Spurs advance to Western Conference finals as Pistons force game seven

MINNEAPOLIS: San Antonio moved into the NBA Western Conference finals on Friday after a commanding 139-109 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves, while Detroit kept its Eastern Conference semi-final alive by beating Cleveland 115-94.

The Spurs came into the game holding a 3-2 advantage in the best-of-seven series and stayed in front throughout the contest. Their win sends them into a conference finals meeting with reigning champions and top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. It is the first time San Antonio has reached the conference finals since 2017.

Although Oklahoma City are regarded as strong favourites to win another title, San Antonio went 4-1 against the Thunder during the regular season.

Stephon Castle led the Spurs with 32 points and 11 rebounds, making 11 of his 16 shots from the field. De'Aaron Fox scored 21 points and Victor Wembanyama added 19.

The result also marked a response from Wembanyama after he was ejected in game four for driving an elbow into the throat of Minnesota's Naz Reid, and then became a focus of the Timberwolves' physical approach for the remainder of the series.

I knew, obviously, what they were going to do... I felt like if I gave in to the physicality and the dirtiness, that would have helped them.

I knew I couldn't go over the edge again. So, you know, I had to beat them by playing basketball.

San Antonio made a fast start and built control in the opening quarter, with Castle setting the tone and the team dominating inside. Minnesota responded through Anthony Edwards, whose aggressive play helped the Timberwolves cut into the deficit.

But after taking a 74-61 lead into halftime, the Spurs pulled away again in the third quarter. They repeatedly sent a second defender at Edwards and limited Minnesota's main attacking threat. By the end of the period, San Antonio had opened up a 26-point lead, helped by 56 percent shooting.

With eight minutes left and the Spurs ahead by 25 points, Edwards walked over during a timeout to congratulate San Antonio before both teams turned to their benches.

The words 'Conference Finals' just seem surreal right now.

It's something I heard my whole life, and now we're in it, it's kind of unreal.

Detroit stays alive in the East

In Cleveland, the Pistons avoided elimination with a 115-94 win over the Cavaliers to level the pressure ahead of Sunday's deciding game seven in Detroit.

Detroit, the top seed in the East, had trailed 3-2 in the series before Friday's must-win game and took control with a strong early burst that created a double-digit lead. Cleveland had not lost at Rocket Arena in this postseason before the defeat.

Cade Cunningham scored 21 points, including five three-pointers, while Jalen Duren made a major defensive contribution with 11 rebounds, three blocks and a steal. Cunningham was one of six Detroit players to score in double figures. Paul Reed had 17 points off the bench, while Duren and Daniss Jenkins each scored 15.

We're just playing our brand of basketball, coming out competing, trying to execute our system to the best of our ability, and we're together.

We stick together through everything, so it's a great win for us.

James Harden led Cleveland with 23 points, while Donovan Mitchell was held to 18.

The Cavaliers started well and opened a six-point lead in the first quarter, but Detroit soon took over. A 22-4 run put the Pistons in charge at 39-27 in the second quarter. Cleveland reduced the gap to 54-51 by halftime, but Detroit answered with a 30-19 third quarter to move 14 points clear going into the final period. The Pistons then maintained a double-digit cushion for the rest of the game to seal the win.