Victor Wembanyama's electrifying rookie playoff run hit a dramatic speed bump Sunday night, as the San Antonio Spurs phenom was ejected for the first time in his NBA career during a 114-109 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals.
The tension boiled over early in the second quarter. The 22-year-old French star, standing at an imposing 7-foot-4, grabbed a rebound off a missed Spurs three-pointer and, while protecting the ball, turned and appeared to catch Timberwolves big man Naz Reid in the jaw with an elbow. The Minneapolis crowd erupted, chanting "kick him out" as officials initially called an offensive foul.
After a video review, the call was upgraded to a Flagrant 2—an automatic ejection carrying a minimum $2,000 fine for excessive contact above the neck. In a moment that captured both his youth and competitive fire, Wembanyama was seen asking teammate Harrison Barnes, "What does that mean?" as the ejection was announced.
The loss ties the best-of-seven series at 2-2, shifting the momentum back to San Antonio for Tuesday's pivotal Game 5. Wembanyama finished with just 4 points and 4 rebounds in under 13 minutes, while teammates De'Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper each poured in 24 points to keep the Spurs competitive.
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson didn't mince words after the game. While he stopped short of condoning the elbow, he expressed frustration over what he sees as a lack of protection for his superstar. "I'm glad Naz Reid is OK, and I didn't want him to elbow him," Johnson said. "But [Wembanyama] is going to have to protect himself if no one else does for him. And I think it's disgusting."
Reid, meanwhile, made the most of his minutes off the bench, posting 15 points and 9 rebounds for Minnesota. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch acknowledged the challenge ahead: "We never expected them just to go away. They won a game in the Portland series without Wembanyama, so they're a very good team."
In other playoff action, the New York Knicks punched their ticket to the Eastern Conference finals with a dominant 144-114 rout of the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 4, led by Miles McBride's 25 points and Jalen Brunson's 22.