The San Antonio Spurs were dealt a major blow when star Victor Wembanyama was assessed a flagrant 2 foul and ejected in the second quarter of Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Wembanyama was issued a common foul after securing an offensive rebound while being guarded by Timberwolves forwards Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid. Wembanyama spun away from McDaniels and threw an elbow that caught Reid across the neck.

Officials reviewed the play before upgrading the foul to a flagrant 2.

It is the first ejection of Wembanyama’s career.

He had just four points in 12 minutes of action before getting the boot.

Wembanyama has been a force to be reckoned with for the Spurs in these playoffs. He entered Sunday’s game averaging 21.9 points, 11.4 rebounds and 5.0 blocks on 54.1 per cent shooting over seven appearances this post-season.

San Antonio entered Game 4 with a 2-1 series lead.