San Antonio Spurs crush Minnesota Timberwolves to level playoff series

[p]Bouncing back from a home-court upset loss on Monday, the Western Conference second-seeded [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/san-antonio-spurs/IwmkErSH/"]Spurs[/a]' [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/basketball/minnesota-timberwolves-KjBIVQcI/san-antonio-spurs-IwmkErSH/?mid=rN7vdgsp"]resounding win[/a] reestablishes them as favourites to progress.[/p][p]Seven-foot-four (2.24m) phenom [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/wembanyama-victor/jFmM1MFl/"]Wembanyama[/a] was in imperious form again in San Antonio, with 19 points plus 15 rebounds and two blocks, as the Spurs notched up their highest playoff score since 1983.[/p][p]The newly crowned NBA defensive player of the year also helped restrict [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/minnesota-timberwolves/KjBIVQcI/"]Minnesota[/a] to just 35 points in the first half -- the Timberwolves' lowest-scoring half all season -- to ensure the vital series-tying win was essentially decided by the break.[/p][embed guid="111c92a8-195f-4591-a30a-2b46f8d780e7" url="https://x.com/NBA/status/2052254525478568323" social-type="twitter" /][p]"[b]I'm expecting this kind of response from myself, from my teammates, so I'm not surprised by any means[/b]," said Wembanyama.[/p][p]"[b]There is some ego. They assaulted us in game one, we wanted to assault in game two[/b]," the Frenchman added.[/p][p]Minnesota's 24-point halftime deficit only widened in the second half, peaking at 47 points, before San Antonio rested its starters for the final stages.[/p][p]The performance came after Minnesota's head coach had accused Wembanyama of repeated illegal goaltending violations in game one, during which the Frenchman had made a playoff record 12 blocks.[/p][p]Asked if there had been any anger on his part entering game two, he replied: "[b]There always is. In the playoffs, magnify that[/b]."[/p][p]Minnesota ace [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/edwards-anthony/6u0BMZM2/"]Anthony Edwards[/a], who shone in game one after returning from a left knee injury, was restricted to 12 points and spent the final quarter on the bench icing his legs.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/basketball/minnesota-timberwolves-KjBIVQcI/san-antonio-spurs-IwmkErSH/?mid=Gz6nfXBd"]The two sides meet again on Friday in Minneapolis for game three.[/a][/p]