The San Antonio Spurs beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 121-111 on Saturday on the back of a historic night for Victor Wembanyama.

Wembanyama became the first Spur since Tim Duncan in 2001 to score at least 20 points in 3 straight first halves, and moved up a spot in the franchise rim-protecting record books en route to 43 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 blocks on the night. He got plenty of help from his supporting cast, with Dylan Harper and De'Aaron Fox finishing with 25 and 22 points each.

On the other side, for Minnesota, Ayo Dosunmu picked up the slack, dropping 29 points and 9 rebounds for a Timberwolves lineup that remains without Anthony Edwards.

It was a quick start for the San Antonio in the first. After a LaMelo Ball lay-up for the Wolves to open the game, the Spurs responded with a 10-0 run to go up 11-2.

From there, Minnesota responded with a 12-0 run to retake the lead. Minnesota created turnovers and got open court, led by Ayo Dosunmu, who finished the first with two steals and nine points.

Spurs would respond again, going on a 14-4 run to reopen a 10-point cushion, highlighted by a putback dunk by Luke Kornet. 

A key question going into the game was how San Antonio would fare against Minnesota in the rebounding battle. The Wolves coming into this game were outrebounding opponents by seven and a half. 

The Spurs were up to the challenge, outrebounding the Wolves 16-10, including 4 offensive.

By the end of the quarter, San Antonio found themselves up 34-28 going into the second. They were led by Wembanyama's 10 points and three blocks. The second block for Wemby was significant, as it made him fourth all-time in Spurs history in blocks, passing Hall of Famer George Gervin.

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Much like the first quarter, the second was a game of runs. San Antonio started with an 11-2 run to extend the lead, while Minnesota immediately responded with a run of their own to take the lead for the first time since the early stages of the first quarter.

The Timberwolves came into Saturday's game with the highest-rated defense in the NBA, and they showed it during the second quarter.

San Antonio finished the quarter with 26 points on 9/21 from the floor. While the rebounding effort was still high, so were the turnovers, as they finished the first half with nine.

Minnesota kept the volume from distance low, shooting only nine three-point attempts at 33%. They shot 48% overall in the quarter for 33 points in the frame. 

At the end of the half, despite the increased defensive intensity by Minnesota, Victor Wembanyama canned two triples in the last minute to pull his Spurs within one, 61-60. 

After forcing only three Minnesota turnovers during the first half, San Antonio came into the third quarter more active in passing lanes, forcing four turnovers in the first four minutes, leading to another quarter-opening run capped off by a Dylan Harper slam dunk.

While San Antonio had success in the first third of the quarter defensively, the fouls started to add up for the Spurs, as Minnesota went into the bonus at the six-minute mark, leading to nine free-throw makes. 

On the other end, San Antonio found offensive success throwing it up to their 7-4 star. Wembanyama had four easy looks inside off of lobs in the quarter.

In the Wemby-less minutes, the Spurs' guards would hold down the fort offensively, with Dylan Harper taking advantage of one-on-one situations, finishing the frame with 10, De'Aaron Fox slashing inside to get to the line, going 4/4 from the free-throw line in the quarter, and Julian Champagnie knocking down his third three of the night.

With Wembanyama back in to end the quarter, both teams exchanged baskets to close it out. The Spurs would outscore Minnesota 33-27 to go up five going into the fourth.

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You've heard this before: the Spurs started with another run to open the quarter, this time 10-0. 

Minnesota had a quick five-point response caused by poor ball security for San Antonio. 

After a timeout called by Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson in response to the five-point swing, with the exception of a Keldon Johnson lay-in, Minnesota kept the momentum and continued to chip away.

After another Spurs timeout, Wembenyama went back to work blocking a Jonathan Kuminga shot, then running down the floor for a dunk. The Spurs continued to run the offense through their star, which opened up the floor for others. 

 Down the stretch, San Antonio refused to allow easy looks inside, and Minnesota missed timely looks, ultimately deciding the game.

San Antonio will face the Utah Jazz for the second time this season at Frost Bank Center on Monday, Nov. 2.