Victor Wembanyama blocked his way to a record but couldn't quite save the Spurs

SAN ANTONIO — Things just got real for the San Antonio Spurs. A wake-up call was going to come eventually. It was inevitable. Not one of those Victor-Wembanyama-is-out-and-he’s-not-always-a-given kind of things. No. This was a Wembanyama-can’t-always-save-them game.Wembanyama’s NBA playoff record 12 blocks weren’t enough in Monday’s Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals. The Minnesota Timberwolves eventually realized trying to shoot over him every possession wouldn’t work, even if Terrence Shannon Jr. told Wembanyama he would keep going at him. So they found ways to push him where they wanted him and keep him from where they didn’t.Advertisement