San Antonio vs. Minnesota, Final Score: Spurs cruise past Timberwolves, 105-91

San Antonio vs. Minnesota, Final Score: Spurs cruise past Timberwolves, 105-91

San Antonio vs. Minnesota, Final Score: Spurs cruise past Timberwolves, 105-91
NBA

San Antonio vs. Minnesota, Final Score: Spurs cruise past Timberwolves, 105-91

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The Spurs avoided the trap game and improved to 13-0 on the road.

Unsurprisingly, the Spurs were a bit sluggish out of the gates after last night’s thriller in Milwaukee. By the 7:24 mark, they were just were just 1 of 10 from the field and down 12-3, resulting in a line change by Pop. The bench picked up the slack, led by 8 points from Patty Mills, who was likely seeking redemption after last night’s goose egg from the field. They briefly took a one-point lead before the Wolves hit their last two buckets to take a 22-19 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The starters returned for the start of the second quarter, and again looked sluggish as the Wolves raced to a 10 point lead. After a timeout, Pau Gasol and Kawhi Leonard started making shots, scoring the Spurs’ first 17 and 22 of their 24 total points for the quarter. Minnesota feasted on second chance points (10 in the quarter) to keep the Spurs at arm’s length and entered the half with a 46-43 lead over the good guys.

The third quarter has been the Pups’ bugaboo this season, where they have been outscored by 7 ppg. The Spurs took advantage and outscored them by that amount to take a 57-53 lead on a transition three by Danny Green with 5:37 left in the quarter. Kawhi was on fire, scoring 10 points in the quarter, and the Spurs led 72-64 heading into the final frame after hitting 11 of 16 shots.

For the first time in a while, the Spurs took it to their opponent while they were down and cruised through the 4th quarter to a 105-91 win, led by 31 points from Leonard and 15 from Mills off the bench. It was refreshing to finally see the Spurs put together a complete game on both ends with contributions from both the starters and bench.

Check back later for more on this one. The Spurs are back in action on Thursday for a nationally televised game against the Chicago Bulls.