SAN ANTONIO — The Spurs were hoping to start the NBA's new In-Season Tournament with a Cinderella win over Minnesota, but fell just short 117-110 to a Timberwolves team that is rapidly ascending to new heights.
Victor Wembanyama led the team with 29 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocks with some truly insane highlights, and Devin Vassell added 29 himself in his return to the starting lineup, but San Antonio couldn't complete the comeback after another rough third quarter and fell to 3-6 on the season.
San Antonio has tasted some success in the first few weeks of Wembanyama's rookie season, but they've shown their youth in a losing streak that now extends to four games. The most recent was a drubbing at the hands of the Knicks that had the Madison Square Garden crowd chanting "overrated" at the French teenager in his debut there. Every game is a chance to get it right, and every time Wemby steps on the floor you're likely to see something special. The Spurs will be looking forward to that opportunity Friday night on their home floor, but they faced a team that looks like a surging dark horse early in the season.
Denver and Boston are two title favorites, and Minnesota has beaten them both in this five-game winning streak. In his fourth year in the league, former first pick Anthony Edwards has leapt toward two-way superstardom and played at an All-NBA level. KAT hasn't shot the ball well but he's still putting up 18 and 8. Mike Conley has 30 assists and a single turnover on the season. Minnesota boasts the league's top defense with Jaden McDaniels flying around the wing and Rudy Gobert making that widely-panned trade look less and less laughable by the day.
"It'll be a good test for us, they're playing really well," said Doug McDermott before the game.
The same San Antonio team that got clobbered out of the gate at the Garden came out strong on their new colorful homecourt. Zach Collins scored over Gobert in the post, then hit a three on a feed from Sochan, then dove for a loose ball and got it to Sochan for an easy transition dunk. Sochan recorded three early steals. Wemby relocated off the ball and soared in for a slam that got the fans out of their seats. A few plays later he snatched KAT's layup out of the sky.
Wemby made an impact in the paint on both ends, and the Spurs built a 10-point lead. The Timberwolves fought back in a physical contest, and Anthony Edwards swished a three over the outstretched fingertips of Wembanyama to give Minnesota their first lead of the game with just a few minutes left in the second quarter. Wemby responded with a floater over Gobert to tie it. Edwards answered on a circus layup around Wemby, then Keldon got his own. Minnesota hit from deep, then on a broken play Wembanyama dribbled into a pull-up from 28 feet and drilled it over Gobert.
The Timberwolves led 56-54 at the break.
Wembanyama opened the second half with another three, but Pop called a quick timeout when the Wolves pushed their lead up to five. Minnesota's vaunted defense broke out the zone, and Wemby picked it apart with a bounce pass to Collins for a dunk. Those were the only two baskets for the Spurs in the first seven minutes of the third quarter as the Timberwolves built their lead out to 16.
Wemby broke the drought with a finish on the lob from Vassell, but the Timberwolves won the third quarter 34-19 to take a 17-point lead into the fourth.
Vassell got the final period started right with a corner three, then got fouled on a jumper. Wemby hit a post fade over KAT, then pushed and found Collins low for an easy score. San Antonio went to a 3-2 zone defense with Wembanyama playing at the top, and in a few possessions it disrupted Minnesota. McDermott threw a lob in transition, and Wemby caught it mid air with his back to the basket and crammed the reverse.
Wemby hit a jumper, then blocked Gobert in transition. Sochan found Vassell for a triple, then Tre Jones from the corner. Wemby and Collins combined to force a turnover, Jones finished a layup in transition to cut it to 9 and the crowd got active.
Minnesota turned it over out of a timeout and Vassell hit another trey. Wemby finished a lob from Tre Jones to make it a 7-point game with just under two minutes to play. The Spurs played the foul game and got a three from Sochan, three free throws from Vassell, and a sidestep three from Wemby, but it wasn't enough.
San Antonio fell 117-110, their fourth loss in a row and Minnesota's fifth-straight win.
PHOTOS: Spurs fall to Timberwolves 117-110
Recall how clunky the new-look Timberwolves were last season as they figured out how their unique pieces fit together. They went 42-40 and lost to the Nuggets in the first round as questions swirled about roster construction and the franchise's future finances. With some time, tweaks, and internal development, a roster that looks largely the same appears to have a genuine chance at making it past the first round of the playoffs for the first time in 20 years. It's a good reminder that these things take time, a reminder a lot of folks tuning in to Spurs games may need to hear.
Speaking of progress and how quickly things change, remember three years ago when Gobert was in the midst of his run of three Defensive Player of the Year awards and some skinny French teenager who was taller than him gave him some KD-esque buckets in a viral video?
Wembanyama is the centerpiece of San Antonio's plan to grow into a perennial title contender. After he dropped 38 and 10 to lead the Spurs to a win over Durant and the Suns, hopes are high that the timeline may move more quickly than originally anticipated.
This brings a level of interest and expectations that have been absent from the Alamo City for years. Each gameday brings hope for another masterclass. Each commercial break lasts forever. It all feels so meaningful already.
That atmosphere collided Friday night with the league's new plan to drum up excitement for regular season games with the In-Season Tournament. Each conference is divided into three random groups of five teams who play each other in normally-scheduled regular season games during the group stage. The best team from each group and a wildcard team from each conference advance to the tournament in Las Vegas later in the year.
"The players I think are excited. For us it's another game we want to try to win, but I think the fans are the ones that are more excited than we are. It gives them a lot of things to talk about, it's kind of a portent of maybe who is gonna be there at the end of the year," Gregg Popovich said before the game. "I think it'll be a heightened competitive environment for the players for sure."
"We approach every game the same, but obviously it's a different type of game," said Tre Jones. "It's the first time for us but also for the NBA, so there's definitely a little more juice here. I expect it to spike up even more when we get there and see the floor and everything."
The courts look crazy, for better or for worse in some cases, and the Spurs debuted their Hemisfair-themed jerseys.
The season is about as young as this Spurs roster, and there will be ups and downs ahead. They probably won't cut down the nets this year, but that won't stop them from chasing after more shining moments in the first steps of the long journey.