Despite delivering a historic defensive effort, Victor Wembanyama claimed his poor energy balance prevented the San Antonio Spurs from getting a win.

The Minnesota Timberwolves held on to claim a 104-102 win over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

Wembanyama got a triple-double, with 12 blocks – an NBA record – 11 points and 15 rebounds.

The Frenchman is one of only three players, along with Andrew Bynum and Hakeem Olajuwon, to record a postseason triple-double that included blocks.

However, Wembanyama converted just 29% of his shots and missed all eight attempts from beyond the arc, and he acknowledged that a better offensive performance from him could have turned the tide.

"I feel like I had to use my energy," he said. "Obviously, I used a lot of it on one side of the court.

"On the other side, offensively, I used too much energy on things that didn't really help our team. So, that's on me. There was some good and some bad.

"It's a lot on me because my game wasn't feeling good. If I had been better, if the offensive leaders on our team would have been better, it would have been different.

"So, basically, if everything was different, it would have been different."

BLOCKS FOR WEMBY!

First 10+ block Playoff game since Andrew Bynum in 2012! pic.twitter.com/Tzzjja07LO

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) May 5, 2026

However, Wembanyama is still positive that the Spurs can turn the series around despite losing the first game.

"We are still very confident," he said. "Right now, it's a little bit blurry for me.

"I think I played the last 16 minutes of the game, maybe, and it just went by like this. That's not good. It means I didn't have the grasp on the game that I wish I did."

The Timberwolves were led by Anthony Edwards' 18 points off the bench after he made an ahead-of-schedule return from a hyperextended knee.

Edwards was not expected to return for at least another week but was 8-of-13 from the floor, while adding three rebounds and three assists.

"I'm on record calling him a Wolverine," team-mate Julius Randle said of Edwards.

"I remember last year, being here at the beginning of the year, and he'd take a nasty fall or a hit, we'd have to call timeout and [I'd think], 'Damn, he might be hurt for real'. Then he just gets up."