Starting 5: Spurs take 3-2 lead; Looking ahead to Game 5 of Cavs-Pistons

A Wemby masterclass has the San Antonio Spurs on the brink of their first WCF since 2016-17.

Keep reading for yet another night that put the Spurs’ star in elite company.

But first, the NBA family mourns and honors the memories of NBA Ambassador & former player Jason Collins and the Memphis Grizzlies’ Brandon Clarke, after losing both on Tuesday.

5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀

Tone-Setter: Wemby’s dominant start propels Spurs to 3-2 series lead

Spurs’ Spark: Keldon Johnson’s sacrifice pays off in key 3rd-quarter swing

Cleveland Core: Tied 2-2, Mitchell leads veteran Cavs into Detroit for monster Game 5

Resilient Detroit: Cade & Pistons look to answer once again as series shifts home

AWS Draft Combine: The next wave of NBA talent is in Chicago this week, with new Combine insights

BUT FIRST … ⏰

The NBA Playoffs roll as the Cavs visit the Pistons on ESPN for Game 5 with the series tied 2-2 (8 ET | Tap to Watch).

Earlier in the day, the NBA Draft Combine continues from Chicago with live scrimmages airing from 2-5 ET on ESPN2. Go deeper in the brand-new AWS Combine Data Hub.

1. WEMBY SETS TONE, SPURS SURGE TO 3-2 SERIES LEAD

Tuesday’s version of Victor Wembanyama was an early offensive force, and his San Antonio squad is now one win away from the West Finals.

Spurs 126, Wolves 97: Wembanyama (27 pts, 17 reb, 5 ast, 3 blk) returned in a big way, piling up a 21-point 1st half while five other double-digit scorers, led by Keldon Johnson (21 pts), helped San Antonio pull away in the 3rd for a 3-2 series edge.

Anthony Edwards (20 pts) paced the Wolves, with 17 more from both Julius Randle (10 reb) and Jaden McDaniels (6 reb). Minnesota faces elimination in Game 6 on Friday, as San Antonio can advance to the West Finals for the first time since 2017. | Recap

Back to action after his Game 4 ejection, Wemby got off to a scorching start Tuesday.

• First On Fire: Wembanyama scored 16 of San Antonio’s first 24 points before the 6-minute mark in the 1st for a 15-point lead, sinking six straight shots after missing his first two
• Historic Start: Wemby’s 18-point, 6-rebound 1st quarter placed him with Tim Duncan (2x) as the only Spurs in the play-by-play era to log 15+/5+ in a Playoff game’s opening quarter
• Run & Respond: A 21-10 Wolves response made it 34-30 after 1, but by the time Wemby spiked down this 2nd-quarter alley-oop for 20 points, the Spurs were back out to a half-high 18-point lead
• By halftime, Wemby (22y, 128d) became the 2nd-youngest player to record 20+/10+ in any Playoff half since 2000, trailing only LeBron James (21y, 130d)
• “Some of the stuff that Wemby was doing, you don’t really have too much of an answer for,” Edwards said. “Just kinda hope he misses. He came out hot.”

“It’s super important for us, the way we start a game,” Wembanyama said. “It sets the tone. Now, the challenge is to do it for 48 minutes.”

• The Spurs felt that challenge as the 2nd half started, with the Wolves putting up seven straight points and tying the game, 61-61, with an 11-2 opening run
• Spurs’ Spark: But when Julian Champagnie’s (15 pts) corner triple answered (assist from Wemby), something clicked to ignite seven straight from the Spurs, a lead they’d never surrender
• “That’s the team we want to be,” De’Aaron Fox (18 pts, 5 ast) said. “When you become a good team, it’s when you can put teams away … We answered that call.”
• Texas Takeoff: San Antonio closed the 3rd on a 30-12 flurry (see Section 2 for more ⬇️) and outscored Minnesota 65-36 overall the rest of the way, maintaining a double-digit lead in the 4th
• Steady Support: The Spurs’ trio of Fox, Stephon Castle (17 pts, 6 ast) and rookie Dylan Harper (12 pts, 10 reb) combined for 47 points and have not logged under 35 points together in this series

Wemby finished the win as the 3rd-youngest player in NBA history to compile a 25/15/5 or better line in a postseason game, behind only Magic Johnson (20y) and Luka Dončić (21y).

• Spurs coach Mitch Johnson had one word for Wembanyama’s response in Game 5: “Mature.”
• “How that young man came out tonight and played in a variety of ways, in a variety of situations – not just in terms of his production – was extremely mature.”
• “I feel like we just stayed composed as a team,” Wembanyama said of his Spurs in this physical series featuring two of the top-3 teams with the most fouls in these Playoffs

Minnesota will work to extend its season at home Friday in Game 6 (9:30 ET, Prime).

