It may officially be the second half of the season, but one thing that hasn’t change since the first is the Spurs’ inability to hold onto a large lead against the Minnesota Timberwolves. After a slow first quarter, the Spurs got hot in the second, leading by as much as 25, but just like their first two match-ups, they took their foot off the gas and let the Wolves back in it in the second half. Anthony Edwards went nuclear, scoring 26 of his 55 points in the fourth quarter as they eventually retook
the lead, but fortunately for the Spurs, Victor Wembanyama was able to match his star power and pull his team back to victory from the jaws of what would have been another embarrassing defeat.
The Spurs took advantage of no Rudy Gobert, who was out with a bruised hip, by attacking the paint for 8 of their first 9 points, but ultimately neither team could find much offense early, with the score sitting at just 10-9 Spurs after six minutes. The Timberwovles were the first team to find some momentum, getting up by five at 17-12, but that seemed to wake the Spurs up as they responded with a 7-0 run, with all seven points coming from Keldon Johnson. Still, the Spurs found themselves down 22-21 at the end of the first after a 5-0 Wolves burst, including a three from Edwards off an offensive rebound, before a De’Aaron Fox floater at the buzzer.
The Spurs woke up to start the second quarter, with Wemby getting more involved in the offense, which opened things up for everyone else, and threes from Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle got them up by double digits, 41-31, forcing a Chris Finch timeout. The Spurs kept piling on, with Castle finding Luke Kornet on consecutive lobs to stretch the lead to 51-35, leading to another Wolves timeout with four minutes remaining. The onslaught continued, with Wemby scoring 13 of their final 16 points, including hitting four straight threes, and overall the Spurs had their highest scoring quarter of the season (and 4th highest in franchise history) with 48 points, including hitting 8 threes, to lead 69-44 at the half.
Of course, after second-half energy was a problem in their two losses in Minneapolis, the question would be if the Spurs could keep their foot on the gas this time The answer was an emphatic no, as the Wolves came out of halftime more determined while the Spurs looked complacent. Minnesota started the third quarter on a 14-3 run, sparked by French rookie Joan Beringer. They would keep chipping away throughout the second half while the Spurs struggled with turnovers and allowing too many transition buckets. The Wolves finally took their first lead since early in the second quarter on an Edwards jumper with 3:28 left in the game, but then, chaos ensued.
Wemby went into superstar mode, first responding to Edwards with a jumper of his own, and the same again on the next possession with them trading threes. Wemby then stole the ball and drew free throws to retake the lead after a frustrated Edwards pushed him down. The teams continued to go back-and-fourth until a big three from Johnson got the Spurs up by 4 with 18 seconds remaining, but this game just refused to end without drama.
Finch got a technical foul for unknown reasons during a timeout, Wemby missed the free throw, and Edwards hit another three with 11 seconds left. Fox then hit his free throws, and the Spurs decided to foul Edwards so he couldn’t get another three. He missed the second, which was grabbed by Wemby, but the usually-reliable Julian Champagnie missed both free throws. Wemby came to the rescue again and grabbed the offensive rebound and made his first free throw, but then he made the odd decision to miss the second, even though a make would have given them a four-point lead with under two seconds left and no Wolves timeouts. Instead, he committed a lane violation going for the rebound, giving the Wolves the ball, but fortunately Edwards missed on a half court heave, and the Spurs escaped 126-123.
Game Notes
- A very confusing moment came in the third quarter, when the Timberwolves challenged a foul call on what looked like a clean block by Donte DiVincenzo on Castle. After video review, referee Mark Davis explained that the challenge was unsuccessful because defender made “illegal contact with the ball while in the player’s hands,” which made no sense since that would be a block. Then, even more confusion was added when the refs had the Spurs inbounding the ball when the result of the call should have been free throws. Finally, Davis returned to the mic and explained that he misspoke, it was a successful challenge so no foul, but imminent possession belonged to the Spurs, hence why they were inbounding the ball.
- This was quite the crazy game, and one of the biggest examples of a “tale of two halves” I can recall, but ultimately the Spurs stars did what they had to do. Wemby finished with 39 points and 9 rebounds and was the center of the Spurs’ two biggest offensive runs: to build their big lead and later get it back at the end. Fox showed it is possible for he and Wemby to both have big games on the same night and take turns dominating, with 25 points and 12 assists, and Johnson added 20 points off the bench, including that big three that was ultimately the game winner.
- New feature: Did Carter Bryant miss a dunk? (We ask because he supposedly has a running bet with his teammates that after a spate of notoriously bad misses, if he misses three more dunks, he will have to shave his head.) He did not miss a dunk tonight because he didn’t attempt one, but to his credit he did grab two offensive rebounds on one possession in the second half, reminding everyone that hustle is his calling card.
Play of the Game
It’s that Keldon three, of course. You also have to love the reaction of the Bald Bros.
Up Next: Monday vs. Utah Jazz
7:00 PM CT on FanDuel Sports
The Spurs have a chance to get back at another team that was a thorn in their side during that 10-game slump (that they hopefully are out of) and sweep their three-game home stand before returning to the road.
