The Wolves don't want to tax the left wrist of Karl-Anthony Towns too much as he works his way back into playing shape. So a night after he returned from his dislocation, Towns was again a spectator at Target Center.
So the Wolves found themselves trying to get through at least one more game without Towns in the lineup for their second meeting with the Spurs in as many nights. Entering Sunday they were 0-for-6 without Towns.
They finally improved that winning percentage.
The Wolves were able to prevail in a choppy game with both team's offenses struggling beyond a few players for much of the night. But the Wolves got going when it mattered most and finally snapped their seven-game losing streak with a 96-88 victory.
In a twist, it was the Wolves' defense that gave them a lift when it was the defense that let them down over the last two weeks. It certainly helped that Josh Okogie (six points) returned from a six-game absence because of a strained hamstring.
Malik Beasley and D'Angelo Russell carried the Wolves fledgling offense across the finish line with 24 and 27 points respectively on a night the Wolves shot 42%. The Spurs, however, shot just 38% with Lonnie Walker IV scoring 25, 22 in the first half.
The Wolves broke an 81-81 tie with 4 minutes, 20 seconds remaining with a 5-0 spurt that gave them a 86-81 lead after a Naz Reid layup. A pair of Ricky Rubio free throws gave them a 92-85 lead with under two minutes left, and they were able to prevent a disaster from there.
The Spurs were without DeMar DeRozan but stepping into that role as his understudy was Walker. Walker wasted little time attacking the basket against the Wolves and raced out to 22 first-half points. After the Wolves opened an 8-2 lead on a pair of D'Angelo Russell three-pointers, Walker got going in scoring the Spurs' next six points in attacking the rim. But the Wolves were able to maintain an early cushion thanks to their shooting, specifically from Malik Beasley, and the opened with a 15-8 advantage.
With a lineup of Okogie, Ricky Rubio, Anthony Edwards, Jarred Vanderbilt and Naz Reid, the Wolves held the Spurs scoreless for a stretch of 4 minutes, 46 seconds from late in the first and into the second quarter. The Spurs did miss some open shots, but the Wolves contested a number of shots and made it otherwise difficult for San Antonio to get to the rim the way Walker was able to in the early going.
The only problem was that unit struggled offensively and when Okogie checked out at the 9:50 mark the Wolves were only ahead 27-22.
After his fast start, Russell finished just 3-for-10 from the field in the first half while Beasley had 12 and the Spurs carried a 49-44 lead into halftime.
It was Beasley who kept the offense clicking in the third quarter in scoring another seven points in the first four minutes to put the Wolves back in front 56-55. For the next several minutes no team led by more than three points.
Saunders turned to that same defensive lineup that got the Wolves some momentum late in the first quarter late in the third as well, but the Wolves couldn't regain the lead and San Antonio carried a 69-66 lead into the fourth. Russell replaced Okogie in that defensive unit to start the fourth quarter but San Antonio extended its lead into its largest margin of the night at 77-68 early in the fourth. The Wolves offense just couldn't find any traction beyond Beasley until that point when they went on a 9-0 run with Russell capping it with a three.
That set up a back and forth final minutes, but minutes that finally broke the Wolves' way.
