The San Antonio Spurs secured a 139-109 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on May 15, 2026, clinching their spot in the NBA Western Conference Finals [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Stephon Castle led the Spurs with a dominant performance of 32 points and 11 rebounds on 11-of-16 shooting [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. De’Aaron Fox added 21 points and Victor Wembanyama contributed 19 points in the win [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. The Spurs maintained the lead throughout the game and sealed the series 4-2 after holding a 3-2 advantage prior to Game 6 [1, 2, 3, 5]. Castle said, "We don’t really care about the outside noise. We knew that we were ahead of schedule probably in December of last year... I think we’re pretty confident we can do it" [1].
The Spurs will face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals starting May 18 (May 19 Singapore time) [6, 7, 8, 9, 10]. The Thunder finished as the top seed with a 64-18 regular season record and entered the playoffs undefeated at 8-0 [6, 7, 8, 9, 10]. The Spurs had a 4-1 regular season edge over the Thunder in 2025-26 [1, 2, 3, 5, 11, 10]. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said, "It’s fitting because both teams earned their way here... It’s an opponent that is incredibly worthy" [6]. Wembanyama is averaging 20.3 points, 10.7 rebounds, 4.1 blocks, and 2.4 assists in his first playoff run [6, 7, 8]. He added, "I knew... if I gave in to the physicality and the dirtiness, that would have helped them... I had to beat them by playing basketball" [5].
Elsewhere, the Detroit Pistons kept their Eastern Conference semifinals hopes alive with a 115-94 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on May 15, trailing the series 2-3 [1, 2, 3, 5]. Cade Cunningham scored 21 points, including five three-pointers, to lead Detroit [1, 2, 3]. Center Jalen Duren contributed 11 rebounds, three blocks, and a steal [1, 2, 3]. The Cavaliers must win the series-deciding Game 7 on May 17 on the Pistons’ home court to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals [1, 3].
The conference semifinal timeline includes the Thunder sweeping the Lakers 4-0 on May 11, the Spurs defeating the Timberwolves to clinch their semifinal series on May 15, and the Pistons’ elimination-saving win on the same day [1, 6, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 5]. The Spurs and Thunder will kick off the Western Conference Finals on May 18 [6, 7, 8, 9, 10].
