Defense will be the focus when the Minnesota Timberwolves travel to San Antonio to battle Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs on Saturday.
The game is the second of a home-road back-to-back for the Timberwolves, who flew to the Alamo City overnight after a 119-116 win over the Denver Nuggets at home on Friday. Minnesota scored the game’s final 10 points to rally for the win after squandering a double-digit lead in the period.
That victory gave Minnesota a winning homestand and its second victory in its past three contests.
Anthony Edwards scored 29 points to help in the rally that was capped when Rudy Gobert hit a pair of free throws with 10 seconds remaining. Julius Randle added 23 points, Gobert collected 17 points and 14 rebounds and Naz Reid had 16 points.
The new-look Timberwolves have been up and down so far throughout their first five games as they get used to life with Randle sharing top-dog status with Edwards. One of the issues Minnesota has been battling is its transition defense, when an opponent’s big man leaks out for a layup on the other end when the Timberwolves’ guards finish too close to the basket.
Last season, the departed Karl-Anthony Towns usually positioned near the top of the key and was able to get back in time to avoid damage from the leak outs.
“We work on those situations in practice,” Gobert said. “We don’t want to be a team that just gives up layups or dunks. Whoever took the shot is going to be the first guy (back) with the big, and he’s got to hold him until I get there or someone bigger gets back.”
Edwards is shooting more 3-pointers than any player in the league, sinking 29 of 67 attempts through Minnesota’s first five games. He went 7-for-14 from beyond the arc on Friday.
The Spurs return home after a dominating 106-88 win at Utah on Thursday. Wembanyama produced 25 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, five blocks and five steals.
It was the second time in Wembanyama’s short career that he has produced at least five of each category in a game, joining Hakeem Olajuwon (six times) and Andrei Kirilenko (three) as the only players to reach that statistical level in a game more than once.
Chris Paul added 19 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds for San Antonio, while Keldon Johnson hit for 13 points, Jeremy Sochan tallied 11 and Sandro Mamukelashvili had 10. San Antonio trailed by six points at the break but outscored the Jazz 30-14 in the third quarter and coasted from there.
Despite the decisive offensive burst in the third, both Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and Wembanyama said the team’s defense was the real key.
“We’re not ready to be a top-five defensive team by any stretch of the imagination,” Popovich said. “We’ve played good defense throughout the beginning of the season. We picked up where we left off from last year.”
“(Defense) is a must-have for us,” Wembanyama added. “It should be our first focus coming into the game.”
The game on Saturday is the first of three meetings between the teams this season and the only one in San Antonio.