, per Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman (video link). “… It was cool to sit down and talk to Serge about some of his experiences in this exact building. It’s been fun.“
Injury Notes: Wagner, Edwards, Nuggets, Embiid
Magic forward Franz Wagner exited Monday’s game vs. Detroit in the third quarter due to what the team referred to as right calf soreness. Speaking after the game to Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel and Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter links), Wagner explained that he felt his calf tighten up about a minute before he was substituted out of the game. The plan is for the 24-year-old to undergo an MRI on his calf on Tuesday, but he’s optimistic about suiting up in Game 5.
“Hopefully it’ll be better (Tuesday),” Wagner told Beede. “The guys got it done, so that’s all that matters.”
With Wagner sidelined, the Magic put the clamps on the Pistons’ offense down the stretch in Game 4, holding Detroit to 36 second-half points to secure a 94-88 win and a 3-1 lead in the series. The series is headed back to Detroit for Game 5 with the 60-win Pistons needing three straight victories to keep their postseason run alive.
We have a few more injury-related notes from around the NBA:
- Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch expressed confidence during a Sunday appearance on KFAN FM 100.3 in Minnesota that Anthony Edwards will be able to return to action this spring if the team can win one more game vs. Denver without him. “We do know that if we keep extending this playoff (run), he is going to come back,” Finch said (Twitter link via Charlie Walton of Zone Coverage). “And he generally comes back ahead of the timeline.” The Wolves have officially designated Edwards as “week to week” in his recovery from a hyperextended knee and bone bruise.
- Following the Nuggets‘ Game 5 win on Monday, head coach David Adelman said he has “no idea” whether Aaron Gordon (calf) or Peyton Watson (hamstring) will be back for Game 6, tweets Anthony Slater of ESPN. Denver will have an extra day of rest before Thursday’s game, but Adelman added that he’ll prepare for that do-or-die contest in Minnesota as if neither forward will be available.
- Star center Joel Embiid had 26 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists in his return on Sunday following an appendectomy, but it wasn’t nearly enough for the Sixers, who were outscored by 25 points in his 34 minutes of action and lost Game 4 by 32. Embiid, who is listed as probable to play in Game 5 on Tuesday, spoke after his return about his recovery process, suggesting there were some “complications” related to his emergency surgery. Adam Aaronson of PhillyVoice has the story.