Spurs rout Timberwolves 139-109

The San Antonio Spurs closed out Minnesota with their most lopsided win of the series on May 15, beating the Timberwolves 139-109 in Game 6 at Target Center. San Antonio won the Western Conference semifinal 4-2 and advanced to face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the conference finals. Stephon Castle led the Spurs with 32 points and 11 rebounds, while Victor Wembanyama added 19 points and De’Aaron Fox finished with 21 points and nine assists. The 30-point margin matched the tone of a game San Antonio controlled early and never let tighten. The Spurs led 36-27 after one quarter, pushed the edge to 74-61 at halftime and outscored Minnesota 36-23 in the third. San Antonio finished 49-for-88 from the field and 18-for-38 from 3-point range, according to the official box score. (apnews.com) ### How did San Antonio break the game open so quickly? San Antonio’s starters set the pace in the opening half, with Castle, Fox and Wembanyama all scoring in double figures before the break. Fox went 8-for-10 from the field in 24 minutes, and Castle hit 5 of 7 shots from beyond the arc. The Spurs had 34 assists on 49 made field goals, a sign of the ball movement that kept Minnesota rotating and trailing. (basketball.realgm.com) The Spurs also got 15 points from rookie Dylan Harper off the bench and 18 from Julian Champagnie. San Antonio put seven players in double figures and built a lead that reached 38 points. ### What went wrong for Minnesota in an elimination game at home? Minnesota shot 43.4% from the field and 10-for-29 from 3-point range, but the larger problem was on defense. (basketball.realgm.com) The Timberwolves allowed San Antonio to score 139 points on 55.7% shooting and gave up 18 made 3-pointers. Anthony Edwards scored 24 points on 9-for-26 shooting, and Naz Reid added 18 points off the bench. Julius Randle scored three points in 23 minutes, and Rudy Gobert was held scoreless in 21 minutes. Minnesota had only two starters score more than 13 points, and the game was effectively out of reach by the end of the third quarter. ### Why does the Castle line stand out from this game? Castle’s 32 points and 11 rebounds gave San Antonio another big performance from a young backcourt that has carried stretches of this postseason. (basketball.realgm.com) The Associated Press described it as “another dominant performance from the San Antonio backcourt,” with Fox adding 21 points and nine assists. The box score shows Castle also had six assists and shot 11-for-16 from the field in under 30 minutes. In a closeout game on the road, that efficiency helped turn what had been a competitive series into a one-sided finish. ### Where does this fit in the wider 2026 playoff bracket? Oklahoma City was already waiting in the Western Conference finals after sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers, according to postseason listings and game coverage published Friday night. (apnews.com) San Antonio’s win completed the matchup on the West side of the bracket. (basketball.realgm.com) ESPN and other postseason trackers have noted that the 2026 playoffs already featured a rare set of comebacks from 3-1 deficits earlier in the bracket. ESPN said the Detroit Pistons’ first-round comeback against Orlando made 2026 the first postseason in which two teams erased 3-1 deficits in the same round. (sports.yahoo.com) ### What comes next for the Spurs and Thunder? Game 1 of the Western Conference finals is scheduled for Monday, according to Yahoo Sports’ live coverage and other playoff schedule pages published after Friday’s result. Oklahoma City enters that series as the No. 1 seed in the West, while San Antonio arrives after winning four of the final five games against Minnesota. (espn.com) The NBA’s playoff page lists San Antonio as the winner of the series by a 4-2 margin and identifies Oklahoma City as the next opponent still standing on that side of the bracket. Additional game-time details are expected on the league schedule pages as the conference finals begin. (nba.com) (sports.yahoo.com)