“I don’t see [anybody] in the locker room that’s too worried,” Edwards said. “You come out, put your boots on, and get ready to go to war.”

2. SAN ANTONIO’S ‘SOUL’: SPURS’ JOHNSON SHINES IN GAME 5

Keldon Johnson led the Spurs in scoring in 2022-23.

At just 23 years old, the fourth-year wing averaged a career-high 22 ppg, emerging as one of the franchise’s brightest building blocks.

The following season, during Victor Wembanyama’s rookie year, Johnson moved to the bench.

• “He has sacrificed more than anybody on this team,” said Wemby of Johnson in March. “He has outshone everybody … he’s the soul of this team.”

Johnson, the Spurs’ longest-tenured player, has been there for each step in the rebuild.

The losses. The Lottery years. The growing pains that came even after Wembanyama’s arrival – and then this year’s rapid ascent to title contention.

Now, in Year 7 and appearing in his first career postseason, Johnson’s sacrifice is helping push the Spurs to the brink of the West Finals.

• Selflessness: Johnson played in all 82 regular-season games, all off the bench, becoming the first Spurs reserve to total 1,000+ points in a season
• Shine: The reward? The Kia Sixth Man of the Year award and 62 wins for San Antonio – its most since 2016-17
• Spark Plug: Over one-third of those wins (38.7%) came with Johnson scoring 15+ points, with the Spurs going 24-6 in such games. But it’s not just his scoring punch – it’s his intangibles
• “He brings energy no matter what time of the day,” Wemby said in March. “A lot of the work he does – I can’t say it’s not loud because he’s naturally loud – [but] it’s unseen. It’s behind the scenes.”

Center Stage: On Tuesday, Johnson’s energy was impossible to miss, sparking the 30-12 3rd-quarter run that turned a tie game into an 18-point Spurs lead.

That stretch included a Johnson swat on Rudy Gobert, a flex-and-roar finish over Anthony Edwards and eight of his Playoff-best 21 points as San Antonio seized control for good.

• “When he plays with that type of energy, the basketball finds him,” coach Mitch Johnson said. “He’s a catalyst for that energy, that physicality and that dynamic of our team – and we need it.”

Johnson understood that long before the Spurs got here, back when he was first asked to embrace a reserve role to help unlock San Antonio’s future.

• “I wanted to be part of something special here in San Antonio,” Johnson told ESPN after winning Kia Sixth Man of the Year. “I knew that in order for me to really be the best for our team that coming off the bench was probably my best possibility.”

Now, Johnson and the Spurs are one win away from another possibility: a trip to the West Finals.

3. ON ESPN: SPIDA LEADS CAVS INTO DETROIT WITH SERIES TIED 2-2

You often hear a couple phrases when a team wins its first two games at home in a Playoff series.

Taking care of business. Holding serve. Protecting the house.

“They did their job. We did our job,” Donovan Mitchell said of undefeated home teams in the Cavs’ First Round series against Toronto.

But Monday’s Game 4 win meant a little more in Cleveland — clearing a symbolic roadblock after consecutive East Semifinals exits in 2024 and 2025, when the Cavs fell behind 3-1 before exiting.

Following two years of frustration, this Cavs team applied that experience to reach the franchise’s best Playoff showing since its 2018 NBA Finals run.

Can the Cavs keep up that momentum — and keep building on their growing experience — for their first road win of these Playoffs in Game 5 from Detroit tonight (8 ET, ESPN)?

• Cleveland’s star backcourt duo of Donovan Mitchell (74) & James Harden (173) features nearly 250 combined Playoff games
• All-Stars Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen are part of a Cavs core that’s seen 32 Playoff games together in these three straight East Semis runs, while Dennis Schröder adds another 74
• And the locker room gets championship wisdom from Sam Merrill (2021), Thomas Bryant (2023) and Larry Nance Jr., who reached the Finals as a member of that 2018 Cavs team. 

And in Game 5, that seasoning shined through.

• Most In His Era: In his 74th career postseason game, Mitchell’s Game 4 turnaround included his fifth career 20+ point quarter in the Playoffs, the most in the league since his postseason debut in 2018
• Among Legends: He followed that up with his ninth career 15+ point 4th quarter in the Playoffs, tying Kevin Durant for 3rd-most all-time, trailing only Kobe Bryant (12x) and LeBron James (14x)
• Just behind them? Harden, tied with Steph Curry for 4th-most, with eight
• Cav Goes Classic: Harden tapped into that all-time instinct to secure the Game 3 win, with seven of his nine 4th-quarter points coming in clutch time
• “I think they’re still learning each other,” coach Kenny Atkinson said after Game 4. “They have great synergy in terms of their basketball philosophy. They both kinda understand what we want, what our team needs.”

While Mitchell and Harden have only had 33 games together (regular-season and Playoffs), Cleveland’s frontcourt is clicking in its fourth consecutive postseason run together.

