This is already shaping up to be a series for the ages.
Anytime the Minnesota Timberwolves and San Antonio Spurs clashed in the regular season, everyone tuned in was in for a show.
Game 1 of the Western Conference was no different. The Timberwolves prevailed 104-102 over the Spurs, but as the score suggests, it wasn't an easy road to get there.
The entire game was a constant tug of war on the scoreboard with both Western Conference giants trading scores back and forth. They split the four quarters evenly when it came to outscoring one another, but a late surge by the Timberwolves in the fourth created just enough distance for Minnesota to outlast San Antonio.
Anthony Edwards made his return to the court after suffering a knee injury against the Denver Nuggets in round one and even with Edwards coming off the bench and playing a limited 25 minutes, he had a stellar performance with 18 points, three rebounds and three assists.
Wemby Takes Over
While one franchise-face was just getting back into the swing of things, another one was intent on dominating the floor. Victor Wembanyama was a defensive force with 15 rebounds and a playoff-record 12 blocks and even though he was quiet on the offensive end with just 11 points, he put the clamps on any Timberwolf he defended.
Minnesota's scoring was split evenly across the roster. Six different players scored in the double digits, but Julius Randle led in points with just 21. That kind of comprehensive effort from the team is yet another piece of evidence of just how interconnected the Timberwolves truly are.
With just a minute to go, the Timberwolves were holding on to a four-point lead 102-98, but the Spurs were surging fast.
San Antonio Surges Late
In the final minute the Spurs scored back-to-back shots within 12 seconds to cut the lead down 104-102 and Randle missed a jump shot and Dylan Harper grabbed the rebound for San Antonio, the Spurs had just one last chance to take the game, or at least tie it up.
The ball found it's way to Julian Champagnie who pulled up for a buzzer-beating, game-winning triple, but mercifully came up short, letting Minnesota survive to take a 1-0 advantage in the series.
It was certainly a thrilling affair, but it wasn't the cleanest game that the Timberwolves could have played. Particularly in the last stretch of the game when the Spurs roared back, there were a number of turnovers on the Timberwolves part as well as several missed rebounding opportunities that let the Spurs get back into the game.
The Spurs aren't the kind of team to give away many games and while the Timberwolves came out ahead in Game 1, they can't afford to play anything less than their best basketball to keep on winning.