Trois de moins
2026 NBA Western Conference Semifinals, Game 4
Lucky Again - They certainly were. When I deployed some tongue-in-cheek humor to poke fun of the way Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch has been working the refs in the 2026 NBA Western Conference Semifinals against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs in Six de faits , it was supposed to be light-hearted and all in the good fun of providing protean depth to our Black & Silver coverage of the series. I actually think Finch is a really good coach (and seems like a decent enough guy) and I don’t begrudge him that it’s obviously a critical duty for any NBA coach to “work the refs” in order to gain every advantage possible during a playoff series. That being said, from the way he was outlandishly complaining after a Game 1 win that four or five of Wemby’s playoff record 12 blocked shots were goaltending (only one was, not four or five) to the way he was having a Game 3 temper tantrum over the officiating (even though for the third game in a row, his team was getting the lion’s share of the calls), the fruit was hanging so low that it was pretty much my duty as a writer to do a fictitious bit about it. I endearingly dubbed him The Sniveler (and a bunch of other nicknames) for his over-the-top obnoxious pleading to have the refs help him and his players do something they were incapable of doing on their own…slowing down the ascending greatest player in the world. On Friday night, Game 3 crew chief Tony Brother’s response to Finch’s antics was to try to fight him. Never could I have ever imagined that two nights later, Game 4 crew chief Zach Zarba’s response to Finch’s antics would be to oblige. (Aww drats! The Sniveler strikes again!)
With 8:39 remaining in the second quarter of Game 4 on Sunday, Victor Wembanyama was ejected for a flagrant offensive foul (penalty 2) called on an elbow that he never would have swung if Zach Zarba, James Williams, and Brent Barnaky were properly doing their jobs. Before I go any further, let me state (as an enormously biased Spurs fan) that a flagrant 2 and ejection was the right decision (in a vacuum) for what Victor did in sizing up Naz Reid and then violently swinging his elbow to deliver a vicious shot to Reid’s neck. Furthermore, Victor having that momentary lapse of judgement was unacceptable regardless of what the other team was doing (and what the refs weren’t doing). He let the team down. He let the city down. He let Spurs fans everywhere down. I know he also let himself down more than anyone else. This will be a valuable learning experience and a mistake he is extremely unlikely to repeat but because championships are often won on the most excruciatingly razor-thin of margins, it’s possible that Wemby’s momentary lapse of judgement could cost us a shot at one should we fail to advance out of this series.
While I fully expect our superstar and the entire team to bounce back and overcome Vic’s self-inflicted adversity, only time will tell how big of a set back the shot heard ‘round the world will prove to be. Thankfully, it was announced yesterday morning that Wemby will not be further punished with a suspension or fine and will be available for Game 5 tonight back home in Frost Bank Center. I fully expect our MVP candidate to dominate the overmatched Wolves (whose only demonstrated solution for slowing The Alien down is to turn basketball games into a UFC matches) with his most prolific playoff game to date. I can only image how frustrated Vic is with the Timberwolves, the officials, and most importantly himself. Knowing Wemby, he will vent that frustration by letting his game do the talking tonight. He’s going to be such a colossal combination of amped up and locked in when the ball is tipped that it will be shocking if Game 5 isn’t a repeat of Game 2’s wire-to-wire blowout. Speaking of shocking, while now two days later…I still can’t shake how jarring it was to witness the most poised 22-year old you could ever hope to meet make that ferocious + calamitous of a mistake and just as shocking to then (even though you knew it was coming) see him be disqualified from an NBA playoff game. It was so out-of-character, it didn’t feel real. It felt like watching some contrived AI video created by a Minnesota fan who typed, “Hey ChatGPT, create a video demonstrating the only possible way my Timberwolves can defeat the vastly superior San Antonio Spurs in Game 4.” It was so menacingly surreal it felt glitchy like it was happening in an anxiety-inducing dream state. It was truly jarring.
Now, back to the officiating and Chris Finch. In the process and immediate aftermath of Wemby craftily snagging an offense rebound in what would prove to be his final sequence of Game 4, he was fouled by Naz Reid and Jaden McDaniels multiple times each. Zach Zarba and company just stood there with their whistles swallowed presumably listening to Chris Finch’s sniveling voice in their heads whining something like, “it’s not fair that he’s so much better than us, you gotta give us a fighting chance, you gotta let us play football when we’re guarding him.” Had the referees blown the whistle on the blatant McDaniel’s shot to Wemby’s head (or any of the other infractions), there is a zero percent chance that Victor would have still swung that elbow. While it’s true that Wembanyama’s retaliation was malignant, it’s also true that is was an instinctual basketball play he made in the flow of the game and not one something he would have attempted had the play already been blown dead. It’s not in his character. Victor made a terrible choice but from a position he should have never been put in. Zach Zarba, James Williams, and Brent Barnaky owe the San Antonio Spurs and Spurs fans an apology and should strongly consider going on self-imposed unpaid leave for the rest of these playoffs for a dereliction of duty. Likewise, Chris Finch owes the entire basketball viewing public an apology for taking the art of “working the refs” so far, he’s made a mockery of the spirit of the game.
