MINNEAPOLIS (AP) 鈥� plays with an agility and a gracefulness beneath his daunting wingspan that can make his dominance for the San Antonio Spurs on both ends of the floor appear almost effortless.
Fresh cuts and bruises on those long arms after fighting for paint position and jockeying for rebounds all night with the Minnesota Timberwolves made clear Wembanyama had to put in plenty of work to compile 39 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks in a 115-108 victory in Game 3 that gave the Spurs a 2-1 lead in their second-round series.
鈥淚t’s going to happen,” Wembanyama said. 鈥淭hey’re Wolves, after all.鈥�
The Spurs stayed unbeaten on the road in this postseason with their first win in a truly close game, after four victories in the first round over the Portland Trail Blazers with margins between 12 and 21 points.
鈥淭hey just continue showing growth,鈥� coach Mitch Johnson said.
Starting with Wembanyama. The 22-year-old phenom from France in his first NBA postseason has played in only seven playoff games, but he has wasted no time writing quite a legacy.
The only other players in NBA history to hit the 35-point, 15-rebound, five-block thresholds in a playoff game? Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Shaquille O’Neal. And only Wembanyama has now done it while shooting better than 70% from the floor. The 7-foot-4 star was 13 for 18 鈥� and 10 for 12 from the line.
鈥淚t鈥檚 good to be along with the big fellas,鈥� said Wembanyama, who credited Olajuwon for teaching him a spin fadeaway he sank over his mentor Rudy Gobert during a 16-point fourth quarter.
He did that despite picking up his fifth foul with 6:18 left, sitting for only about a minute down the stretch while helping the Spurs pull away each time the Wolves were within one possession.
鈥淛ust staying calm, getting my senses back,鈥� Wembanyama said. 鈥淥ur coaches tell us what to do. They give us the recipe, so as long as we stay steady and we trust our process we鈥檙e going to be all right.鈥�
Wembanyama set an NBA postseason record with 12 blocked shots in the series opener, but he lamented his lack of impact on offense after the 104-102 loss to the Wolves . He stormed out of the gate for Game 2 by immediately asserting his dominance that sparked the Spurs to a 133-95 victory , and the travel north did nothing to stem that.
With a pair of effortless slams off lobs , the first one done in reverse, Wembanyama scored the first seven points for the Spurs as they sailed to an 18-3 lead. But he was even more of a force on defense, lurking in the paint and frequently prompting the Wolves to alter their layups and floaters to avoid being swatted.
鈥淗e’s a world-class defender. You鈥檙e always aware of him,鈥� Wolves guard Ayo Dosunmu said. “Yeah, he鈥檚 a gift at that end of the court.鈥�
___
AP NBA:
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
