By three quarters, it was starting to look like the San Antonio Spurs would face their third disastrous game in a row. Despite having few players, they were facing an even more shorthanded team and five Minnesota Timberwolves wins, but they continued with the habit of playing down for the opponent. Fortunately, they found their resolve in the fourth quarter and rebounded 16 to the 111-108 victory needed to end their franchise record in seven games (thanks to the canceled Pelicans game) on the rise.
DeMar DeRozan came back to life to lead Spurs with 30 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists, and Jakob Poeltl shone as a starter with 19 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks. Malik Beasley led the Timberwolves with 29 points.
Comments
- With LaMarcus Aldridge and Rudy Gay both having hip problems, Poeltl started in the center, and Drew Eubanks was his support. Devin Vassell and Trey Lyles share most of Gay’s minutes. Vassell answered the call at the beginning with 7 points in the first quarter to help the Spurs overcome – wait for it – another slow start. They finished the first quarter losing 33-29, after being behind by up to nine before.
- There is no telling when / if Gregg Popovich will start Derrick White or do something different to try to stop these slow games, but something needs to change. At least in both games against Memphis, Aldridge was the one who asserted himself in the first quarter and prevented the game from getting out of control too soon. Pop expects him to be gone for a while, so someone else needs to introduce himself before the bank enters. Perhaps the answer now is DeRozan needs to assert himself from the start in the attack, instead of delaying and waiting his turn, because most of the time, Dejounte Murray, Lonnie Walker and Keldon Johnson were not the best pitchers in the first quarter.
- As bad as the first quarter was, the second was even worse, with the Spurs dropping by 14 points, while another team not known for their three-point shots got hot on them, as they fought hard on both ends of the court. Overall, Minnesota hit 9-18 out of three in the first half to 3-13 for the Spurs, a deficit of 65-54 in the range. The second quarter has always been the salvation for the Spurs, but not in the last three games. If that strength starts to disappear while the slow start persists, they will be in trouble.
- One of the funniest techniques you’ll see, in the second half Justin Vanderbilt went flying behind the basket and into the open area where the bleachers would normally be. He came back, but left the ball behind instead of bringing it to the referee, earning the Timberwolves second game late warning of the night, which is an automatic T. Spurs will take all the points they can get!
- A large part of the Spurs’ offensive misfortunes in this game was Johnson and Walker were both in a serious shooting crash, combining for 8 points in 3-19 shooting. It was not for lack of effort, but considering that they usually share the track, this makes things even more difficult and can be more of an argument to change the starting lineup. Neither is a consistent marker yet, and that hurts a unit that is already fighting as it is.
- Throughout the third quarter, the Spurs were never able to take much advantage of any failure by the Timberwolves, who always had an answer to anything the Spurs did. Whenever Spurs reached a digit, there was an immediate response. A major reason for this was that the Spurs were unable to build any extended scoring streak, being blocked or stripped in apparently every attempt to reach the rim.
- Minnesota finally calmed down in the fourth period, and the Spurs became aggressive and were rewarded with the bonus in just five minutes. That and DeMar’s appearance in the Fourth Quarter helped the Spurs slowly reduce what was a 16-point deficit with a 20-2 run to gain their first advantage in the game. D’Angelo Russell took the Minnesota side to keep the Wolves close, and Ryan Saunders called a Hack-a-Jak to try to slow the Spurs’ attack. It backfired when Poeltl made the first free throw, and DeRozan took the offensive rebound in the second and scored for three points.
- Saunders took advantage of his coach’s challenge at the start of the third period in a seemingly innocuous foul. Although he was successful, he may have wished he saved it for the fourth time, when all the whistles were going to Spurs, including a questionable one on DeRozan’s last attempt of the night. He made one of the free throws to create the final score, forcing the Wolves to hit a three on the last attempt.
For the perspective of Timberwolves fans, visit Canis Hoopus.
The Spurs are now heading to my new hometown, Houston, to face the growing Rockets. Information will be at 7 pm at Fox Sports Southwest.