For the second time in the 2026 playoffs the player of the game was an electric 20-year old rookie from Franklin Lakes, NJ. Despite San Antonio losing our best player to an ejection with more than two and a half quarters left to play, Minnesota still almost (quite literally on an Ayo Dosunmu full court Hail Mary catch up three with 9.8 seconds left) fumbled away the it-would-be-so-completely-demoralizing-to-lose-to-the-Wembyless-Spurs-and-go-down-3-1-the-series-would-basically-be-over must win game and it was in large part due to the stellar play of Dylan Harper. Just as he did in a road playoff game without Victor in Portland in the previous round, the 2nd-generation pro baller played like NBA royalty and a seasoned vet in Game 4 pouring in a team co-leading 24 points (on an uber-efficient 8-11 from the field, 1-1 from three, 7-7 from the line) along with seven rebounds, three steals, and an assist. Dylan led the way in giving us a shot to steal the game which is, if we’re being truly honest, all we could have asked for given the circumstances. The Timberwolves escaped the Target Center with a split and despite San Antonio outscoring them by 38 for the series through four games, we’re all even at 2-2. Minnesota has life but hopefully not for long. If we come out tonight and play our brand of basketball, we will resume the proper trajectory for this series by imposing our will on this opponent and stamping Game 5 with another emphatic home W. If we do that, as I fully expect us to, tomorrow will mark the four-month mark since the last time the Spurs have lost two games in a row. The ascending greatest player in the world will be back tonight (with a few scores to settle) and Chris Finch’s only solution for stopping him remains hoping to recruit a few zebras to help his Minnesota Timberwolves play eight on five. Don’t expect even that to be enough tonight. In order to slow down this alien and the way he will utilize his craft to exact revenge in the Frost Bank Center throughout Game 5, Chris Finch and company are gonna need a helicopter.
Shot Heard ‘Round the World
Vic threw an elbow
Spurs don’t lose two in a row
Take that to frost bank
Written May 2026 in Aurora, CO
Six de faits
2026 NBA Western Conference Semifinals, Game 3
Choosin’ Texas - Fighting out of the blue corner, representing Minneapolis, MN by way of Cambridge, OH with a record of 26-25, known for his slippery, rule-bending maneuvers, it’s the one they call Mr. Squeaky Wheel aka The “Woe Is Me” Machine aka Captain Wet Blanket aka The Bellyacher In Chief, it’s the challenger, The Sniveler…CHRIS FINCH. (Booooooo!!!!!) Fighting out of the red corner, born, raised, and hailing from Norfolk, VA with a record of 32-0 including 19 knockouts, known for the meanest “I wish you would” face in the history of the sport, it’s the one you run away from if he opens the door when you arrive to pick up his daughter, he’s the future mayor of his hometown and maybe yours too, he’s the undefeated, undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World, The Bone Crusher…TONY BROTHERS (Ohhhhhh!!!!)
On Friday, all of The Sniveler’s whining and complaining about the refereeing in his Minnesota Timberwolves second round playoff matchup against the San Antonio Spurs finally hit a tipping point when 30-year veteran official Tony Brothers got so fed up with Chris Finch’s antics that he blacked out and bucked up to the six-year-and-been-running-his-mouth-at-the-refs-since-day-one gasbag of an NBA coach. With 5:09 remaining in the fourth quarter of a tightly contested game, The Bellyacher in Chief stomped up and down on the court like a petulant child because it took Tony Brothers three seconds longer to grant him a timeout than he wanted. His expression of his frustration would have been understandable if this were happening in the final minute of a clutch playoff game but it was a complete overreaction with more than five minutes left to play. His problem wasn’t that those three seconds were crucial, his problem was that he had absolutely no answer on either side of the court for Victor Wembanyama that night.
Venting your frustration that a 22-year-old is eating your lunch exclusively at the referees as if it’s somehow their responsibility to help you do the thing you and your team are incapable of doing on your own (slowing down the ascending greatest player in the world) was in and of itself a mistake but venting it one too many times at this particular referee, Norfolk’s finest…Tony Brothers, that was a death wish. Luckily for Captain Wet Blanket, when The Bone Crusher started charging at him, Timberwolves reserve guard Bones Hyland and assistant coach Pablo Prigioni stepped in the hold Brothers back before he reached Finch. Their quick reaction was a wise ass-saving decision. (You see what I did just there, right?) Otherwise, Mr. Squeaky Wheel was about to be flat on his back, knocked out cold. Perhaps this will serve as a warning, one Chris Finch would be wise to adhere to moving forward; there are only three constants in this world: 1) Death 2) Taxes 3) Don’t mess with Tony Brothers.
