NBA Special: The Sizzling San Antonio Spurs dismantle the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves
San Antonio Spurs already have seen plenty of peaks and valleys in NBA (National Basketball Association) this season and steadily built the foundation of a solid team. The
San Antonio Spurs put together one of their most impressive performances this season with a 94-91 victory over the struggling Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night.
"Wins are always good," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "There has never been a bad win."
Wolves suffered their tenth consecutive loss from the hands of Spurs in front of 18,581 nationally televised audiences at the AT&T Center.
San Antonio was led by a balanced attack, as six players scored in double-figures. Manu Ginobili paved the way for Spurs with game-high 21 points, 3 assists and 7 rebounds.
Richard Jefferson and Gary Neal each added 13 points apiece for San Antonio, who won the 31st game of the season. Tony Parker, George Hill, and Matt Bonner all had 11 points in the home victory.
Only three players of Minnesota scored points in double figures. Kevin Love led the Wolves with team-high 18 points and 17 rebounds. Luke Ridnour added 16 points and Darko
Milicic had 11 points and 10 rebounds in Minnesota’s fourth straight defeat.
Game Story
Timberwolves' Anthony Tolliver lost the opportunity to drag the game into overtime when he missed a 3-pointer with one second remaining in the final buzzer.
Minnesota led by as many as nine points in the first quarter, but the Timberwolves could not make much happen offensively after that. They shot 39.6 percent from the floor
and had 12 trips to the free-throw line. The hot Spurs hit 21 of 25 foul shots, taking a 21-18 lead into the second.
Ginobili and Tony “Frenchie” Parker kept the Spurs competitive in the second quarter. Ginobili’s back-to-back 3-pointers closed the Spurs' lead to 52-44, heading into the
third.
Both teams started the third quarter ice cold but the Spurs once again found their way by the end of the third and expanded their lead to a 74-67.
The Timberwolves fought hard to make the score a respectable one and trimmed San Antonio's seven-point lead early in the fourth quarter to 80-78 with eight minutes to go
in the final buzzer. However, Gary Neal came off the bench to hit a pair of 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, and the San Antonio Spurs hung on for another home victory.
"We want our cornerstone to be defense, and tonight defense and key rebounds in the fourth quarter allowed us to win the game," said rookie guard Neal, who registered eight
crucial points in the final stanza.
Kelvin Love’s Open Challenge
At the end of a very close defeat, Center Kelvin Love was quite hopeful with the about the up-coming match on Tuesday.
"We've taken them to three very tight games (including) an overtime game (this season). We have one (against the Spurs) on Tuesday, so hopefully we don't sulk on this.”
-- Kevin Love
Would the Timberwolves be able to take the revenge or not? For your answer, do not miss this action-packed match-up because we all know that Minnesota vs. Spurs match-up
is very exciting one.
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