MINNEAPOLIS _ Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns spent more time on the bench Friday night than he did on the floor. And when he was one the floor, he might have been talking to an official about one of the six fouls they called on him in 21 minutes of action.
The Wolves were battling the Spurs and _ in the minds of fans at the Target Center _ the officials on Friday.
It resulted in another tough home loss for the Wolves, who fell 116-113 to San Antonio, which was playing without DeMar DeRozan.
Towns finished with 23 points and six rebounds while Derrick Rose scored 23, including 11 of 11 from the free-throw line, but he air-balled a 3 at the buzzer that could have tied the game. LaMarcus Aldridge had 25 points and nine rebounds for the Spurs while Rudy Gay added 22.
The Wolves caught a break before the game as the Spurs announced DeRozan was a late scratch because of ankle soreness, meaning that was one less threat the Wolves would have to defend.
The Wolves also had to adjust to early foul trouble, as both Towns and Gorgui Dieng picked up two fouls in the quarter. The Wolves held a small lead through much of the quarter and led 31-28 at the end of it, thanks to nine points from Andrew Wiggins who played all 12 minutes.
To start the second quarter, the Wolves had a lineup of Jerryd Bayless, Rose, Taj Gibson, Dario Saric and Anthony Tolliver, one the Wolves hadn't utilized in the 673 different lineup combinations they had this season entering Friday night. That combination held down the fort for the Wolves, who maintained their small lead through the early minutes of the quarter before Towns re-entered. It was a better quarter for Towns, who had 14 in the second after not scoring in the first because of his foul trouble and the Wolves drew even with the Spurs at halftime 58-58.
Towns came out to score the first five points of the second half, but after that he picked up fouls on consecutive possessions and headed to the bench with the Wolves in a precarious position to begin the half.
But the Wolves actually got their largest lead of the night at 77-67 with 6:06 left in the quarter. The Spurs chipped away at it as Aldridge scored eight in the quarter and Gay had seven to set up a fourth in which the Wolves led 90-88.
It didn't take long for Towns to pick up his fifth foul, just 2:41. Frustration grew with the officials as the Wolves slacked off in play. Teague picked up a technical and fans made their displeasure known as the Spurs went up 108-101. Towns was back in the game at that point, and the Wolves mounted a surge. A Wiggins step-back pulled them within 108-105 with 3:06 to play.
But moments later, officials called Towns for holding Aldridge and he went to the bench with his sixth foul with 2:27 to play. With Towns out for good, Marco Belinelli got to the rim for a dunk while Aldridge hit a pretty step-back to put the Spurs up 112-107. But six straight points from Rose pulled the Wolves within 114-113 with 30.3 seconds remaining. The Wolves appeared to get the ball back down one with 5.8 seconds remaining when a loose ball was ruled out of bounds off Gay, but upon review, officials awarded the ball to San Antonio, saying it was off Saric
Belinelli hit a pair of free throws to put the Spurs up three, enough of a margin to get out of town with the win.
.png?w=600)