Thanks to the quick reaction heroics of Hyland and Prigioni, play resumed with Finch on the sideline rather then on a stretcher but ultimately, there was no amount of home-cooked whistles the referees could have provided to Minnesota to offset Wemby’s sheer determination to win on this particular Friday. On this particular Friday, Victor Wembanyama composed a masterpiece and then performed it to the tune of 39 points (13-18 from the field, 3-5 from deep, 10-12 from the line), 15 rebounds, five blocks, one assist and a steal in leading the San Antonio Spurs to a 115-108 Game 3 victory and 2-1 series lead on the road at the Target Center in Minneapolis in our Western Conference semifinal matchup with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Considering that the team that wins Game 3 in a best-of-seven NBA playoff series that is tied 1-1 goes on to win the series 74 percent of the time, Wemby couldn’t have picked a better time to have a signature winning playoff performance. Home court advantage for the #BlackAndSilver over the Wolves reclaimed. Balance and harmony in the Milky Way’s galactic order restored. (More on this later.)
Vic was stellar the entire night but especially as the tension ratcheted up down the stretch of the hard-fought back and forth contest scoring 16 points in the fourth quarter on the biggest stage (to-date) of his young NBA career. While assassin-like in some of his clutch-time heroics including a pair of dagger threes and a peach of a tasty assist for a Dylan Harper layup out of the triple-team, the player of the game’s play of the game was undoubtedly when he backed down Rudy Gobert (on the next possession after the Harper assist) juked and spun into such a beautiful fade-away jumper that was like a dream shaken out of the Houston-based Hakeem Olajuwon magic big man factory. On this particular Friday, Victor Wembanyama was simply breathtaking. He’s been telling us all season long that when it finally came time for him to get to play in the high-leverage stakes of the NBA Playoffs, he was going to have something to say. Consider his statement soundly delivered. During a postgame interview with the NBA on Prime crew, he issued a couple more for good measure: “I’m built for this” and “we don’t got the experience but we don’t care.”
The American public spent much of Friday pouring through documents looking for confirmation that aliens exist. While the evidence in the documents may have been inconclusive, confirmation came later that night anyway in downtown Minneapolis, MN. Not only do aliens exist, they will crush your soul if you make the mistake of rooting for their opposition on the basketball court. Game 3 was an epic battle of wills between two tough-minded, gritty, physical basketball clubs and their edifying cities + passionate fanbases. It was hard-fought to the bitter end. The difference, when it was all said and done, was that San Antonio had The Alien on our team and Minnesota didn’t. For seven percent of the American public, what Wemby did on a basketball court in the Twin Cities on Friday night is shame because it took their previously extremely rare experience of believing you witnessed an alien life form (and their sense of belonging to that niche community) and made it a universal experience (and global community for everyone). The Alien is here on Earth conducting his affairs in plain sight for all to see. Unfortunately for Timberwolves fans, he’s currently in Minneapolis and is planning another invasion of the Target Center for this evening. It’s clear by now that in the 2026 NBA playoffs, Victor Wembanyama is operating from a higher plain of existence and to pay homage to the last bonafide generational prospect to enter the league prior to Wemby, “we are all witnesses.”
(Note to the NBA punditry on this NBA Draft Lottery Sunday: if you’re using “generational prospect” to describe every top prospect to enter the draft every single year, I don’t think you comprehend what the word “generational” means. Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, Luka Dončić, Zion Williamson, Cooper Flag, and AJ Dybantsa, to name a few who have been given this label, are not generational prospects. LeBron James was the generational prospect for the last generation. Victory Wembanyam was the generational prospect for this generation. Full stop.)
While nothing has changed with the danger the Minnesota Timberwolves pose as a wounded animal, the San Antonio Spurs now have them corned and this evening presents an amazing opportunity to get them back in their cage. We can expect them to come out scratching and clawing like it’s an elimination game because for all intents and purposes, it probably is. While Minnesota has the toughness and experience to climb out of a 1-3 playoff hole in a vacuum, when factoring in just now banged up their roster currently is, it seems like a pretty tall order. We should expect that Anthony Edwards and company are going to fight for their playoff lives tonight and consequently, it will require a sharper more determined effort by the Spurs tonight than it did on Friday for us to beat them. We should also expect The Sniveler Chris Finch to parlay narrowly escaping a Tony Brothers beat down in Game 3 (and the pity party that followed) into squeezing a few extra calls for the home team out of tonight’s officiating crew. In other words, we should expect to have to overcome an avalanche of adversity to remain undefeated on the road in the 2026 playoffs. That being said, I’m extremely confident that we can grab another victory at the Target Center tonight if we play our brand of San Antonio Spurs basketball. Given Minnesota’s terrible injury luck and the current health of their roster, it’s an objective fact that San Antonio currently has the better team in this series. Objectively speaking, Minnesota was extremely lucky to steal game one. Had they not, this thing would already be over. If we play like we’re capable of playing tonight, we won’t allow them to be in position to get lucky again. We also know, however, if the Wolves are somehow able keep the game close so that its outcome is still in the balance down the stretch of the fourth quarter, we have a superior being on our roster who we know we can trust was built for thriving in that type of situation. Victor Wembanyama has been proving it since first contact.
Featured Image Source: Rolling Stone
Headline Image Source: talkSPORT