Victor Wembanyama was ejected from Game 4 against the Timberwolves on Sunday after throwing an elbow into Naz Reid's throat while being aggressively swarmed by Jaden McDaniels and Reid. Officials assessed the 22-year-old a Flagrant 2, and he will not face any additional punishment.
The call came in a game that kept the pressure on the Spurs star and left the Western Conference semifinals tied 2-2 heading back to San Antonio. Wolves at Spurs is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.
The sequence fit a series in which Minnesota has been using a physical approach against Wembanyama, who is in his third NBA season and has quickly become the center of every hard foul, body check and stare-down. He has also shown the kind of intense focus that has defined his early career, along with a competitive ire toward Chet Holmgren that has been easy to miss until it surfaces in moments like this.
Wembanyama had recently celebrated winning his first playoff series against the Trail Blazers, and his reaction to that moment was as open as the one that got him tossed Sunday. “I refuse to carry the burden of hiding my emotions,” he said. That same edge has made him both the Spurs' most important player and the one most likely to draw the league's attention when games turn rough.
For San Antonio, the immediate question is not whether Wembanyama will be available; it is how he responds when the series resumes in front of a home crowd with the score even and the temperature rising.
