Victor Wembanyama's "maturity level was off the charts" during the San Antonio Spurs' Game 5 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, according to team-mate Stephon Castle.

The Spurs won 126-97 at Frost Bank Center, seeing them take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference semi-finals.

Wembanyama led the way with a match-high 27 points and 17 rebounds, while the Frenchman also contributed with five assists and three blocks.

18 of his points came in the first quarter, the joint-fifth-most points in a play-off quarter by a Spurs player in the play-by-play era (since 1998).

Overall, San Antonio scored 68 points in the paint, the most such points in a play-off game against a team featuring four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert.

Wembanyama was ejected during Game 4 after catching Minnesota's Naz Reid with an elbow, but the Spurs' star player responded strongly on Tuesday.

"I feel like we got the Vic you've seen all year," Castle, who scored 17, said.

"I think his maturity level was off the charts. He played smart, didn't really foul much, took the shots that were there for him.

 27 PTS | 17 REB | 5 AST | 3 BLK pic.twitter.com/Nsrnn6KreS

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) May 13, 2026

"When he's playing like that, playing aggressively, with everything he brings for us defensively, I feel like we're hard to beat.

"Just where his mindset has been for the last 48 hours, I know he wanted to finish Game 4. But not letting that get to him and coming out and playing like that was a big reason why we won."

Spurs guard De'Aaron Fox added: "When it comes down to who can be the more physical team or who could be the team that is able to withstand those hits, he [Wembanyama] did a great job at that.

"He didn't falter whenever he got hit. We know even the strongest players in the league get hit and they fall.

"And when he's playing the way he played, it's hard to beat us."