'Being Himself': How Keldon Johnson Willed Spurs to Game 5 Victory over Timberwolves

SAN ANTONIO — Keldon Johnson's ears were ringing. At least, you'd have thought so, given his perfect timing in the locker room following Game 5.

As San Antonio Spurs coach Mitch Johnson praised the team's resident D.J., cowboy and Sixth Man, among other titles, Keldon Johnson interrupted through thin walls.

“It just felt like he was being himself," the coach said while Keldon Johnson screamed from the adjoining locker room. "He wasn’t trying to do something or be anything. He was playing with energy … when he plays (like that), the basketball finds him.”

Hearing such screams are commonplace within the tunnels of Frost Bank Center. Before games, Keldon Johnson parades around with a boombox larger than a foot locker.

Johnson's music taste is always dance-worthy, but it's the people who join him that encourage him to keep the party going. The Spurs like to move together.

"As much as I'm loud and obnoxious and speaking out and things like that," Johnson said, "(my teammates) allow me to be the best version of myself each and every day."

Tuesday night, with the Spurs needing a win to push the Minnesota Timberwolves against the wall heading into Game 6, Johnson delivered. The forward logged 21 points in 22 minutes off the bench — far and away the best playoff performance of his career.

“It was big for him," Stephon Castle said postgame. "We need him ... he’s one of the reasons why we’re No. 2 in the West. We need that version of K.J. every night.”

Johnson struggled mightily in the Spurs' first-round postseason matchup with the Portland Trail Blazers; the forward averaged just 6.2 points on 35 percent shooting from the fieldFacing an aggressive defensive unit likely contributed to his slight offensive decline, but the 26-year-old has improved with each passing contest.

Speaking with reporters in the locker room following his first 20-point outing, he explained the difference in his mindset. It didn't amount to much.

"(I'm) just playing," he said. "I feel like a lot of games in the playoffs, I was trying to overthink it, trying to be perfect ... getting it going tonight was a big confidence booster.”

The highlight of his night came on defense, when the Timberwolves threatened to cut the Spurs' third-quarter lead to three points. Terrence Shannon Jr. pulled a 3-pointer from the right corner that proved too strong; Rudy Gobert reeled in the offensive rebound before attempting to go back up with the ball. Johnson met him there.

"He saved two points," Castle said. 'They were on a run. That was the beginning of when he started going again offensively, and when we started ... our run back up."

Johnson added another tip-in basket to his total in the ensuing minutes. San Antonio added eight points to push its lead back to nine points heading into what ended up becoming an 18-point lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

The added energy helped the Spurs remain in front by double digits. After his block, the Spurs never led by fewer than 11 points, and took Game 5 129-97.

Taking a commanding 3-2 lead exemplified what Mitch Johnson felt has been a calling card for his squad all season. Keldon Johnson served as the latest example.

"We played with the appropriate fear, discipline, execution, physicality (and) poise," Mitch Johnson said. "I thought we had it from an array of people. We needed everybody. At different moments of the game, different guys stepped up.”

Regading the Spurs' hype man, on the night of his biggest performance?

“He’s a catalyst for the energy and physicality," Mitch Johsnon said. "We need it.”

Keldon Johnson recorded the second-most bench points in the NBA this season (1,081) and broke the Spurs' franchise record set by Manu Ginóbili during the 2007-08 season. He joined the Argentinian legend as the only other Spur to win Sixth Man of the Year.

De'Aaron Fox, who knows a thing or two about sacrifices himself, vouched for his teammate's willingness to embrace his new role, if for no other reason the logistics.

"When you're (the No. 1 option)," Fox began, "the quality of shots aren't going to be as high as when you have other extremely good players on the court. He's embraced that role, coming off the bench. He knows that we need him to come out and be aggressive."

Since the beginning of the season, the Spurs have leaned on their "heart and soul" for success. After a bout of early playoff struggles, Johnson found his rhythm. They'll need it again in Game 6, with a chance to advance to the Western Conference Finals.

Johnson knows the impact he brings to San Antonio. And it does, too.

"He's a huge part of why we’re in the position that we’re in," Devin Vassell said in the locker room after Game 5. "When he plays like that, we’re a really hard team to beat.”

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