The China Mail - Wembanyama leads Spurs to brink as Timberwolves routed

French star Wembanyama was back in the Spurs line-up after escaping a suspension for his ejection in game four on Sunday, when he smashed an elbow into the throat of Minnesota's Naz Reid in a heavy defeat.

The towering 7ft 4in center took full advantage of that disciplinary reprieve on Tuesday, scoring 16 points in a blistering opening to the first quarter as San Antonio surged into a 24-9 lead.

Wembanyama finished the night with 27 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and three blocks in a typically dominant performance at both ends of the court.

The victory leaves San Antonio 3-2 ahead in the best-of-seven series, with game six in Minneapolis on Friday.

While Wembanyama's individual brilliance grabbed the headlines, once again the Spurs' strength in numbers proved decisive, with six players finishing in double figures.

Keldon Johnson scored 21 points, while De'Aaron Fox finished with 18 and point guard Stephon Castle 17.

"We did what we were supposed to do at home," Wembanyama told NBC. "We had to set the tone, we knew it was going to be a physical game.

"We won, so that's the point. But the job's not finished. We've got one more game to get to the conference finals."

Minnesota were left ruing their inability to maintain momentum after a stirring third-quarter fightback.

Trailing 59-47 at halftime, Minnesota launched a 14-2 run to start the third that allowed them to tie it up at 61-61.

But the Wolves' rally was the catalyst for another dominant passage of play from San Antonio, who regrouped and pulled away to take a 91-73 lead by the end of the quarter.

San Antonio kept the points flowing in the fourth, outscoring Minnesota 35-24 to wrap up a deserved victory.

Anthony Edwards led Minnesota's scorers with 20 points while Jaden McDaniels and Julius Randle finished with 17 points apiece.

V.Liu--ThChM