Stephon Castle leads San Antonio Spurs past Minnesota Timberwolves into Western Conference finals

American Stephon Castle delivered a standout performance as the San Antonio Spurs powered into the Western Conference finals with a dominant 139-109 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday.

Castle led the scoring with 32 points, while Victor Wembanyama contributed 19, as the Spurs clinched the series 4-2 to set up a heavyweight clash with top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Spurs faced the Thunder, the reigning NBA champions, five times during the regular season, finishing 4-1.

A repeat of that form over a seven-game series would secure a place in the NBA Finals.

Castle said Spurs are confident but respect the Thunder’s eight-game winning streak and expect a tough Western Conference challenge ahead.

"We're not even thinking about that right now," Castle said after Friday's victory over the Timberwolves.

"The games ahead are a totally different game. They are rolling right now. They've won eight straight.

"It's going to be tough to knock them off, but we're pretty confident we can do it."

Elsewhere, the Detroit Pistons levelled their play-off series with a convincing 115-94 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, forcing a decisive Game Seven in their second-round clash.

Cade Cunningham top-scored with 21 points, while Paul Reed and Jalen Duren added 17 and 15 respectively.

Having earlier recovered from a 3-1 deficit against the Orlando Magic to win 4-3, the Pistons will host Game Seven on Sunday, with the winners to face the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals.