San Antonio Spurs into Western Finals after thumping Timberwolves in Game 6

[p]The [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/san-antonio-spurs/IwmkErSH/"]Spurs[/a] arrived in Minnesota with a 3-2 lead in their best-of-seven semifinals, and led throughout a victory that sets up a tantalising showdown series with the reigning champion and top-seeded [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/oklahoma-city-thunder/0fHFHEWD/"]Oklahoma City Thunder[/a].[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/castle-stephon/Kzd3IGeT/"]Stephon Castle[/a] led Friday's wire-to-wire win with 32 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 11-of-16 from the field, ably backed up by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fox-de-aaron/Ysw8Hl5J/"]De'Aaron Fox[/a] and French superstar [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/wembanyama-victor/jFmM1MFl/"]Victor Wembanyama[/a], who added 21 and 19 apiece.[/p][p]It is the first time a revitalised San Antonio has reached the conference finals since 2017. While the Thunder are heavy favourites for another championship, the dangerous Spurs enjoyed a 4-1 record against Oklahoma City in the regular season.[/p][p][b]"We don't really care about the outside noise. We knew that we were ahead of schedule, probably in December of last year," said Castle.[/b][/p][p][b]"We know it's going to be tough to knock them off, but I think we're pretty confident we can do it," he added.[/b][/p][image alt="Leading players in Game 6" id="5c662bcb-d42e-4c60-8688-998855ae7841" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="e902433e-7d55-41d8-a9f8-5dcdb296904e" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]The Spurs got off to a fantastic start, tearing ahead in the first quarter, dominant in the paint and led by a rampant Castle.[/p][p]Just when it was looking ugly for the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/minnesota-timberwolves/KjBIVQcI/"]Timberwolves[/a], they fought back, their aggression spearheaded by star man [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/edwards-anthony/6u0BMZM2/"]Anthony Edwards[/a].[/p][p]But from a 74-61 half-time lead, the Spurs roared clear in the third quarter, successfully double-teaming Edwards to shut down Minnesota's most potent threat.[/p][embed guid="2dc26e8a-1bed-4cc6-a826-2b14edc7c7fd" url="https://x.com/NBA/status/2055508475346657336" social-type="twitter" /][p]By the end of the third quarter, San Antonio enjoyed an insurmountable 26-point lead, their 56% shooting accuracy far outstripping the opposition.[/p][p]At a timeout with eight minutes remaining, a 25-point deficit on the board, and both teams preparing to send out their benches for the remaining minutes, Edwards walked over to pre-emptively congratulate the Spurs on their resounding win.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/basketball/minnesota-timberwolves-KjBIVQcI/san-antonio-spurs-IwmkErSH/?mid=xd7fkBrC"]Check out the game summary with Flashscore.[/a][/p]