Spurs Notes: Wembanyama, Harper, K. Johnson, M. Johnson

Victor Wembanyama realized that he lost his composure when he was ejected from Game 4 for knocking down Naz Reid with an elbow, so he didn’t let anything bother him when the series resumed Tuesday night, writes Jared Weiss of The Athletic. Wembanyama had interactions with Jaden McDaniels, Ayo Dosunmu and Anthony Edwards early in the game, but he just smiled and played through them as the Spurs rolled to a 29-point victory.

“I feel like the rage baiting would have been maybe one of their strategies,” Wembanyama said. “I just feel like we need to stay composed as a team.”

Instead of getting upset, Wembanyama responded by torching the Timberwolves for 27 points, 17 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two three-pointers, a combined stat line that no one else has ever reached in the playoffs. Prior to the game, Devin Vassell said he was looking for “Angry Vic,” but coach Mitch Johnson was relieved that “Mature Vic” showed up instead. Wembanyama believes he brought a little bit of both, and the combination was too much for Minnesota.

“I feel like we got the Vic that you’ve seen all year. I think his maturity level was off the charts,” Stephon Castle said. “When he’s playing like that, playing aggressive with everything he brings for us defensively, I feel like we’re pretty hard to beat.”

There’s more from San Antonio:

• Dylan Harper‘s highlight dunk in the fourth quarter provided an exclamation point for his high-level performance throughout the postseason, observes Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. Harper was a plus-13 on Tuesday, and the Spurs have outscored opponents by 73 combined points in the playoffs when he’s been on the court. “If he played for any other team in the league,” Carter Bryant said, “he’d be starting and probably be winning the Rookie of the Year right now. And to see how he’s sacrificed and bought into his role, it’s amazing.”
• Keldon Johnson has mostly been held in check during the postseason, but he displayed his Sixth Man of the Year credentials in Game 5, Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News notes in a subscriber-only story. Johnson, who was limited to 31 points in the five games against Portland and 35 in the first four games of this series, went 8-of-11 from the field on his way to a 21-point night.
• Prior to Game 4, Mitch Johnson talked about the team’s chances to be a title contender for years to come with a youthful core of Wembanyama (22), Castle (21), Harper (20) and Bryant (20), relays Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required). “We have a lot of young players I don’t think are anywhere near reaching their ceiling or optimal level of playing,” Johnson said. “And we’re still learning about each other and ourselves. The coach has room to grow and get better. So, yeah, I just don’t think we’re anywhere near being a finished product by any means. There’s a lot of room to improve.”