The Minnesota Timberwolves won their second consecutive game with a fairly easy win over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night at Target Center.
The Minnesota Timberwolves’ issues with the San Antonio Spurs over the past decade or so are well-documented.
Those issues did not continue on Wednesday night.
Minnesota was easily the more aggressive team in every facet: on the glass, in getting to loose balls, and forcing turnovers. The Wolves led for most of the first half and carried a seven-point lead into halftime.
The Spurs tied the game and took a brief lead early in the third quarter, however, and it looked as though things could flip quickly on the Wolves.
But to their credit, Ryan Saunders’ crew stuck to their game plan, forcing the Spurs into tough mid-range jumpers and moving constantly on their own end of the floor, generating opportunities at the rim for cutters and getting enough wide-open 3-point attempts to maintain a high percentage from beyond the arc.
Andrew Wiggins was once again the star of the game for the Wolves, scoring 30 points and adding eight rebounds and seven assists. Even though Jeff Teague was back and had an effective game off the bench for the Wolves, Wiggins was still the engine that made the offense go.
Karl-Anthony Towns had another solid night, putting up 28 points and holding LaMarcus Aldridge to just four rebounds while pulling down 11 of his own boards.
The Wolves ultimately shot just 11-of-34 (32.4 percent) from beyond the arc, but they hit enough threes to build and keep a double-digit advantage in the second half.
Minnesota had their lead back up to 11 points by the start of the final frame and extended it to north of 15 points, allowing Saunders to get some extra rest for his starters.
It was an all-around impressive performance from the Wolves, and they’ll have a legitimate chance to extend their winning streak this weekend with back-to-back home games against the Wizards and Rockets.
Player Grades
Other Players
Noah Vonleh took over the primary backup center role in this one, logging 14 minutes and putting up seven points and a pair of rebounds.
Gorgui Dieng only played eight minutes, split between the start of the second quarter and garbage time at the end of the game. He was 0-for-3 from the field and had three rebounds.
Up Next
The Wolves will host Washington on Friday night. They beat the Wizards two Saturdays ago in D.C. without Towns, so this will absolutely be a game that Minnesota should be able to win.