The San Antonio Spurs lost 114-109 to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 4 of their conference semis matchup, highlighted by Victor Wembanyama’s flagrant foul on Naz Reid. The incident occurred early in the second quarter. Wembanyama had the ball in the post. As he saw Reid approach to double him from the help side, the Spurs star elbowed the Timberwolves center in his jaw.
Reid went down and the officials reviewed the play. Referee Zach Zarba announced shortly that Wembanyama had been ejected with a Flagrant 2 due to unnecessary and excessive contact with an opponent’s head. Wembanyama finished his night with four points and four rebounds in 13 minutes.
It was a neck-and-neck game until then, with the Spurs trailing by two. Wembanyama’s presence could have altered the course of this contest. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year had entered this game on the back of a 39-point, 15-rebound, five-block Game 3 outing in which he led San Antonio to a 115-108 win.
The Spurs missed a golden opportunity to go up 3-1 and close the series out on their home court. Several fans blamed Victor Wembanyama’s flagrant foul for the Spurs blowing the chance to do so. Here are some of the reactions.
“Someone had to take draymond’s place while he’s at the Kevin hart roast,” one fan compared Wembanyama’s foul to Draymond Green’s fouls in the past.
“He may have costed his team a win tonight,” another said.
Another felt Wembanyama was trying to make a case for himself, saying:
“Wemby sending the league a message to officiate better, he was being mobbed, no calls prior. Good for Wemby.”
One fan compared Victor Wembanyama’s foul to Draymond Green’s during the 2016 finals, which swung the momentum in the Cavaliers’ favor:
“Wemby might have cost his team the series. Reminds me of when Draymond got suspended against the cavs.”
One fan revisited Metta Sandiford-Artest’s infamous elbow to the head on James Harden:
“Indeed flagrant. Almost Ron Artest (against Harden) like on that elbow.”
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson and Dylan Harper reveal reasons behind Victor Wembanyama’s flagrant
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson and rookie Dylan Harper shared their thoughts on Victor Wembanyama’s flagrant foul. They added to the fan sentiment, suggesting that Wembanyama was frustrated with the officiating.
He and the Spurs believe the Timberwolves have been given a lot of leeway to guard him with physicality, which finally reached a tipping point for the 7-foot-4 star.
Johnson said the elbow was due and could happen again, given how Wembanyama gets beaten up on every play. He also defended Wembanyama over a possible suspension, claiming his star player had zero intent.
Meanwhile, Harper added that Wembanyama was protecting himself. The referees weren’t whistling the grabbing and holding against him, which caused Wembanyama to use his elbows to find separation.
