Timberwolves take Game 4, even series vs. Spurs with 114-109 victory

MINNEAPOLIS - The Minnesota Timberwolves had Game 4 on a silver platter in front of them when, in the second quarter, Victor Wembanyama was ejected for a flagrant foul penalty-two for elbowing Naz Reid in the face.

His exit at the 8-minute, 39-second mark of the second quarter seemed to give the Wolves an easy path to victory. But one of the Wolves' bugaboos over the years is they tend to let up when another team is down a star player. That happened again in Game 4, but the Wolves woke up just in time for a 114-109 victory they needed to have.

The series is tied 2-2 with Game 5 in San Antonio on Tuesday.

Anthony Edwards, who has played through injuries to both knees in this series, dug deep and found another gear that won the Wolves this game. Edwards had 36 points, 16 of those in a fourth quarter in which the Wolves were teetering at the start, until he came to rescue them.

The Wolves were down 94-86 with a lot of nervous energy coursing through the Target Center crowd when Edwards scored five consecutive points.

That jolted the crowd, and his teammates, who got enough stops on the defensive end after a shaky second half. Another key stat for the Wolves in this game: 24 second-chance points, and a good chunk of their late-game offense came via second and even third shots on possessions.

Reid, who took multiple shots to the face, including the Wembanyama one, had 15 points and nine rebounds off the bench, while Julius Randle shook off six turnovers to deliver important assists to Rudy Gobert in the clutch.

The Wolves wouldn't have lost the series if they lost Game 4, but it would have been a tough loss to came back from emotionally and odds-wise.

The Wolves led by just four at halftime, and in the second half, San Antonio, led by its trio of guards, took over. De'Aaron Fox (24 points), Stephon Castle (20) and Dylan Harper (24) had little trouble finding open shots against a Wolves pick and roll defense that was unfocused and indecisive.

Edwards wasn't going to let the Wolves go down without swinging. He had a pair of 3s, a pair of free throws and a layup as the led the Wolves to a 100-99 lead in the fourth quarter. The Wolves defense dug in and got a couple stops, including an offensive foul on Castle. On the offensive end, Gobert got a 3-point play while Edwards put back the Wolves' third shot of a possession to give them a 105-101 lead.

Then again, the Wolves utilized Gobert as an offensive weapon, as Randle dumped it off to him for a dunk. They led 112-105 when they had trouble getting the ball past halfcourt in the closing seconds, and the Spurs cut the lead to three.

The Wolves didn't advance the ball with their final timeout but used it anyway when they were in danger of an 8-second call. Jaden McDaniels' long inbounds pass was somehow corralled by Ayo Dosunmu, who was fouled and hit two free throws to put the Wolves up 114-109 with 9.8 seconds to play.

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This story was originally published May 10, 2026 at 9:49 PM.