After a strangely violent moment in Game 4, Victor Wembanyama became the target. The Minnesota Timberwolves felt they could invoke a reaction. They had the ammunition to trigger Wemby. He hadn’t been suspended or fined for striking Naz Reid with an elbow in the face. So, the Wolves tried to get under his skin. Little did they know, it wasn’t going to work. The Spurs’ cornerstone set a high price on keeping himself in the game.

Victor Wembanyama endured everything the Wolves threw at him. Early in the contest, Ayo Dosunmu tried to get a reaction. “You’re still talking s—t?” he asked the 22-year-old. Wembanyama’s first impulse was a smile. He didn’t attempt to confront Dosunmu, except for pushing the Wolves guard’s hand away.

Seeing this, even Anthony Edwards jumped in. He called for a “tech” on Wembanyama, for no reason but to get a sense of where the Spurs star is after the Game 4 incident. He did nothing to get penalised again. So Wemby said the same thing to the Wolves’ cornerstone. “Get your hands off me,” again with a smile as if he knew their tactics were all for nothing.

Victor Wembanyama had several opportunities to lose his cool throughout the game. The Timberwolves pushed him numerous times, tried to get physical, and did other things to instigate Wemby. But the reigning DPOY wasn’t going to repeat the same mistakes. He realised what was happening right away.

“Yeah, I feel like the rage baiting may have been one of the strategies, so I feel like you just need to stay composed as a team,” said the Spurs phenom.

That composure only extends to the team keeping their cool. Wembanyama didn’t want his teammates to ignore what they felt. He certainly didn’t. The Spurs keystone went off for 18 points and 6 rebounds, all within the first quarter. His celebration after a big bucket had energy and anger. Wemby cleverly suppressed his emotions when dealing with the Timberwolves, but dished it out as punishment that reflected in a San Antonio win.

They’re now one step away from making it to the conference finals.

Extended rest before the vital Game 6 clash

The Minnesota Timberwolves don’t have anything to fear. They have their walls on the back, but will return home for Game 6. There’s also no point in thinking about the outcome of the result. If they lose, it’s their season done. That’s everything Minnesota needs to value the two days of rest they get before the game.

“I’m ready to get two days. “I’m excited for it,” said Anthony Edwards.

The Timberwolves have done some good things in the series against the Spurs. They’ve beaten them on the road, held De’Aaron Fox to modest numbers, and found ways to upset Victor Wembanyama’s rhythm. Granted, they couldn’t execute anything on the road during Game 5. But that doesn’t take away from what the group has achieved up until this point.

“I don’t see nobody in the locker room that’s too worried,” Edwards added.

The task is still going to be extremely difficult. The Timberwolves are at home, but still without Donte DiVincenzo. Edwards is also hobbled. That’s where the Spurs’ depth, where rookie Dylan Harper stars, has often hit back against anything good that Minnesota does. Countering San Antonio’s plethora of shot creators will be tricky.

But the Timberwolves weren’t expected to make the conference finals in back-to-back seasons either. Just as Wembanyama suddenly erupted, the Wolves did a great job of responding to adversity. They have defied expectations before. Having stunned the Spurs in this series, who says it’s not possible again?