Spurs advance to Western Conference finals

San Antonio reached the Western Conference finals on Friday night by beating Minnesota 139-109 in Game 6 of the conference semifinals, closing the series 4-2 and sending the Spurs to that round for the first time since 2017. Stephon Castle led the clincher with 32 points and 11 rebounds, and De’Aaron Fox added 21 points and nine assists in Minneapolis. (ksat.com) Victor Wembanyama scored 19 points in 27 minutes after posting 27 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and three blocks in San Antonio’s Game 5 win earlier in the week. The Spurs now move on to face the Oklahoma City Thunder, who swept Los Angeles in four games. (nba.com) ### How did San Antonio close the series on Friday? Minnesota fell behind by 33 points at halftime, and San Antonio never let the game tighten after a first half driven by its guards and transition offense. Castle opened 11-for-16 from the field and made his first five 3-pointers, while Fox went 3-for-3 from deep and Julian Champagnie scored 18 points with four 3s. The 139 points were San Antonio’s highest total of the series, and the Spurs finished the matchup having outscored the Timberwolves by 97 points, according to the Associated Press game report carried by KSAT. Minnesota got 24 points from Anthony Edwards, but Julius Randle scored three points on 1-for-8 shooting in the elimination game. (ksat.com) ### Where did Wembanyama matter most in this round? Victor Wembanyama entered Game 6 after one of the defining performances of the series in Game 5, when he put up 27 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and three blocks in a 126-97 win. Friday’s box score was smaller, but the Associated Press said he remained a deterrent in the paint and a factor in San Antonio’s transition game. (ksat.com) NBA.com lists Wembanyama as San Antonio’s statistical leader entering the conference finals at 20.3 points and 10.7 rebounds per game in the postseason. The same league page lists Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as Oklahoma City’s leader at 29.1 points and 7.1 assists per game. (ksat.com) ### Why has this run drawn so much attention around the Spurs? The Spurs are in the conference finals with one of the league’s youngest cores, and the Associated Press reported Saturday that the team has moved past outside talk about being “ahead of schedule” and is focused on the next round. That framing has centered much of the attention on Wembanyama, the franchise’s top player, and on how quickly San Antonio has turned a rebuild into a deep playoff run. (ksat.com) San Antonio’s path has also been decisive. NBA.com’s playoff schedule shows the Spurs rebounded from a Game 1 loss to Minnesota by winning four of the next five games, including a 133-95 victory in Game 2 and a 126-97 win in Game 5 before the 30-point closeout on Friday. (nba.com) ### What do we know about the Thunder matchup? Oklahoma City enters the series as the No. 1 seed in the West after sweeping Los Angeles 4-0 in the semifinals. NBA.com’s conference-finals page lists the Thunder and Spurs as opening the series in Oklahoma City, with Games 1 and 2 scheduled there before the series shifts to San Antonio for Games 3 and 4. The official NBA schedule lists Game 1 for Monday, May 18, at 8:30 p.m. (apnews.com) ET on NBC and Peacock, with Game 2 on Wednesday, May 20, at the same time and on the same broadcasters. Games 3 and 4 are set for May 22 and May 24 in San Antonio, and Games 5 through 7, if necessary, would run from May 26 through May 30. (nba.com) ### What comes next on the calendar? Monday, May 18, is the next date on San Antonio’s schedule, when the Spurs open the Western Conference finals on the road against Oklahoma City at 8:30 p.m. ET. NBA.com says the winner of that series will advance to the NBA Finals, which are scheduled to begin June 3 on ABC. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2)