Spurs grab series lead with 126-97 victory vs. Timberwolves in Game 5

In the 10 playoff series of Anthony Edwards era, the Timberwolves have only twice entered Game 5 of a series tied 2-2.

They have lost all three of those games. They added the latest one to the ledger with a 126-97 loss in Game 5 to the Spurs, who took a 3-2 series lead and can close it out Friday in Game 6 at Target Center.

The other two losses the Wolves had under the same scenario came in 2022 against Memphis, who beat them in six, and Denver in 2024, when the Wolves came back to win in seven games.

The Wolves came into the game saying they didn't expect Victor Wembnayama to be suspended for the elbow he landed on Naz Reid in Game 4. By the end of the first half, they probably wished he was.

Wembanyama mixed it up verbally with the Wolves from the opening tip, and he got the best of them in scoring 27 points and grabbing 17 rebounds. He had 21 points in the first half as the Spurs raced out to an 18-point lead. Julius Randle got in foul trouble, which forced the Wolves to go small, and Wembanyama ate them up.

The Wolves' frontcourt of Rudy Gobert and Randle was helpless in this one. Randle was just 6 for 17 (17 points) while Gobert had issues making plays and hanging onto the ball inside.

On the defensive end, the Wolves couldn't stop Wembanyama in the first half, then they couldn't stop Stephon Castle in the second. After scoring just five in the first half because of foul trouble, Castle turned it up in the second half to finish with 17 points.

The Wolves erased all of an 18-point first-half deficit to tie the score 61-61 in the third quarter, but by the end of the third, it was back to 18. Jaden McDaniels got in foul trouble with the Wolves down 64-61, and from that moment, the Spurs outscored the Wolves 27-12 the rest of the quarter.

That was similar to Game 2, which became a Spurs rout when McDaniels got into foul trouble in the first half. Immediately after McDaniels went out, Castle had six points, and the Spurs were off. Keldon Johnson had eight of his 21 points in the third while Wembanyama had just three points, as San Antonio rebuilt the lead.

Like Game 2, the night ended with each team emptying the bench. Edwards had 20 points to lead the Wolves, but he wasn't the same player he was in Games 3 and 4 at Target Center.

This series hasn't had any two-day breaks between games, but it will before Game 6 on Friday (8:30 p.m. at Target Center).

Edwards and the Wolves look like they could use it.

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This story was originally published May 12, 2026 at 10:31 PM.