Ricky Rubio and D'Angelo Russell of the Minnesota Timberwolves. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
Player grades from Minnesota Timberwolves’ win over San Antonio Spurs
The Minnesota Timberwolves snapped their seven-game losing streak with a win over the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday evening.
Minnesota Timberwolves
96 
San Antonio Spurs
88 The Minnesota Timberwolves played well on Saturday night and had a chance to top the San Antonio Spurs in overtime.
Instead, the losing streak ballooned to seven. To make matters worse prior to Sunday’s re-match, Karl-Anthony Towns was ruled out as the Wolves try to ease him back into action.
On the other side of the ledger, the Wolves got Josh Okogie back on Sunday, and the Spurs were without DeMar DeRozan due to personal reasons.
As it turned out, the Wolves played well enough defensively to slow down a punchless San Antonio offense.
After a massive first half from Lonnie Walker, he went cold in the second half and the Spurs relied almost exclusively on Patty Mills and LaMarcus Aldridge, who combined to shoot just 16-of-40 from the field and 4-for-16 from beyond the arc.
The Wolves had an inconsistent night offensively. D’Angelo Russell carried them through the first quarter while Malik Beasley took over the offense during the middle stages of the game. Down the stretch, the Wolves used a balanced attack with both Russell and Ricky Rubio on the floor.
The Spurs continued to struggle offensively, and the Wolves did just enough defensively and on the glass to put the game away late.
Okogie and Jarred Vanderbilt were vital to Minnesota’s defensive success in crunch-time. Combined with Rubio and Towns, the Wolves have the makings of a strong defensive unit for late-game situations.
Minnesota Timberwolves Player Grades
D'ANGELO RUSSELL
Guard, Minnesota TimberwolvesB+
D’Angelo Russell again had a strong start to the game. He wasn’t ultra-efficient but hit some big shots late in the game. Russell led the Wolves in scoring with 27 points on 9-of-21 shooting, including 4-of-7 from behind the arc. He also shot 5-for-6 from the free throw line as he continues to up his drives into the paint. Russell added five rebounds and and five assists.
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MALIK BEASLEY
Wing, Minnesota TimberwolvesA-
Malik Beasley had a second consecutive strong game. He kept the Wolves afloat during the middle stages of the game and was solid down the stretch. For the game, Beasley had 24 points (9-18 FG, 3-6 3P, 3-3 FT), and three rebounds. He didn’t contribute in any other areas of the box score, but was active defensively once again.
