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Victor Wembanyama starred as the San Antonio Spurs moved to within one win of a Western Conference final against the Oklahoma City Thunder by taking a 3-2 lead against the Minnesota Timberwolves.<\/b><\/p>\n
Wembanyama scored 27 points – including 18 in the first quarter – to lead the Spurs to a 126-97 victory in game five of the best-of-seven series.<\/p>\n
His display came after the 22-year-old was ejected for the first time in his NBA career in the previous game for elbowing an opponent, although he did not receive a suspension. <\/p>\n
Victory in game six for the Spurs in Minneapolis on Friday would set up a showdown with the Thunder – the reigning NBA champions – who completed a 4-0 sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a>.<\/p>\n On whether he was anxious about returning for game five, Wembanyama said: “Very, very much. I mean, I was fresh, feeling good. But honestly, it’s hard to tell if it was just getting fired up. <\/p>\n “Obviously, I’m going to be excited with butterflies, you know. So excitement is not something abnormal.”<\/p>\n Asked about Wembanyama, Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said: “The one word I’d like to use [is] just mature.<\/p>\n “There’s a lot that’s happened in the last 48 hours, in the last game, and I think how that young man came out tonight and played in a variety of ways, in a variety of situations, was extremely mature.”<\/p>\n The Spurs allowed an 18-point second-quarter lead to slip as Minnesota levelled the game at 61-61 four minutes into the third quarter.<\/p>\n But San Antonio rallied again, scoring 30 of the next 42 points to take a 91-73 lead into the final quarter – and extended that advantage even further.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n