MINNEAPOLIS — The San Antonio Spurs concluded their four-game road trip with a narrow 112-110 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center on Sunday night.
The loss was the third in the last four games for San Antonio, who closed out their road trip with a 1-3 record.
The game marked the beginning of a tough stretch for the Spurs, who will play teams above .500 — playoff caliber teams — in the next 11 of 13 games.
In case you missed it, here are three main takeaways from the Spurs’ loss in Minnesota
Hot and cold
Sunday’s game was a roller coaster even before the game began. It was announced hours prior that tip off would be delayed due to an issue with the Timberwolves city edition court, prompting staff to switch the court.
Once the game got underway, things looked good for San Antonio as they built an early 12-point lead in the first quarter. However, Minnesota responded in the second quarter by going on a 13-3 run and outscored the Spurs 32-12 in the frame to build a 14-point lead.
The third quarter belonged to the Spurs, who came out of the locker room firing. San Antonio rode the hot shooting of Victor Wembanyama and Devin Vassel as they went into the final quarter all even at 82 apiece.
“I think we felt what road NBA basketball looks like against good teams, and I think there is some takeaways that we should feel really good about, and some takeaways that’ll give us much to do, to get back to work when we get back home,” said Spurs Acting Head Coach Mitch Johnson after the game.
Wemby continues to impress
As he has done for the month of December, Wemby continued his impressive performance on Sunday and will likely earn the Player of the Month award in the process despite the final result.
Wemby led the Spurs with 34 points while shooting 43 percent from the field. He connected on 4-of-12 three-pointers and grabbed eight rebounds. The reigning Rookie of the Year was a key figure in San Antonio’s comeback as he scored in the low post, got a big block, and hit a three.
Vassell recovered from a poor first half to help out Wembanyama as he finished with 22 points on 57 percent shooting from the floor while Harrison Barnes added 24 points.
A lesson to learn
While this loss may be frustrating for some, there is a lesson to be learned here for the young Spurs squad. Over the course of the road trip, rebounding has been an issue due to the tightened rotations and that was once again a eye sore when you look at the box score.
Minnesota out-rebounded San Antonio 56-41 — including 18 offensive boards — over the course of 48 minutes. The most concerning stat? The Spurs have gone behind by double digits in half their games this season, going 4-12 in games when they trail by 15 points or more.
“For us, I think our late game execution is an area of improvement for us,” Barnes said after the game. “We put ourselves in position. We battled for 44, 46 minutes, to give ourselves a chance to win, and then just finishing out games is something that we can get better at.”
Up next
The Spurs are now 16-16 on the season and will return to the court on New Year’s Eve when they host the LA Clippers at 6 p.m. CT.
