For three quarters, it started to look like the San Antonio Spurs were up for a third disastrous game in a row. Despite being short-sighted themselves, they faced an even faster Minnesota Timberwolves team with five wins, but continued their habit of playing down the opponent. Luckily, they found their decisions in the fourth quarter and dropped back from 16 for the much-needed 111-108 victory to end their homeland for seven games (thanks to the canceled Pelicans game) on a high note.
DeMar DeRozan came alive to lead the Spurs with 30 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists, and Jakob Poeltl shone in a starting role with 19 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks. Malik Beasley led the Timberwolves by 29 points.
Observations
- With LaMarcus Aldridge and Rudy Gay both dealing with hip issues, Poeltl started the center, and Drew Eubanks was his backup. Devin Vassell and Trey Lyles share most of Gay’s minutes. Vassell answered the call early with 7 points in the first quarter to help the Spurs overcome – wait for it – another slow start. They put down the first quarter 33-29 after trailing nine early.
- There is no telling when / or Gregg Popovich Derrick White will start or do anything else to try to stop this slow start, but something needs to change. At least for the two games against Memphis, Aldridge was the one who asserted himself in the first quarter and prevented the game too soon. Pop expects him to be outside for a while, so someone else must act before the bank enters. Perhaps the answer for now is DeRozan should assert himself early in the offense, instead of procrastinating and waiting his turn, because for the most part, Dejounte Murray, Lonnie Walker and Keldon Johnson were not yet a brilliant first quarter.
- As bad as the first quarter was, the second was even worse, with the Spurs coming down with as many as 14 as another team not known for its three-point shooting got hot on them while them on both sides of the court. Overall, Minnesota beat the Spurs 9-18 in the first half to make it 3-13 for a 65-54 deficit. The second quarter was the Spurs’ save, but not in the last three games. If the power starts to disappear while the slow starts to continue, they will be in trouble.
- One of the more humorous techniques you will see in the second quarter was Justin Vanderbilt flying behind the basket and into the open area where the stands would normally be. He came back, but left the ball behind instead of taking it to the ref. To bring, and the Timberwolves’ second warning of the night for delaying the night deserves. This is an automatic T. The Spurs will get any points they can get!
- A big part of the Spurs attacking misery in this one was Johnson and Walker were both in a serious shooting decline, which combined for 8 points on 3-19 shooting. This was not due to a lack of effort, but as they often share the floor, it becomes even more difficult and can be another argument to change the starting lineup. There are no steady scorers yet, and that hurts a unit that is already struggling as it is.
- During the third quarter, the Spurs could never take advantage of the miss of the Timberwolves, who always had an answer to everything the Spurs did. Every time the Spurs crawled within single digits, there was immediate reaction. A big reason for this was that the Spurs could not put together any extended runs, or that they were apparently blocked or stripped of every attempt to get the edge.
- Minnesota finally cooled down in the fourth quarter, and the Spurs became aggressive and were rewarded by getting the bonus in just five minutes. That and the appearance of DeMar in the fourth quarter helped the Spurs slowly kick off the 16-point deficit. with a run of 20-2 to gain their first lead in the match. D’Angelo Russell took over at the end of Minnesota to keep the Wolves close, and Ryan Saunders called a Hack-a-Jak to try to slow down the Spurs offense. It fell back when Poeltl made the first free throw, and DeRozan got the offensive setback on the second one and passed for a three-point possession.
- Saunders used the challenge of his coach early in the third quarter on a seemingly harmless call. Although he was successful, he might have wished he had saved it for the fourth quarter when all the whistles went the Spurs way, including a questionable one on DeRozan’s last attempt of the night. He made one of the free throws to create the final score, which forced the Wolves to go for a try in their last attempt.
Visit Canis Hoopus for the perspective of the Timberwolves fans.
The Spurs are now on their way to my new hometown of Houston to tackle the rising Rockets. Tip will take place at 7pm on Fox Sports Southwest.