San Antonio Spurs vs. Minnesota Timberwolves: Playoff schedule, TV info for second round

The Minnesota Timberwolves, battle-tested and tough as nails, pursue their third straight conference finals berth. The San Antonio Spurs, futuristic drum pounders, try to win a second playoff series for the first time since 2017.

It’s an intriguing pairing that’s anchored by two French 7-footers. Victor Wembanyama is the NBA’s first unanimous Defensive Player of the Year and a revelatory talent at just 22 years old. Rudy Gobert matches up with him as a four-time DPOY, fresh off a convincing shutdown of Nikola Jokić.

Minnesota is pushing through pain. Anthony Edwards is questionable at the start of the series with knee trouble. Ayo Dosunmu missed the first-round clincher due to a calf injury. And Donte DiVincenzo is down with a torn Achilles. Yet the Timberwolves still found a way to knock out the Denver Nuggets.

Meanwhile, San Antonio is preciously low on playoff experience. Wembanyama, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper and Devin Vassell are all in their postseason debuts. The Spurs have played beyond their years, but margins shrink even further in May.

Here’s the forthcoming schedule and broadcast rotation for this Western Conference semifinal series.

How to watch No. 2 San Antonio Spurs vs. No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves

Watching in person? Get tickets on StubHub.

Game	Date	Time (ET)	TV	Stream
1: @ SA	Mon., May 4	9:30 p.m.	NBCSN	Peacock
2: @ SA	Wed., May 6	9:30 p.m.	ESPN	Fubo (Watch Now)
3: @ MIN	Fri., May 8	9:30 p.m.	Prime Video	Prime Video
4: @ MIN	Sun., May 10	7:30 p.m.	NBC	Peacock
5*: @ SA	Tue., May 12	TBD	TBD	TBD
6*: @ MIN	Fri., May 15	TBD	TBD	TBD
7*: @ SA	Sun., May 17	TBD	TBD	TBD

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* if necessary

NBC is free over the air. ESPN is also available with an ESPN Unlimited subscription.

How the Spurs got here

San Antonio hit the bracket in style after a 62-win regular season, beating the Portland Trail Blazers in a five-game opening round. Wembanyama set a franchise record with 35 points in his first playoff appearance, the Fiesta-themed Game 1 blowout. It was a coronating moment, with Hall of Famers Tim Duncan and David Robinson in attendance.

The Spurs survived a brief scare during Game 2, their lone loss of the series. Wembanyama’s head slammed against the floor — he missed the rest of that game plus Game 3 while in concussion protocol. Without its 7-foot-4 otherworldly presence, San Antonio held steady and took a 2-1 lead around Castle’s gutsy 33 points.

Wembanyama came back for Game 4, and the Spurs rallied in dominant fashion. They became the first team in playoff history to be down by more than 15 points at halftime and then win by 15 or more. San Antonio seized the third quarter, outscoring the Blazers 33 to 16, and cruised in the fourth with a 40-19 mark. The Spurs closed out Game 5 at home with a thorough 114-95 beatdown.

For the series, Wembanyama averaged 21 points, 8.8 rebounds and four blocks, which accounted for his truncated Game 2. He finished at ridiculous 58.3/53.8/91.3 percent shooting splits. De’Aaron Fox put up 20.2 points and 6.8 assists per game, on an even 50 percent from field. Castle had similar numbers to Fox, with 19.8 points and six assists on average. Both Harper (50 percent) and Julian Champagnie (61.9 percent) were hot from long range.

Head coach Mitch Johnson, in his first full season at the helm, notched his inaugural playoff advancement. His team re-ups for the second round as a formidable favorite.

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How the Timberwolves got here

Minnesota posted a 49-win campaign for the second consecutive year, then upset a familiar foe in Denver. Chris Finch’s crew dropped the opener but redeemed itself with a Game 2 road victory, buoyed by Edwards’ 30 points and Julius Randle’s 24/9/6 line. The Timberwolves then handled their home looks in near-identical manners — 113-96 in Game 3, 112-96 in Game 4.

That Game 4 triumph came with turmoil, though. DiVincenzo crumbled in the first few minutes and left the arena in a wheelchair. Edwards hurt his knee before halftime and was also done for the night. In their absences, Dosunmu went off for a career-high 43 points. It was a magnetic moment, lifted by a frenzied crowd (and the mid-aughts throwback uniforms).

Already down DiVincenzo and Edwards, Dosunmu himself was ruled out for Game 6. The Wolves remained unfazed and advanced on the strength of Jaden McDaniels’ 32-point double-double. It was full vindication for Minnesota’s 3-and-D wing — McDaniels had called out the entire Nuggets team for being, as he said, “bad defenders.” He put his money where his mouth was when it mattered most.

McDaniels and Randle start with massive offensive burdens as Edwards tries to make his return. Randle averaged north of 19 points, seven boards and four assists in the six games versus Denver. McDaniels went for almost 18 points per contest, while connecting on 49.4 percent from the field but just 11.1 percent on treys. Dosunmu was Minnesota’s leading scorer with an average of 21.8 points, and he did so on scorching 60.9/54.5/95 percent splits. He starts the series against the Spurs listed as questionable.

On the defensive end, everything orbits Gobert, still a game-wrecker in his 13th NBA season. Gobert was a brick wall against Jokić, and forced the usually efficient MVP candidate into some unrecognizable offense. The Wolves center now takes on Wembanyama — his one-time mentee and his current teammate on the French national squad. It sets up for an intense, emotive rumble in the paint.

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Head-to-head matchups this season

Minnesota won the regular-season series 2-1. The Timberwolves claimed a Nov. 30 contest in Minneapolis after they shot better than 56 percent, though the Spurs were without Wembanyama in that game. The Wolves also got a 104-103 home W on Jan. 11 — Edwards took Wembanyama off the dribble and banked a late runner to seal it.

The Spurs tallied their win six days later on Jan. 17, a 126-123 final in San Antonio. The hosts overcame Edwards’ 55-piece, thanks to Wembanyama’s 39 points and Fox’s 12 dimes.

Spurs vs. Timberwolves playoff history

San Antonio leads the all-time series 2-0. Duncan’s Spurs bested Kevin Garnett’s Wolves to open the 1999 postseason, then did it again in 2001. Both best-of-five series went four games, and neither team cracked 100 points throughout those eight matchups.

Avery Johnson was brilliant for San Antonio in the 1999 series. He averaged 19.5 points and 6.3 assists, both team-best marks, on 59.3 percent from the field. Duncan and Robinson each topped 17 points and 12 rebounds per game in the 2001 duel.

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