Wembanyama gives the Spurs another gem in a 115-108 win over the T-wolves to take a 2-1 series lead

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Victor Wembanyama delivered another masterpiece with 39 points, 15 rebounds and more game-wrecking defense for the San Antonio Spurs, who took a 2-1 lead in the second-round NBA playoff series with a 115-108 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.

Wembanyama went 13 of 18 from the floor and 10 of 12 from the line, adding five blocks and a full night of paint deterrence as the Spurs won their second straight game after dropping the opener at home.

“It was like holding the ship together. We had a lead. We didn’t need to rush. We needed to be consistent,” Wembanyama said.

De'Aaron Fox scored 17 points, and Stephon Castle had 13 points and 12 assists with a team-high plus-17 rating.

Anthony Edwards had 32 points and 14 rebounds and Naz Reid added 18 points and nine rebounds for the Wolves, whose defense kept them alive after a woeful start but allowed the Spurs to shoot 6 for 10 from 3-point range in the pivotal third quarter.

Minnesota will host Game 4 on Sunday night. The series shifts back to San Antonio for Game 5 on Tuesday.

Jaden McDaniels drew Wembanyama's fifth foul with 6:18 left and brought the Wolves within 99-98 on pair of free throws, but the Spurs never trailed in the second half despite never leading by double digits. Wembanyama sat for about a minute before coach Mitch Johnson sent him back in.

“We were going to not leave any bullets in the chamber in terms of keeping him on the bench," Johnson said. "We were going to play him, and then if he fouled out, we deal with that.”

Wembanyama didn't flinch despite the foul risk, finishing with 16 points in the fourth quarter. His 3-pointer that answered Reid's pushed San Antonio's lead to six with 3:06 to go. Reid tried another one near the end of the shot clock on the next possession that hit the rim and Wembanyama snagged for another rebound.

Edwards, who showed Minnesota yet again his swift healing ability by returning from a deep bone bruise in his hyperextended left knee after just one week to make the start of the series, had 22 points in the first half to help them snap back from an early 18-3 deficit.

“He needed that. We needed that,” coach Chris Finch said. “He’s battling back to find a game like this, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get the result that went along with it.”

The Wolves missed their first 12 shots and didn't get a basket to go down until Rudy Gobert's putback with 6:52 had elapsed, but unlike in the 133-95 drubbing they took in Game 2 on Wednesday they had the defensive intelligence and tenacity at the ready to make up for the long shooting lulls.

Edwards hit a buzzer-beating 31-footer at the end of the first quarter, and McDaniels swished a 3-pointer from the wing to end the first half with a 51-all tie.

McDaniels and Julius Randle were the most affected by Wembanyama's presence, unable to get their short-range and rim-attacking game going. They shot a combined 8 for 34 from the floor.

“I went in the locker room and told the guys we had a bunch of great looks,” Edwards said. “If we make our shots, we win this game.”

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San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) dunks during the first half of Game 3 of a NBA basketball second-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Friday, May 8, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) waits for play to resume during the first half of Game 3 of a NBA basketball second-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Minneapolis, Friday, May 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) shoots over San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) and guard Stephon Castle (5) during the first half of Game 3 of a NBA basketball second-round playoff series in Minneapolis, Friday, May 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle (30) scores over San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) during the first half of Game 3 of a NBA basketball second-round playoff series in Minneapolis, Friday, May 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels (3) drives against San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) during the first half of Game 3 of a NBA basketball second-round playoff series in Minneapolis, Friday, May 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two U.S. Navy aviators ejected as they were landing their plane on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier off the coast of Virginia, a mishap that also injured six sailors aboard the vessel.

It is the latest mishap involving Navy aircraft in the past couple of years, including two Navy jets that collided during an air show in Idaho in May as well as a fighter jet and a helicopter crashing into the South China Sea in October. Pentagon data released last year showed a spike in aviation mishaps across the U.S. military in 2024.

The two aviators ejected from their E/A-18G Growler on Monday after a failure of the arresting gear that was designed to bring the jet to a halt after landing, the Navy said in a statement. They were rescued and safely returned to the ship, it said.

The aviators, who are attached to the “Zappers” of an electronic attack squadron and assigned to Carrier Air Wing 3, and six other sailors were evaluated by the ship's medical personnel, the Navy said. One sailor was transported to a hospital in the Norfolk, Virginia, area to be treated for injuries that were not life threatening, while the two aviators and two sailors injured on the flight deck were flown to a naval medical center for further evaluation.

Other recent mishaps have included a Navy helicopter crash in July in the Arabian Sea in which the pilot died and three sailors were rescued. The helicopter was supporting the Iran war, but the Navy said at the time that the crash was an emergency landing and there was “no indication the emergency was caused by hostile action.”

The USS Harry S Truman aircraft carrier experienced four mishaps while defending commercial shipping in the Red Sea against attacks from the Iran-backed Houthis in 2024 and 2025. In a friendly fire incident, a guided-missile cruiser fired at two fighter jets from the Truman, downing one. The Truman also collided with a merchant vessel. An F-18 fighter jet fell off the Truman when it made a sharp turn to avoid a Houthi missile. Another went overboard while trying to land after the cable designed to bring the 50,000-pound jet to a halt snapped from poor maintenance.

In 2024, two crew members died in Washington state after their EA-18G Growler jet from an electronic attack squadron crashed east of Mount Rainier during a routine training flight. They were based out of the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. A report from the crash investigation has not been released.

The nuclear-powered Nimitz-class USS Dwight D. Eisenhower was commissioned in 1977 and recently completed extensive maintenance, repairs and modernization work at a shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia. It also had conducted sea trials in April following the overhaul, according to a Navy news release.

It has been taking part in checks following those repairs, with amateur ship spotters seeing the ship leaving Naval Station Norfolk on Monday afternoon.

The Eisenhower has not played a role in the U.S. war against Iran, which has now lasted seven months. But concerns have been growing that some sailors have been stretched to the limit during the conflict. The U.S.-led campaign against Yemen’s Houthi rebels in 2024 and 2025 also took a toll on the service’s ships and personnel.

The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group spent a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea supporting the war, during which reports emerged of crew stress and poor mental health, as well as shortages of food and hygiene products. The Lincoln’s extended deployment drew the nation’s attention and increasing scrutiny from Democratic lawmakers.

As of Monday, the Lincoln was still on its way home to San Diego, according to a news release from Democratic Rep. Sara Jacobs of California. She and other lawmakers visited the carrier and spoke to sailors and Marines, who Jacobs said shared stories of “their struggles to wash clothes, get medicine and health care, and eat enough food.”

Jacobs said she blames President Donald Trump for the strike group's “mail delays, food and supply shortages, low morale, and mental health crises.”

The Lincoln was replaced in the Middle East by the Asia-based USS George Washington aircraft carrier, which left the western Pacific without one of the key American warships at a time when China is showing more signs of aggression.

Associated Press writers David Rising in Bangkok and Martha Bellisle in Seattle contributed to this report.

FILE - The USS aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower, also known as 'IKE', sails in the Red Sea, June 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, File)

FILE - In this photograph released by the U.S. Navy, military planes stand on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, July 4, 2024, in the South China Sea. (Seaman Ryan Holloway/U.S. Navy, via AP, File)