Wemby and Co stifle T-Wolves

SAN ANTONIO — Victor Wembanyama had 19 points and 15 rebounds, and the San Antonio Spurs handed Minnesota its worst postseason loss in franchise history, beating the Timberwolves 133-95 on Wednesday night to even their Western Conference semifinal series at one game apiece.

"I just told them we got punked," Minnesota coach Chris Finch said.

Stephon Castle had 21 points and De'Aaron Fox added 16 points for San Antonio, which shot 50 percent from the field and 41 percent on 3-pointers. It was the highestscoring playoff game for the Spurs since a series-clinching 145-105 win over Denver on May 4, 1983.

Anthony Edwards, Julius Randle, Jaden McDaniels and Terrence Shannon Jr each scored 12 points for Minnesota.

Edwards came off the bench again, as Minnesota continued to restrict his minutes in his second game back from a hyper-extended left knee.

Games 3 and 4 are Friday and Sunday in Minneapolis.

With Wembanyama playing more aggressively on offense from the outset, the Spurs put the series-opening loss behind them quickly.

Minnesota's previous largest postseason defeat was by 30 points to the Los Angeles Lakers on April 29, 2003.

The newly crowned NBA Defensive Player of the Year also helped restrict Minnesota 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.

"I'm expecting this kind of response from myself, from my teammates, so I'm not surprised by any means," said Wembanyama.

"There is some ego. They assaulted us in Game 1, we wanted to assault them in Game 2," the Frenchman added.

Only the margin of victory was in doubt on Monday, as both teams sent their starters to the bench with 10 minutes remaining and the Spurs leading 104-66.

"I told the guys after the first game that it's the natural tendency for the team that steals the first game, the away team, to get blown out in Game 2," Edwards said. "We can't come out cool, and we came out cool. And what happened? We got blown out."

After combining to score 21 points on 10-for-31 shooting in Game 1, Wembanyama and Fox combined to go 12 of 25 from the field Wednesday.

The All-Star duo scored the Spurs' first 11 points as they raced to a 29-point lead in the first half.

"Just trying to set the tone," Wembanyama said.

Fox finished two for two on 3-pointers after missing on four attempts in Game 1.

"We're at our best when (Fox is) in attack mode," San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson said. "He has probably the strongest ripple effect on our team in terms of when he's in attack mode pushing the pace, because you have Steph (Castle) and Dylan (Harper) that follow suit with that. And, then, our shooters get shot in transition, Victor plays in space, and so on and so forth."

The Spurs missed their first three shots, but Wembanyama followed the third attempt by flying through the lane and throwing down a right-handed dunk to open the scoring.

Minnesota was held to 35 points in the first half. The Timberwolves shot 29.8 percent from the field before halftime and were two for 15 on 3-pointers as they fell behind by 25 points.

"I loved how everyone had everybody's back (defensively)," Wembanyama said. "Tonight looked like a system that worked."