San Antonio Spurs got the best possible outcome on Monday.
Our Don Harris confirms that Victor Wembanyama will play in Game 5 of the NBA western conference semi-finals in San Antonio Tuesday against the Timberwolves.
“Two league sources say no prior history and lead up to Elbow played a role. If first foul on play had been called, probably would not have happened,” explained Harris.
With one frustrated swing of his right elbow on Sunday night, Wembanyama changed the course of Game 4 — and perhaps the series.
Ejected after striking Timberwolves center Naz Reid in the throat early in the second quarter, Wembanyama was confined to watching his teammates admirably overcome his notable absence before fading down the stretch in a 114-109 defeat that evened the series at two games apiece.
“It was a whole lot of grabbing and pushing and shoving, but that’s a part of the game,” said Spurs rookie Dylan Harper, who matched his career high with 24 points. “The next man has got to step up. I think we all did a great job of controlling what we can control.”
Wembanyama was swarmed by Reid and Jaden McDaniels after grabbing an offensive rebound following a missed 3-pointer. With McDaniels tugging on his left arm, Wembanyama snapped and jabbed his right arm back toward Reid — and struck him square in the neck.
Television replays showed Harper behind the scrum with a stunned expression, his mouth agape. McDaniels quickly bearhugged Wembanyama to try to avoid escalation, and the 7-foot-4 Wembanyama took a seat on the bench while the officials reviewed the video with the fans at Target Center chanting, “Kick him out!”
The foul was upgraded to a Flagrant 2 for excessive contact above the neck. That penalty triggers an automatic ejection, immediately swinging the balance of a pivotal game in the series toward the Timberwolves. The Spurs had the lead after their 115-108 win in Game 3 on Friday.
When the penalty was announced, Wembanyama appeared to ask teammate Harrison Barnes, “What does that mean?” He slapped hands with each of his Spurs teammates on his way off the floor, with the arena sound system blaring Michael Jackson’s “Beat it!”
Wembanyama finished with four points, four rebounds and three fouls in 13 minutes.
Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson defended Wembanyama after the star center’s ejection.
Johnson said he did not believe the play was intentional, calling it “a tough break” while acknowledging “the call was warranted” because of the outcome of the play. He also made clear he was relieved Reid was not injured, saying, “I’m glad Naz Reid was okay,” and adding, “I didn’t want him to elbow him.”
Still, Johnson strongly criticized what he sees as the lack of protection Wembanyama receives from officials.
It’s getting to a point that if the people that are in charge of controlling the game and protecting the physicality of the game don’t do that, then at some point he’s going to have to protect himself.” Johnson went even further, calling the treatment of Wembanyama “actually disgusting,” pointing to the constant physical play directed at the Spurs star. “He’s gotten chucked. He’s gotten pushed down in transition,” Johnson said. “He doesn’t complain one time. We don’t complain because we’re just going to play.
Johnson said the frustration has built over time as teams continue trying to “impose their physicality” on Wembanyama every night. While he agreed officials acted based on “the outcome of the play,” Johnson insisted “there was zero intent” behind the elbow and said any additional punishment “would be ridiculous.”
With Reid, Julius Randle and McDaniels in their frontcourt, the Timberwolves have had plenty of muscle and tenacity to send at Wembanyama, even if he’s been good enough offensively to overcome it. He had 39 points on 13-for-18 shooting from the floor in Game 3.
“You never want anyone to get hurt, but you could see the frustration. I could see where he’s coming from,” Harper said. “We’ve got his back, and I think he can learn from that, and he just knows not to do that again.”