Timberwolves Wrap: Wolves fall to Spurs in OT

The Timberwolves led big early in San Antonio on Saturday night, including by 12 points at halftime, but ultimately lost to the Spurs in overtime.

Given that the Spurs have beaten the Timberwolves 10 straight times out, this road game in San Antonio was already flagged as a likely loss. But as it turns out, the Wolves blew a golden opportunity to continue their hot streak.

After all, the Spurs had just played a road overtime game the night before and were resting sixth-man Manu Ginobili. The Timberwolves, on the other hand, hadn’t played since Wednesday and had two full days of rest before tipping off in San Antonio.

It showed early, with the Spurs missing a number of shots they would normally make, while the Wolves’ defensive effort was top-notch. In fact, the Timberwolves built a lead as large as 16 points in the second quarter before taking a 12-point advantage into halftime.

Once again, Andrew Wiggins struggled mightily when matched-up against Kawhi Leonard, scoring just 17 points on 6-of-24 shooting. In related news, the last time that Wiggins failed to tally 20 or more points was the last time the Wolves were in San Antonio.

Karl-Anthony Towns picked up the slack in the first half, amassing 20 points by the break. But he only scored four points the rest of the way and was nearly taken out of the game by a combination of the Spurs’ ball pressure and swarming defense and the Wolves’ questionable offensive scheme.

Indeed, Minnesota managed to score just 15 points in the third quarter, but the Spurs still only managed to pull with eight heading to the final frame.

The Timberwolves defense was strong throughout but had a small lapse right when the couldn’t afford it — during the middle of the fourth quarter when the Wolves were clinging to a lead that was slowly deteriorating. They managed to stem the tide after the Spurs took a slight lead and were able to get a couple of clutch stops down the stretch in regulation, but the damage had been done.

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After Kawhi Leonard failed to even get a shot attempt off in an isolation set at the end of the fourth quarter, the Wolves and Spurs matched buckets back and forth in overtime before Tom Thibodeau used a questionable timeout midway through the period. Ultimately, the Wolves’ offense stagnated due to forced shots from Wiggins, Towns, and even Ricky Rubio.

At the end of the night, the Wolves had squandered a strong first half from Towns, a triple-double from Rubio, and another great showing from Nemanja Bjelica. Plus, the Denver Nuggets lost at home to Charlotte, meaning that Minnesota would have pulled to within two games of the eighth and final seed in the Western Conference with a win.

But if there is to be such a thing as a moral victory at this point in the re-re-rebuild — or this point of the season, for that matter — this would be it. The Wolves dominated one of the best three teams in basketball for a full half and still held them to just 97 points including an overtime period. Sure, the offense was bad for Minnesota, but that’s more fluky (and due to Leonard) than anything else.

All things considered, this was simultaneously a blown opportunity and a decent step in the right direction for the Timberwolves. As tough as that is to swallow in March, it’s the reality of where this team is at.

Star of the Night

Kawhi Leonard: 34 points (11-25 FG, 1-5 3P, 11-12 FT), 10 rebounds, 6 steals, 5 assists, one block, one turnover

The Wolves’ solid defense forced Leonard into a rough shooting night, but Kawhi made up for it by getting to the free throw line and stymieing the Timberwolves fastbreak attack. A big part of the reason that Minnesota only managed to score 90 points in 53 minutes of play was that they couldn’t get out and run; Leonard picked off three open-court passes by Rubio alone in this one.

Leonard also completely shutdown the previously scorching-hot Wiggins, embarrassing him head-to-head down the stretch and making the Wolves’ offense appear one-dimensional.

Notable Timberwolves Lines

• Karl-Anthony Towns: 24 points (9-16 FG, 0-2 3P, 6-8 FT), 14 rebounds, one assist, one steal, one block, 2 turnovers
• Andrew Wiggins: 17 points (6-24 FG, 0-2 3P, 5-6 FT), 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 turnovers
• Ricky Rubio: 11 points (4-12 FG, 1-2 3P, 2-4 FT), 13 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals, 4 turnovers
• Gorgui Dieng: 13 points (5-11 FG, 3-4 FT), 11 rebounds, 4 assists, one steal, one block, 3 turnovers
• Nemanja Bjelica: 12 points (5-12 FG, 2-6 3P), 3 rebounds, 3 assists, one steal, 2 turnovers

Towns was great in the first half and extremely quiet in the second. The Spurs did a good job of double-teaming KAT on the catch in the post, and the Wolves did them a huge favor in attempting to run the offense through a struggling Wiggins.

Most of Rubio’s assists came early (he had four in the first quarter alone) as Leonard nearly single-handedly slowed down the Wolves’ offense by making Wiggins’ life miserable.

Dieng and Bjelica were both solid in this one, both hitting big shots down the stretch and in overtime.

Next: Timberwolves Wrap: Blowout Win In Utah

Who’s Up Next?

The Wolves head home after a 2-2 road trip to face the Portland Trail Blazers at 7:00 p.m. on Monday night. Portland remains 1.5 games ahead of Minnesota in the playoff race, standing exactly midway between the Timberwolves and the Nuggets.