MINNEAPOLIS — The Spurs entered the fourth quarter trailing 106-95, looking for an offensive spark. They missed their first four shots of the quarter, turned it over once and committed two fouls. They allowed the T-Wolves to grow the lead to 109-95 before calling a timeout.
The Spurs didn't make a field goal until the second half of the quarter, and while they kept the Timberwolves from scoring a bunch, the offensive drought was bad. The Spurs trailed 116-99 with 5:28 to play. At that point, the game was pretty much over.
DeMar DeRozan led the Spurs with 27 points on 12-of-18 shooting, and LaMarcus Aldridge had 23 points on just 16 shots. But no other key player had a game you could call 'above average.' Bryn Forbes had 13 points on 2-of-7 shooting from long range. Those two makes from downtown accounted for most of the deep threat for San Antonio. As a team, the Spurs were 3-17 (18%).
Dejounte Murray (11), Rudy Gay (10) and Patty Mills (10) were the other Spurs to reach double figures.
For the Timberwolves, Andrew Wiggins notched 30 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists as his resurgence continues. Karl-Anthony Towns dominated inside, to the tune of 28 points and 11 rebounds. Jeff Teague (18), Jake Layman (16) and Robert Covington (10) also reached double figure scoring for the hosts.
Coach Pop talked about consistency after Monday night's loss to the Grizzlies. The only consistent thing on a quarter-by-quarter basis Wednesday was that the Timberwolves were better. Whether the period was high-scoring, like the 2nd and 3rd, or low-scoring, like the 1st and 4th, Minnesota has had the edge.
The T-Wolves shot the ball better from deep, were more disruptive on defense, passed the ball better and scored better from inside. This connection from the hosts more or less sums it up.
THIRD QUARTER:
After three, the Spurs trail 106-95.
That's how you start a quarter! The Spurs used an 11-2 run to take a 70-68 lead with 9:40 to play in the third quarter, forcing a Minnesota timeout. Bryn Forbes played a big role in the comeback, scoring the first 8 points of the quarter for the Silver and Black.
It wasn't just Bryn Forbes getting to the line for three-point plays. DeMar DeRozan got in on the action, too.
That was his only basket of the first 5 minutes of the quarter, but he scored again with 6:30 left in the quarter to put the Spurs ahead, 80-79. The Spurs and Timberwolves look evenly matched, which is what you'd expect for two teams that are expected to fight for some of the last playoff spots in the Western Conference.
The Spurs took just 10 three pointers in the first 31 minutes of the game, an obscenely low number in the modern NBA. The T-Wolves took twice as many. But the midrange efforts of DeRozan and Aldridge are keeping the Spurs alive. Each player has 20 points with 4:41 left in the third.
The T-Wolves' star duo of Towns and Wiggins has 24 and 22 points, respectively.
The Spurs defense had some slip-ups at inopportune times. After a DeRozan jumper tied it at 83 with 5:32 left in the quarter, the T-Wolves roared to an 11-2 run, forcing a timeout less than two minutes later.
The Spurs did not end the quarter well, and face an 11-point deficit for the final 12 minutes.
HALFTIME:
The Spurs are taking care of the ball, but they're not making their outside shots and they're leaning heavily on DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge. The All-Star duo has accounted for 13 points each, almost half of the team's total scoring. Patty Mills has 10 points, and no other Spur had more than 5.
The Spurs, who had been getting torched in the paint in their last two losses, gave up just 22 points in the lane in the first 24 minutes. The problem has been Minnesota's willingness, and success, shooting the deep ball. The T-Wolves are 9-of-20 from long distance, while the Spurs are just 2 of 9.
Andrew Wiggins leads all scorers with 20 points and Karl-Anthony Towns finished the half on a run to get to 16 points. Robert Covington added 10.
SECOND QUARTER:
At halftime, the Spurs trail 66-59.
Three minutes into the second quarter, it looks like both teams forgot how to play defense. The Spurs allowed the hosts to score 12 points in the first three minutes of the quarter, slightly extending their lead. The T-Wolves made 5 of their first 8 shots, and grabbed two offensive rebounds.
The good news is that the Spurs were keeping with the pace, also making 5 of 8 and getting to the foul line, too.
The scoring slowed down in the middle part of the quarter - just a little. The Spurs and T-Wolves were tied, 49-49, with 5:08 to go in the half after a double technical foul on Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gay. Towns has been kept in check offensively, with just 8 points up to that point. Keep this moment in mind if he gets going later on.
Meanwhile, LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan got up to 13 points each, making at least half of their shots.
FIRST QUARTER:
After one, the Spurs trail 26-24.
LaMarcus Aldridge opened the scoring, but the Timerwolves raced out to a 16-8 lead in the first six minutes. The Spurs missed their first four attempts from long range. Minnesota's Andrew Wiggins scored nine points on four shots to spark the hosts.
The Spurs trailed by eight points a couple of times in the first quarter, but LaMarcus Aldridge was locked in. When he wasn't scoring, he was setting the table for his teammates.
Off the bench, Patty Mills paced the squad with six points, but Rudy Gay brought the thunder.
The Spurs are keeping All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns in check, limiting him to just 2 points. But Andrew Wiggins tallied 11 points, 2 rebounds and a block. The Spurs were also hurt by their inability to make threes, going 1-for-7 from long range.
PREGAME:
The San Antonio Spurs are hoping a brief road trip helps right the ship as the team's recent stretch of games has been filled with less-than-positive results. The three-game homestand that ended Monday with a 113-109 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies netted just one win, and dropped San Antonio to 5-5 on the season.
RELATED: SPURS GAMEDAY: After losing two straight at home, Silver and Black play next two games on the road
On Wednesday, the Spurs take on the Timberwolves (6-4) in Minnesota. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. Coach Gregg Popovich will be looking for the Spurs to execute consistently in all four quarters. In Monday's loss, the Spurs were outplayed in the first and third quarters, but won quarters 2 and 4.
"Well, you know, it's a 48-minute game and we're not executing or competing enough for the 48 minutes," Popovich said. "A little spotty in and out.
"So we've got to be more consistent in our play, competitive-wise and execution-wise. Memphis did a good job of that. They made threes, they were physical, they played a good game. I thought they did a fine job."
Another key to watch Wednesday: Minnesota is without a point guard due to injury. Shabazz Napier has been ruled out, and Jeff Teague is just returning from an illness. Expect to see lots of rookie Jarrett Culver. The Texas Tech product was taken with the sixth pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. We'll see how he handles the Spurs' young-but-seasoned guards, like Dejounte Murray and Derrick White.
A Spurs loss would give the team a losing record, and that just doesn't happen very often.