Meanwhile, Mobley and Allen disrupted Cade Cunningham and the Pistons’ downhill attack in two straight wins.

• Tall Takeaway: The Pistons led the league in regular-season points in the paint at 57.9 ppg. In this series against the Cavs, they’ve been limited to 49 ppg
• “Maybe the best I’ve seen Evan defensively, and that’s saying something,” Atkinson said of Mobley, the 2024-25 Kia Defensive Player of the Year
• Answering The Call: No two defenders have been tested more at the rim in this year’s Conference Semifinals than Mobley (34 DFGA) and Allen (30 DFGA)
• “This is our strength of our team,” Atkinson said. “We have that duo that can play off each other … perfectly … at a high level right now.”

4. GAME 5 EDGE: CADE & PISTONS LOOK TO RESPOND AGAIN

Detroit has been here before.

The Pistons were on a two-game skid just 14 days ago, staring at a 3-1 First Round-series deficit against Orlando.

They answered with five straight wins, becoming just the 15th team to rally from 3-1, before carrying that momentum into Games 1 & 2 against Cleveland.

Now, after dropping Games 3 & 4, Detroit returns home looking to do what it’s done all season: respond.

• Always Answering: The Pistons are 19-7 (73.1%) this season (regular season & Playoffs) following a loss – the 3rd-best mark in the NBA
• The Key? Leaning into their identity, as they’ve allowed just 109.4 ppg after losses this season, while Cade Cunningham has stuffed the stat sheet (24.7 pts, 5.2 reb, 9 ast)
• Cade’s Latest Answer? Snapping Detroit’s two-game skid vs. Orlando with a franchise Playoff-record 45 points in Game 5, as he averaged 36.3 pts over the series’ final three games to advance
• “I think we learned from the Orlando series what it’s like to be down and the amount of urgency you have to play with,” said Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff. “Now we have to slow that opponent that’s playing with that type of urgency.”

Urgency has fueled Detroit all season. With an unrelenting defense and Cunningham directing traffic, the Pistons led the NBA in forced turnovers (16.9) this season and ranked 2nd in points off turnovers (21.5).

That end-to-end energy powered Detroit to wins in Games 1 & 2. But Cleveland flipped the script in Games 3 & 4.

• Pistons’ Pressure: Detroit imposed its will in Games 1 & 2 by turning defense into offense, forcing 30 takeaways while outscoring Cleveland 45-20 in points off turnovers and 28-10 in fastbreak points
• Cavs’ Urgency: Down 2-0, Cleveland answered with Detroit’s own formula in Games 3 & 4, owning a 52-39 edge in points off turnovers, while forcing 20 takeaways in Game 4 alone
• “They played with more force and tenacity than we did,” said Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff on Game 4. “We were a step behind.”

Now, it’s Detroit’s turn to respond once again – back on its home floor with another defining moment ahead.

• “Some of the hardest lessons that you learn are the most frustrating ones, but you learn from them, and you grow,” said Bickerstaff. “The best part about it is, it’s a three-game series now, and we have two of them in Detroit.”

5. AWS NBA DRAFT COMBINE: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

The next wave of NBA talent has arrived in Chicago.

Fresh off the Wizards winning the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery, prospects from across the globe are showcasing their skills at the AWS NBA Draft Combine (May 10-17) – a week filled with measurements, athletic testing, interviews and scrimmages that help shape draft boards.

Scrimmage Schedule:

• Wednesday, May 13: Scrimmages Day 1 (2 ET, ESPN2)
• Thursday, May 14: Scrimmages Day 2 (NBA TV, Time TBD)
• Stream digitally on NBA App and NBA.com

This week also introduces the new 2026 AWS NBA Draft Combine Data Hub, which turns measurements and athletic testing into real basketball insights.

How It Works: Using 25 years of Combine history, the Hub gives fans a chance to compare today’s prospects to past standouts – adding context to every sprint, jump and drill while showing how testing performance has historically translated to the NBA floor. | Full Stat Lab

For instance …

• 2013’s Longest Standing Reach? Wolves anchor and 4x Kia DPOY Rudy Gobert
• 2017’s Highest Standing Vertical Leap? One of the game’s most explosive guards, Donovan Mitchell
• 2018’s Lowest Body Fat Percentage? Reigning Kia MVP and OKC’s leader in Playoff minutes, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Now, a much-anticipated class of prospects gets its chance to stand out and strengthen its Draft stock, hoping to follow the path of those same NBA stars.

• NBA Draft Mocks: See how Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor and The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie project the top of the board | O’Connor’s Mock | Vecenie’s Mock

Want to share Starting 5 with a friend? Send them this link.

Shape the Starting 5.  Email us here.

Don’t have the NBA App? Download it here.