San Antonio Spurs vs Minnesota Timberwolves Match Player Stats On Nov 15, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Nov 15, 2017

MINNEAPOLIS -- Karl-Anthony Towns had 26 points and 16 rebounds for his 12th double-double of the season, and Jeff Teague added 16 points and six assists for the Minnesota Timberwolves in a 98-86 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night.

Nemanja Bjelica added 11 points off the Minnesota bench, which outscored San Antonio's bench 29-26 and keyed a second-quarter run to give the Timberwolves the lead after a sluggish start.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs, who had won five of their previous six games and beat the Timberwolves in the opener for both teams this season.

Pau Gasol added 13 points as San Antonio continues without injured Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker.

The Spurs were traveling on the second end of a back-to-back after winning in Dallas on Tuesday, but it was Minnesota that struggled at the start by shooting 7 of 26 (26.9 percent) in the first quarter.

San Antonio opened an eight-point lead to start the second quarter before the Timberwolves started their run with the bench providing a big spark. Minnesota converted on 14 of its first 16 shots and took a 31-30 lead on Shabazz Muhammad's 3-pointer.

Muhammad scored all nine of his points off the bench in the second half.

Reserve point guard Tyus Jones added four points and four assists in the second for the Timberwolves, who took their biggest lead of the game at 14 points entering halftime as Teague hit a buzzer-beating runner in the lane.

The veteran Spurs wouldn't go away, just as in the season opener when they closed with a 16-7 run in the final five minutes to win 107-99.

Towns hit two 3s in the fourth quarter and Minnesota surrendered just seven turnovers to San Antonio’s 16 in finally beating the Spurs. San Antonio had won the last 12 games between the teams and six in a row in Minnesota.

NOTES: Minnesota F Gorgui Dieng was held out for the third straight game with a sprained right index finger. C Cole Aldrich was dressed but did not play with a sprained left ankle. ... San Antonio's bench had outscored the opposition's bench in 12 of the first 14 games this season, including the previous eight games. ... Timberwolves G Jimmy Butler had six points on 2-of-13 shooting. He added five rebounds and four assists. ... Minnesota had scored at least 100 points in a franchise-record 12 straight games. The Spurs are the only team to hold the Timberwolves below 100 this season.