Spurs pounce on tired Timberwolves to get their first win streak of the season

The Spurs showed no mercy to a tired Timberwolves team that flew in late to San Antonio and was on the second game of a back-to-back. The Silver and Black shared the ball, defended hard and got timely moments of individual brilliance from several players en route to an impressive 113-103 win over a contender.

It was clear that the Spurs were locked in from the get-go, likely understanding that they had a chance to get a quality win over a superior but weary opponent. Victor Wembanyama and Chris Paul played aggressively on offense from the start to keep up with the more talented Wolves. The offense was chugging along fine with those two leading the way, but this time the defense, which has been stellar so far this season, struggled. The plan to hedge hard and throw extra defenders at Anthony Edwards when he had the ball was the right one, but Edwards was patient and found teammates and canned jumpers to counter it. Julius Randle was also a handful for San Antonio’s defenders, so getting stops was an issue. When the benches checked in, the Spurs’ second unit was solid enough to endure a barrage of threes by responding with outside shots of their own. After one, the game was tied at 32.

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The defensive issues remained for both teams to start the second quarter. Rudy Gobert was getting good looks close to the basket, as the Spurs tried to contain pick-and-roll ball handlers. On the other end, Keldon Johnson was going at Gobert, who was trying to hide on him while a smaller player checked Wembanyama. Johnson’s success against Minnesota’s French giant forced the Wolves to put Gobert on Wembanyama and San Antonio punished them on the pick-and-roll. When it was time for most of the starters to rest, the second unit kept the rim pressure with Paul setting up Jeremy Sochan as the dive man and then Sochan attacking the basket off the dribble. The defense didn’t necessarily improve much but there were enough stops to make up for some questionable shot selection from Victor and the offense continued to put points on the board to allow San Antonio to lead by six at the break.

After looking tired but trying their best to keep the game close, the Wolves finally ran out of gas in the third quarter. They were too slow and made unforced mistakes that the Spurs took advantage of to build a large lead. While the visitors weren’t clearly at their best, San Antonio deserves plenty of credit for smelling blood and not letting their prey get away. Chris Paul masterfully orchestrated the offense and the defense upped its intensity to make life miserable for Minnesota. Coach Chris Finch didn’t go deeper into his bench looking for a spark while Mitch Johnson, filling in for an under-the-weather Gregg Popovich, found supplementary scoring from Keldon Johnson. As more starters took their scheduled rest the Wolves made a run but the second unit prevented them from cutting the deficit below double digits. Heading into the fourth, the Spurs were up 13.

Last season’s Spurs might have missed their opportunity to pull away or relaxed and allowed a comeback, but this group seems hungry and ready. Even with Mitch Johnson experimenting with rotations to mixed results and playing Malaki Branham as the backup point guard and Jeremy Sochan at center, it never seemed like the team lost its composure. The bad stretches didn’t extend for too long and the veterans, Paul and Harrison Barnes made their presence felt in the final frame to secure the win. It wasn’t a blowout but at no point did it seem like the Wolves were going to come storming back to make it a game. Finch seemed to recognize that it wouldn’t be Minnesota’s night and emptied his bench trailing by 14 with three minutes to go.

Play of the game

Here’s your nightly “how did he do that?” Wemby highlight.

Game notes

Wembanyama finished with 17 points and three assists but the attention his presence draws from the defense leads to so many open looks for his teammates. He’s doing a better job of passing the ball himself but simply by being out there he helps.

Chris Paul revealed that Pop said he wants Wemby to get the ball facing the basket instead of with his back to it and Wemby said that the new approach helps keep the ball moving. The Spurs had 32 assists with six players logging three or more. Not running the offense through Wemby in a traditional way could be the play.

Speaking of assists, Chris Paul had 13 of them on a throwback performance. He dissected the Wolves’ defense with pinpoint passes and didn’t hesitate to pull up for jumpers. Paul is clearly learning how to find the balance between setting up his new teammates and looking for his shot. When he’s aggressive, San Antonio is much more dangerous.
The Spurs have gone from trying out Point Sochan to now experimenting with Center Sochan. The young forward got playing time as the only “big” but has also been setting screens and diving to the rim when Zach Collins is next to him, spacing the floor. Sochan has been a revelation so far and, as Wembanyama said after the game, is getting better at punishing the big men that opponents put on him.
Keldon Johnson scored a season-high 25 points on 17 shots and pulled down eight rebounds. Mitch Johnson credited his conditioning for how consistent his effort was and Chris Paul praised his leadership after the game. Johnson has his limitations and consistency remains an issue, but he clearly means a lot for this group, on and off the floor.
Blake Wesley is out of the rotation. Pop went with Malaki Branham as backup point guard for stretches and had Stephon Castle handle the ball as well. Neither of them had great games but both did enough to likely hold on to the playing time they have been getting, at least until Tre Jones and Devin Vassell return.
While on the topic of Vassell’s return, the coaching staff will have to make a tough decision once he’s ready to play. Do they bench Barnes, who has been steady and rarely makes the wrong play or do they bench the younger, streakier Julian Champagnie? Barnes had the better game against the Wolves and is likely to keep his position but the fact that Champagnie has arguably made it close speaks to how well he’s played, even when his shot has been off, like it was on Saturday.