Wolves 106, Spurs 92: Timberwolves Defense Smothers the Spurs

The Timberwolves defense is on a tear right now, ranking 1st over the previous 12 games, and guided Minnesota to the win in San Antonio

The Minnesota Timberwolves traveled directly south to take on the San Antonio Spurs in the 2nd scheduled game that resulted from the in-season tournament. The Frenchmen connection gets another chapter in the book as the two European centers face off after a silver medal finish in the Olympics over the summer. Minnesota looked to continue stacking wins using their suffocating defense before another longer break before heading back to Minnesota for a significant homecoming on Thursday.

Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

The game in San Antonio started with the Alien doing supernatural things and Anthony Edwards flamethrowing offensively. Jaden McDaniels continued his energizing play with more stifling defense including four steals and four rebounds in the first quarter. The Wolves defense continued to be a stalwart as they forced six turnovers and scored 12 points off of those turnovers. Ant led the way with 12 points as he got off to a great start, hitting some jumpers and a pair of triples. Wolves took a nine-point lead after the first frame, 28-19.

The 2nd quarter started off slower, but the Wolves took off with eight minutes left in the frame, going on a 7-0 run. This run was capped by a Naz Reid block and Rob Dillingham pull-up three, inciting excitement from the bench and for all the fans watching at home. The defense continued to suffocate the Spurs as every shot was strained and every make seemed near impossible.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker continued to be one of the best players on the team scoring 12 points off the bench in the first half. Ant led the way with 16, but it was the defense that rang supreme in the first half: The Wolves let up only 37 points and forced the Spurs to shoot 34.1% from the floor and 14.3% from three. With this defense, the Wolves grew their lead up to 15 at halftime, 52-37.

To start the third, a horrible combination for the Wolves allowed the Spurs to get back into the game as they started the quarter on an 18-9 run, cutting the lead to six. Not being able to end possessions and falling into sluggish offense was a bad concoction for maintaining the lead they worked so hard for.

The Spurs continued applying pressure to the Wolves as they went on a 14-3 run from the eight to the four-minute mark in the third. The Wolves stabilized some and maintained a small lead but missed layups marred their ability to pull away further. Wolves led 76-70 heading into the 4th.

The Wolves came out pissed off from their 3rd quarter showing and started to defend at their first-half level. Donte DiVincenzo was the conduit for good offense, avoiding Wemby at the rim for a few finishes and finding Rudy Gobert for some easy dunks.

The Wolves continued to shut down the Spur’s offense, only allowing seven points before garbage time kicked in. After a few more misses, Ant drilled a couple jumpers to seal the game and come out with their sixth win in seven games. The reserves even got a chance to show off some flair to capitalize the win.

Key Takeaways

Jaden McDaniels Double-Double

Jaden McDaniels has been on a tear as of late. He has upped the offensive production while getting back to his dominant defensive ways. Jaden had four steals in the first quarter, replicating that stat line after having four in the previous game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

On top of these steals, Slim was key in ending possessions for the Timberwolves. He had 11 rebounds to go along with 12 points – his first career double-double. McDaniels is a huge part of the Wolves success and when he starts to impact the game on the glass it almost always leads to good things for the Timberwolves.

Bench Mob +/-

It was a great game all around for the Timberwolves and all of the regular rotation players were in the positive in +/-, but the bench unit continues to be ultra impactful to winning and dominating the minutes they are on the floor.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker led the way with a +28, Naz right behind him with a +26, and Donte at a +15. The Wolves starters ranged from a +4 to a +9 in this statistic. This has been the theme of the Timberwolves this season and their ability to crush other teams’ reserves is a huge asset to their team. The bench lineup of depth strikes again.

(Another) Suffocating Defensive Effort

The defense has been the story of the Timberwolves recent success and it continued tonight. The Wolves held the Spurs to 40.7% from the field, 24.4% from three, forced 19 turnovers, and scored 30 points off of those turnovers. This all resulted in a 93.9 offensive rating for the Spurs in this game.

After letting the Spurs back in the game during the third quarter, the Wolves snuffed out any attempt at a comeback allowing only seven points before each team emptied their benches with about three minutes left in the game. They clearly have a lot of work to do on the offensive side of the ball, but if they are going to play defense like this it will lead to a lot of wins.

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Up Next

The Wolves will have three full days off before an emotional homecoming at the Target Center on Thursday as Karl-Anthony Towns and the New York Knicks come to town. It will be a clash of styles as the Knick’s great offense will face off against the Timberwolves staunch defense. The game will start a bit later at 8:30 PM and will be broadcasted nationally on TNT.

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Game Highlights