Ricky Rubio, Kevin Love star as Minnesota Timberwolves down San Antonio Spurs 87-79 - NBA Recap
In an exciting game played at the Target Center in Minnesota, the home team Minnesota Timberwolves put up a good show and overpowered the southwest division giants San Antonio Spurs 87-79.
Spurs started dominantly with a 10-2 spurt, but Timberwolves made a good comeback and by the end of the quarter were only behind by a single point. The second frame too ended with Spurs ahead by 1 point 42-41 which led to a perfectly poised second half.
Minnesota rattled an 8-2 spurt in the opening minutes of the third frame to get ahead for the first time in the game, 49-44, however Spurs were up to the challenge and immediately eliminated the deficit to make it 54 all with less than 5 minutes remaining.
A well fought third frame eventually and fittingly ended with scores tied at 64 all.
Derrick Williams and Ricky Rubio combined forces and initiated a 9-3 burst in the first two minutes of the deciding frame to levitate their team to a commanding position, 73-67. Spurs though were again up to the task and within no time slashed the deficit
to only one point, 74-75.
Within next four minutes Spurs were ahead 79-77, courtesy of 3 by Gary Neal, however it was neutralized by Rubio’s two free throws in the next minute. Scores were tied at 79-79 and the game was heading to a close finish.
Unfortunately for Spurs fans, their team froze after that and remained scoreless until the very end. On the other hand, Timberwolves finished the game with an 8-0 spurt to complete a well deserved win.
Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love starred for Timberwolves.
Rubio had 18 points on 7 for 12 from the floor with 10 assists and, more importantly, half of his total points were scored in the crucial deciding frame. Love too had a double-double with 18 points on 6-for-7 from the charity stripe and 16 boards.
Nikola Pekovic chipped in with 14 points and 10 rebounds whereas reserve Derrick Williams pounded 12 points.
Tony Parker led the Spurs with a game high 20 points while the reserve Matt Bonner bundled 13 points on 3-for-6 from the long range. Tiago Splitter registered 12 points and Richard Jefferson finished with 10 points.
There was nothing much to differentiate between both teams in shooting but Timberwolves held the upper hand in boards, outrebounding the opponents 46-34.
Overall, it was an impressive win for the up and coming Minnesota side.
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