The San Antonio Spurs dropped the second game of their road back-to-back, blowing a 19-point lead to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
After beating the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, it seems that playing in three cities in four days has caught up to the San Antonio Spurs, as they lost a heartbreaker to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night. The Spurs led by as many as 19 points, but two last-second misses by Victor Wembanyama and De'Aaron Fox caused the Spurs to fall, 104-103.
Against Boston, the Spurs overcame a putrid team shooting night, managing to win on the back of their defense. In Minnesota, their offense picked up for most of the game, as the Spurs shot 40% from 3-point range in the first three frames before going cold.
Win Further Cements Wolves as Prime Threat
The Oklahoma City Thunder are in first place, but the Spurs have proven that they are the best team in the West. What do the Thunder, Nuggets, Wolves, Lakers, and Rockets all have in common? If the playoffs started today, they would all be in the Western Conference's bracket even before the play-in games.
Another thing most of them share? They've all lost to the Spurs at least once this season. Only the Wolves are yet to drop a game to San Antonio, beating them in November to go with Sunday's comeback victory.
While Keldon Johnson shot lights-out for the Spurs, it was Wembanyama who led the way. In his first start since New Year's Eve, he poured in 29 points, although Julius Randle's physicality and foul trouble prevented him from playing with aggression in the final minutes.
While Johnson and Wembanyama had solid games, youngsters Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper struggled. They combined to make only two shots on 16 attempts.
In the November game against Minnesota, Anthony Edwards led all scorers with 31 points. One of the best offensive players in the NBA, Edwards was limited to only 23 points in this outing.
Of course, the schedule will only get harder for the Spurs moving forward. Coming off the loss, the Spurs will hope to re-find their momentum in a Tuesday road game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Spurs are already a perfect 3-0 against the Thunder, so OKC has a lot of ground to make up, and the Spurs don't have a whole lot to prove, at least in the next game.