Victor Wembanyama is on the fast track to super stardom and doesn’t seem to want to wait his turn. Instead of reaching top-five player status in his mid-20s, the San Antonio Spurs’ big man is taking over at just 22 and he’s rattled most of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Spurs lead the Western Conference second-round series 2-1 entering Sunday’s Game 4 in Minneapolis. Wemby has blocked 19 shots in the series – including a postseason-record 12 in Game 1 – and altered countless others.
The New York Knicks are looking to close out their Eastern Conference second-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers. Philadelphia rallied from a 3-1 deficit to slay the Boston Celtics in the first round but no NBA teams have ever recovered from a 3-0 deficit as the 76ers face.
SAN ANTONIO SPURS AT MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
Wembanyama put on a show for the ages in San Antonio’s 115-108 win in Game 3 by recording 39 points, 15 rebounds and five blocked shots. That made him just the fourth different player in NBA history to produce at least 35 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks in a playoff game since the NBA began tracking blocks at the start of the 1973-74 season.
The others in that club are Hall of Famers Shaquille O’Neal (three times), Hakeem Olajuwon (three times) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (twice). Wemby was impressed — “It’s good to be along with the big fellas,” he said – and he’s listed at (27-plus points, -113), (13-plus rebounds, -112) and (five-plus blocks, +127) for Game 4.
Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards, who was limited in the first two games with a hyperextended left knee, was lethal on Friday with 32 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. Minnesota is going to need some big efforts from Edwards (26-plus points, -106) to win this series, starting with Game 4.
It will be interesting to see how much the Timberwolves rely on Julius Randle (18-plus points, -111) and Jaden McDaniels (17-plus points, -108) after their anemic shooting outings in Game 3. Not sure if ‘Wembyitis’ is an official term but McDaniels (17 points) was just 5-of-22 shooting and Randle (12) made only 3 of 12 shots.
Spurs minus 4.5-point spread, -115 (DraftKings)
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NEW YORK KNICKS AT PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
New York has won six consecutive playoff games after posting a 108-94 victory in Friday’s Game 3 at Philadelphia. Completing the sweep would give the Knicks plenty of rest before the conference finals but the 76ers figure to put up a good fight.
Look, everybody knew New York would win the series after it steamrolled Philadelphia by 39 points in Game 1. But the heart the 76ers showed in the Boston series was impressive so avoiding the sweep and not having the series end at home does provide motivation.
However, Jalen Brunson (28-plus points, -106) has done whatever he’s wanted in this series with outputs of 35, 26 and 33 points. OG Anunoby (hamstring) missed Game 3 and is questionable for Sunday and that’s tough news for Philadelphia if he plays as he’s shooting 61.9% from the field and averaging 21.4 points and 7.5 rebounds in eight postseason games.
Sixers star Joel Embiid (26-plus points, -122) has fared well after an appendectomy gave him a late start this postseason and Tyrese Maxey (25-plus points, -117) figures to go all out. Look for Philadelphia to survive to play one more time this season.
76ers plus 1.5-point spread, -110 (DraftKings)
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