Spurs take 3-2 lead, one win from Western Conference final

The San Antonio Spurs are one win from the Western Conference finals after beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 126-97 in Game 5 of their second-round series on May 12, according to NBA.com. The victory gave San Antonio a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven matchup and sent the series back to Minneapolis for Game 6 on Friday night. (nba.com) Victor Wembanyama led the Spurs with 27 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and three blocks, and San Antonio controlled the game inside from the opening half. NBA.com said the Spurs finished with a 68-36 edge in points in the paint and held Minnesota to 38.6% shooting. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) ### How did San Antonio take control of Game 5? Victor Wembanyama set the tone with a two-way stat line that included 27 points and 17 rebounds, which NBA.com described as a career high in a postseason game for rebounds. The Spurs also got 21 points from Keldon Johnson and 12 from rookie Dylan Harper, according to the NBA live blog. San Antonio’s interior advantage was decisive. NBA.com said the Spurs outscored Minnesota 68-36 in the paint, shot 52.8% from the field and led by as many as 30 points. The same recap said San Antonio pushed the ball out of Anthony Edwards’ hands and limited him to 13 shot attempts. (nba.com) ### What did Wembanyama say after the win? “Job’s not finished. We have one more game to the Conference Finals,” Wembanyama said after Game 5, according to NBA.com. The quote matched the Spurs’ position in the series: one win away from advancing. (nba.com) NBA.com also said Wembanyama 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. That placed his Game 5 performance in rare historical company, according to the league’s recap. (nba.com) ### How did the series get to 3-2? Minnesota won Game 1 by a 104-102 score on May 4 before San Antonio responded with a 133-95 win in Game 2 on May 6, according to the NBA series page. The Spurs then took Game 3, 115-108, on May 8. (nba.com) The Timberwolves evened the series at 2-2 with a 114-109 win in Game 4 on May 10. NBA.com’s recap of that game said Minnesota’s victory sent the series back to San Antonio tied before the Spurs’ 29-point win in Game 5. ### Why has this matchup drawn so much television attention? Sports Media Watch reported that Game 4 of Spurs-Timberwolves averaged a combined 7.9 million viewers across Nielsen and Adobe Analytics, making it the second most-watched game of the 2026 NBA playoffs so far behind Sixers-Celtics Game 7 on NBC after the Kentucky Derby. (nba.com) The outlet said the audience peaked at 10.2 million viewers. (nba.com) Sports Media Watch also reported that Game 3 averaged 5.25 million viewers on Prime Video, which it called the streamer’s largest NBA audience to that point, and that Game 2 delivered 5.2 million on ESPN, the most-watched playoff game on that network so far. (nba.com) The outlet said San Antonio has accounted for several audience highs this season in Victor Wembanyama’s first deep playoff run. ### What happens next in the series? Game 6 is scheduled for Friday, May 15, at 9:30 p.m. ET at Target Center in Minneapolis, according to NBA.com. The game is listed for Prime Video, and the NBA series page shows a Game 7, if necessary, on Sunday, May 17. (sportsmediawatch.com) Oklahoma City is the waiting opponent in the Western Conference finals bracket, according to NBC Sports’ playoff schedule page, which lists the Thunder as having already advanced. San Antonio can reach that matchup with one more win over Minnesota on Friday. (nbcsports.com) (nba.com) (sportsmediawatch.com)