The Spurs responded to their Game 1 loss by beating the Timberwolves in Game 2
Must have been a productive film session for the San Antonio Spurs.
After being stunned in Game 1 despite a historic performance from Victor Wembanyama, the Spurs responded by crushing the Minnesota Timberwolves with a 133-95 victory. The Western Conference semifinal series is now tied 1-1.
Announcement
Game 3 is scheduled for Friday (9:30 p.m. ET, Prime Video) as the series moves to Minnesota.
The best that can be said for the Timberwolves is that they still weren’t 100%, or at least as close to 100% as you can get in a series where Donte DiVincenzo is sure to be eliminated. Anthony Edwards still came off the bench after a surprise return in Game 1 and Ayo Dosunmu left the game early with heel soreness after previously being listed as questionable.
Beyond that, well, here’s Wemby.
Anchored by the NBA’s first unanimous Defensive Player of the Year, the Spurs held the Timberwolves to 5-of-21 shooting inside the paint before the start of the fourth quarter, by which time the game was out of control at 98-63.
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At the perimeter? 5 of 21 on 3-pointers in the first three quarters. They lost the turnover battle 19-12. The Spurs got 10 more free throws. The Timberwolves had just three more assists (13) than the Spurs had steals (10).
Wembanyama didn’t make 12 blocks again (many of which Minnesota said were goaltends), but it was pure dominance on defense for San Antonio.
The Spurs also had far fewer problems on offense, with all five starters scoring in double figures before the fourth quarter. The game was well and truly out of control late in the second quarter, and the Spurs spent the third quarter pushing it further out of reach.
Announcement
The moment things really got out of hand was a forced moment when Julian Champagnie made four straight 3-pointers.
Both teams emptied their benches early in the fourth quarter.
Stephon Castle led all scorers with 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while Dylan Harper had 11 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists off the bench.
Edwards had 24 minutes off the bench and could have had more in a competitive game, but contributed just 12 points on 5-of-13 shooting with 0 assists and 4 turnovers. This tied for the Minnesota lead with Jaden McDaniels, Julius Randle and Terrence Shannon Jr.
When you have a team that has 62 wins in a quarter and another team struggling to put together a rotation in the backcourt, you’re probably going to get results like Wednesday’s in some games. The Timberwolves can at least get on the plane knowing that a two-point win and a 38-point win count equally toward the series score (they still have home-court advantage!), but the scene in Game 2 is a reminder of the task ahead.