The San Antonio Spurs nearly let a 25-point lead get away from them, but they managed to weather a comeback effort by the Minnesota Timberwolves to get their first win over a Western Conference rival.
As if losing the first two games of the season to the Minnesota Timberwolves wasn't bad enough, the San Antonio Spurs let a 19-point lead get away from them in the second of the two losses.
On Saturday, in front of a rabid home crowd at the Frost Bank Center, the Spurs jumped out to a 25-point lead over the Western Conference rivals, but allowed the Wolves to take the lead late in the fourth quarter. However, some clutch baskets by Keldon Johnson and Victor Wembanyama going basket-for-basket with Anthony Edwards in the final frame allowed the Spurs to steal a 126-123 win, finally getting the better of Minnesota.
The Spurs have struggled to close out games all season, and overcoming that key weakness on Saturday should set the tone for the team moving forward.
Spurs Overcame Key Area of Weakness#
The Wolves self-identify as a second-half team, and their comeback prowess was on full display at the Frost Bank Center. However, after crawling back down 25 points, they simply didn't have enough gas left in the tank to close out the final few minutes. Had the game not gotten that out of hand early, the Wolves may have been able to close out the game and remain undefeated against San Antonio.
"I think our guys took us a minute to get playing to that level," said veteran guard Mike Conley. "They came at us and got a good lead in that first half, third quarter. We started off with the right mindset and the right energy level. The guys started playing better, I think Ant being the one who kind of started the run, and everybody kind of followed him. When you've got somebody playing at that high level and that level of pace, they've rubbed off on everybody else. We just kind of try to lift up the rest of the team with that."
Edwards finished with 55 points, 26 of them coming in the fourth quarter. The Spurs knew that the game wouldn't be over until the final buzzer sounded, and they played heads-up basketball until the final possession.
"They tend to be a second-half team," Keldon Johnson explained. "They ramp up the intensity and the pressure in the second half, and I feel like this is the third time we failed to match it right away, and that's what allowed them to get back into the game. And they got players that hit shots, and you can't deny that."
While the Spurs did blow the lead, they managed to hold on to the win, so hopefully they can pick up and carry some momentum heading into the Monday showdown with the Utah Jazz and Tuesday's game against the Houston Rockets.
"That's been the Achilles heel," Johnson added," showing some concern for the Spurs' ability to finish even after blistering starts.