Spurs take 3-2 series lead

Victor Wembanyama put San Antonio one win from the Western Conference finals with a 126-97 Game 5 victory over Minnesota on May 12, returning from his Game 4 ejection with the most complete performance of the series. The Spurs lead the best-of-seven semifinal 3-2 and can close it out in Minneapolis on Friday night. (nba.com) The numbers from Game 5 showed how thoroughly San Antonio controlled the game. Wembanyama posted 27 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and three blocks, while the Spurs shot 52.8% from the field and held the Timberwolves to 38.6%. (nba.com) San Antonio also owned the interior, finishing with a 68-36 edge in points in the paint and leading by as many as 30. (nba.com) Keldon Johnson added 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting off the bench, and San Antonio’s supporting cast kept pressure on Minnesota after Wembanyama set the tone early. NBA.com said the Spurs had pushed the ball out of Anthony Edwards’ hands and limited him to 13 shot attempts in the game. (nba.com) “Job’s not finished. We have one more game to the Conference Finals,” Wembanyama said after the win. NBA.com said the 21-year-old became the third-youngest player to record at least 25 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in a playoff game, behind Magic Johnson and Luka Doncic. (nba.com) The series has swung sharply from game to game, but San Antonio’s home results have been decisive. The Spurs won Game 2 by 38 points, took Game 3 in Minneapolis by seven, lost Game 4 by five, and then answered with a 29-point win in Game 5. Through five games, NBA.com lists the series averages at 117.0 points per game for San Antonio and 103.6 for Minnesota, with Wembanyama averaging 20.0 points and 13.2 rebounds and Edwards averaging 23.6 points. (nba.com) The audience data around the series has also moved with San Antonio’s run. Sports Media Watch reported that Game 4 averaged a combined 7.9 million viewers across Nielsen and Adobe Analytics, trailing only 76ers-Celtics Game 7 as the most-watched game of the 2026 playoffs to that point. (nba.com) That report said the Victor Wembanyama era was making the Spurs a far stronger national draw than in past postseason runs. ESPN’s ongoing second-round roundup has tracked the series as one of the focal points of the conference semifinals, and NBA.com’s playoff page now lists San Antonio as leading 3-2 after wins in Games 2, 3 and 5. (nba.com) The schedule page shows Game 6 at 9:30 p.m. ET on Friday, May 15, at Target Center, with a Game 7, if necessary, set for Sunday, May 17. Friday’s Game 6 will decide whether San Antonio advances or whether Minnesota extends the series back to Texas. NBA.com lists the next game in Minneapolis on Prime Video, with the winner of the series moving on to the Western Conference finals. (nba.com) (sportsmediawatch.com)