Did Victor Wembanyama travel or did refs miss Spurs' timeout? New angles surface originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Victor Wembanyama put together one of the greatest individual performances in NBA playoff history on Friday night.
The 22-year-old finished with 39 points on 13-of-18 shooting, 15 rebounds, and five blocks as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Timberwolves 115-108 at Target Center to take a 2-1 series lead.
With this solid outing, he joined Shaquille O'Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only players ever to post 35-plus points, 15-plus rebounds, and five-plus blocks in a single playoff game.
But the game's final minutes ended in high tension. New camera angles circulating online have reignited an officiating debate heading into Game 4
Chris Finch blasts referee over missed timeout as new angles show Victor Wembanyama controversy
The tense sequence in question happened late in the fourth quarter with the game still within reach for Minnesota. With just over five minutes left, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch tried to call a timeout to save a broken play. Officials didn't grant the request until the 5:09 mark, three seconds after his initial attempt.
When Finch stepped onto the court to protest the delay, veteran referee Tony Brothers reacted aggressively. Players and staff, including Naz Reid, Bones Hyland, and assistant coach Pablo Prigioni, had to physically restrain Brothers twice to keep him away from the Minnesota bench.
After the game, Finch was blunt about the exchange, telling reporters that Brothers heard the initial call but ignored it. SpursReporter on X shared a new angle of the moment that added more fuel to the fire.
In the clip, Spurs coach Mitch Johnson could be seen also visibly signaling for a timeout during the scramble involving Victor Wembanyama. The Wolves fans argued that Wemby traveled before hitting the floor, which technically should have prevented a timeout from being called.
After the game, Finch was blunt about the exchange, telling reporters that Brothers heard the initial call but ignored it. SpursReporter on X shared a new angle of the moment that added more fuel to the fire.
In the clip, Spurs coach Mitch Johnson could be seen also visibly signaling for a timeout during the scramble involving Wembanyama. The Wolves fans argued that Wemby traveled before hitting the floor, which technically should have prevented a timeout from being called. Since the officials did not blow the whistle for a travel during the play, the timeout request was valid.
Wembanyama also had an animated talk with the same referee earlier in the game. The Spurs felt Rudy Gobert was getting away with illegal "bear-hug" screens, but players from both teams had a hard time with Brothers’ officiating all night.
Despite the noise, San Antonio escaped with a victory. They now lead the series 2-1 and are slight favorites heading into Game 4, which tips off Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. Given the recent drama, many will be watching to see if Tony Brothers is assigned to the officiating crew tonight.
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