In Round One of the NBA playoffs, the San Antonio Spurs lost home-court advantage to the Portland Trail Blazers, and then won two road games to take a 3-1 lead. Now the Spurs find themselves in a similar situation, with the chance to go up 3-1 on the Minnesota Timberwolves before heading back to San Antonio with a chance to win the series.
Minnesota
Game Four Preview: San Antonio Spurs vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
Victor Wembanyama’s heroics helped the Spurs take a 2-1 lead in a 115-108 victory. Much like the first game of the series, Game Three was defined by back-and-forth play and tough defense. It wasn’t until Wembanyama took over in the fourth quarter that a clear winner emerged. Minnesota desperately needs a win at home to avoid going down 3-1, so expect another physical game with a large sense of urgency from the Wolves.
San Antonio’s strategy of playing fast on offense, pestering the Wolves’ ball-handlers on the perimeter with full-court pressure and doubles, while funneling everything to Wembanyama in the paint, has worked so far. Minnesota’s head coach, Chris Finch, is one of the best in the business. He’ll certainly have adjustments to counter the strategies that have worked for the Spurs.
This series has been pretty close through three games. Game Four should be no different. San Antonio can put itself in a great position to win the series by stealing another game on the road.
May 10th, 2026 | 6:30 PM CT
Watch: Peacock / NBC | Listen: WOAI (1200 AM)
Spurs Injuries: No injuries to report.
Timberwolves Injuries: Donte DiVincenzo – Out (achilles)
Winning the possession battle
The Timberwolves took 14 more shots than the Spurs in Game Three. It’s rare to win a game where you lose the possession battle so brutally. Minnesota had 15 offensive rebounds compared to the Spurs’ 8. A lot of those offensive rebounds were long or contested 50/50 balls. If San Antonio had eliminated those second-change opportunities, the margin of victory may have been wider.
A great example of that was Game Two, when the Spurs forced 22 turnovers and grabbed more offensive rebounds, leading to a blowout. The Wolves have struggled to shoot the ball well in the series. Giving them easy opportunities and extra possessions is allowing them to make up for this weakness. The Spurs have to secure the defensive glass and take care of the ball to give themselves some more cushion in Game Four.
De’Aaron Fox’s shotmaking
San Antonio’s All-Star guard has been hot and cold in this series. He shot poorly in Games One and Three, but had a nice stat line in Game Two. Fox is averaging 18 points on 46.3% shooting in the playoffs overall. He, for the most part, has stepped up when the Spurs needed him this postseason. It’s been harder for him to get to the rim with guys like Jaden McDaniels and Anthony Edwards guarding him on the perimeter, and Rudy Gobert roaming the paint.
Wembanyama is sure to draw a lot of attention in Game Four. San Antonio is going to need another player to step up and take on some of the scoring load. Fox is the best equipped to do that.
Minnesota’s Wembanyama game plan
Wembanyama has dominated this series. Something has to change for Minnesota to minimize his impact. Will they play Gobert more minutes? Start sending doubles earlier? Give the Spurs more open three-pointers to prohibit him from scoring inside? On offense, will the Wolves look to generate more threes to avoid going at Wembanyama in the paint? Whatever adjustments Chris Finch makes will be important to watch for in Game Four.
Eagan, MN – Minnesota Aurora FC clinched a fifth straight Heartland Division title and a spot in the USL W League playoffs with a 4-1 win over River Light FC on Saturday at TCO Stadium.
Aurora improved to 10-0-0 on the season and finished its home schedule unbeaten.
Ai Kitagawa scored twice and added an assist, increasing her season total to 11 goals. Flavie Dubé had a goal and an assist, and Amelia Brown scored her first goal of the season.
***Click video box at the top of the page for postgame interviews***
Kitagawa opened the scoring in the 14th minute off a through ball from Dubé. River Light tied it in the 27th on a header from Victoria Adams — the first goal allowed by Aurora this season.
Minnesota regained the lead in first-half stoppage time on Dubé’s breakaway finish and extended it in the 51st minute when Kitagawa scored again on a cross from Gracie Dunaway. Brown added a late goal in the 81st minute.
Aurora will play its final two regular-season games on the road before the playoffs begin the weekend of July 3-5.
Minnesota
Minnesota man arrested in WI for ‘numerous’ criminal sexual conduct charges against a child
A Minnesota man was arrested in Wisconsin on allegations of multiple criminal sexual conduct charges against a child.
Nathan Brase, 33, of Minnesota, was arrested in Medford, Wisconsin, on Thursday after an arrest warrant was issued. According to the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office, the warrant was issued following an Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigation by the Two Rivers Police Department
That investigation reportedly led to Brase facing what authorities say are “numerous” felony charges, including exposing his genitals to a child and grooming a child for sexual activity.
Brase is currently being housed in the Taylor County Jail, awaiting extradition.
Minnesota’s defense was huge in the fourth quarter Friday. And on a rare offensively challenging night, Olivia Miles came up big late in other ways.
The Lynx limited Golden State to just 13 points in the final frame and beat the Valkyries 81-75 in San Francisco.
Minnesota has won 11 of its past 12 games.
Golden State finished 4 of 22 from the field in the final 10 minutes, including an abysmal 2 of 13 from deep. Golden State went 12 for 40 from distance overall, a significant departure from its 36.9% mark entering the game, which was good for second-best in the association.
The Valkyries led by 12 late in the first half, but were outscored 16-3 by the Lynx around halftime and 40-29 in the final 20 minutes.
“You don’t get better when it comes easy. This was definitely a challenge for us. It just helps us to understand how to play as a team, how to handle those different moments, how to stay together,” said Nia Coffey, who led the Lynx with a season-high 22 points. “Things aren’t always going to go our way, so I think we made some good strides.”
Courtney Williams added 21 points, a season-high 12 rebounds and five assists. Playing with much enjoyment, she also blew some kisses to the crowd and made heart gestures with her hands.
“The got an amazing fan base, and they fan base not that nice,” she said smiling. “But I love it, because who don’t want to play in this type of environment?”
Kayla McBride added 17 points.
“We needed Courtney Williams and Mac to compete, compete, compete,” coach Cheryl Reeve said. “Courtney’s first five minutes were forgettable and then she played the remainder of the game exactly as we needed her to do. She provided the compete for us. The rookie needed her.”
That first-year player would be Miles, who scored just seven points on 1 of 10 shooting, the first time in her young career not reaching double digits. But Miles recorded a three-point play early in the fourth quarter and drained a pair of free throws with 15.4 seconds left for a 79-75 lead.
The star point guard then blocked a 3-point try by Cecilia Zandalasini at the other end before Ola Kosu iced the game with two free throws.
“Us and them are the two best defensive teams in the league, so what she saw was actual defense,” Reeve said. “She saw physicality, she saw aggressive trapping. … Liv needed a game like this. This was a tremendous growth point for her when things don’t go your way, how do you show up? What she showed is that she’ll show up on the defensive end with kind of a game-sealing block, rebounding the basketball, closing out with free throws. She didn’t quit. … Maybe her numbers weren’t gaudy, but the impact she had on the game still was tremendous.”
The Lynx (13-3), who open a home-and-home series with Washington Sunday at Target Center, made 21 of 23 free throws, including eight of nine in the fourth quarter. The Valkyries (10-6) made just three of eight in the fourth quarter and 11 of 17 overall.
Down by 12 with under a minute to play before the half, McBride scored on a cutting layup, and after a Golden State miss, made two free throws. She then forced a Golden State turnover that led to Coffey getting fouled on a 3-pointer with 0.2 seconds left. With all three free throws falling, the Lynx were only down 46-41 after two quarters.
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