Timberwolves even series after Game 4

The game turned on two things — a superstar getting tossed, and another superstar finally taking over. Minnesota beat San Antonio 114-109 in Game 4 on Sunday, May 10, at Target Center, tying the Western Conference semifinal 2-2. That matters because the Spurs had a chance to grab a 3-1 stranglehold, and instead this series is basically brand new. (nba.com) ### What actually happened? Minnesota won a close one, but it was not a normal close one. The Timberwolves trailed 84-80 after three quarters, then closed behind Anthony Edwards, who scored 16 of his 36 points in the fourth and played the entire final period. (espn.com) San Antonio still got 24 points from De’Aaron Fox and 24 from Dylan Harper, but the late shot-making flipped. ### Why was Wembanyama’s ejection such a big deal? Victor Wembanyama was ejected with 8:39 left in the second quarter after officials ruled his elbow to Naz Reid’s face a Flagrant 2. (nba.com) He had played only 12:29 and finished with 4 points and 4 rebounds. For San Antonio, that is not just losing a scorer — that is losing the center of the defense, the rim deterrence, and the bailout option when possessions get messy. (nba.com) ### So why didn’t Minnesota blow them out? Because the Spurs kept punching anyway. They led entering the fourth even without Wembanyama, with Stephon Castle attacking, Harper scoring efficiently, and Fox creating enough pressure to keep Minnesota uncomfortable. That is the weird part of this result — the ejection changed the game, but it did not end the game. Minnesota still had to go win it. ### What did Edwards change late? He simplified everything. Edwards got downhill, hit a late 3, and stopped letting the game drift. (msn.com) His final line — 36 points on 13-for-22 shooting, plus 3-for-5 from deep and 7-for-8 at the line — reads like star production, but the timing is the real story. Minnesota needed someone to own the last 12 minutes, and he did. ### Who else mattered for Minnesota? This was not a one-man rescue. Naz Reid added 15 points and 9 rebounds, Rudy Gobert had 11 points and 13 boards, and Julius Randle chipped in 12 points and 8 rebounds. (nba.com) Minnesota also won the glass 49-41 and shot 90.9% on free throws, which is the kind of boring edge that decides playoff games when everything gets tight. ### What does 2-2 really mean here? It means San Antonio lost the margin it built with Game 3. Instead of heading home up 3-1, the Spurs go back for Game 5 on Tuesday, May 12, tied 2-2. (nba.com) Home court is back in play for San Antonio, but the emotional swing went to Minnesota — especially after surviving a game that could have slipped away even with the ejection advantage. ### What should you watch next? Late-game offense, basically. San Antonio showed it can survive without Wembanyama for stretches, but closing without his rim pressure and release-valve scoring is a different problem. (nba.com) Minnesota, meanwhile, needs more of the fourth-quarter version of Edwards from the opening tip. If Game 4 was the reset, Game 5 is the test of which version of this series was real. ### Bottom line? Minnesota did the one thing it had to do — protect home court and keep the series alive. (espn.com) But the bigger takeaway is that this matchup just got less predictable, not more. One ejection changed the script for a night. The next game will show whether it changed the series. (nba.com)