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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