SAN ANTONIO —
Postgame
PHOTOS: Spurs fall to Timberwolves as Karl-Anthony Towns makes history with 60 points
Game Story
First Quarter
Minnesota hit 8-10 to start the game behind pure dominance from Karl-Anthony Towns, and the Spurs turned it over five times in the first five minutes. Still, San Antonio hung in there because they started 6-7 from the floor.
The Timberwolves built a 22-14 lead before Devin Vassell drained his second three of the game and Jakob Poeltl caught KAT with a fake before making a hook shot. Tre Jones played great defense in the paint, and Keldon Johnson hit his second three of the game to cap an 8-0 run and tie things at 22.
Lonnie Walker IV put the ball on the floor and crossed his way into a pull-up jumper. D'Angelo Russell hit a three, then Lonnie answered with his own. D'Lo drove and pulled up for a jumper, then Lonnie did the same.
Minnesota closed the quarter on a 7-0 run, taking a 40-32 lead.
Second Quarter
San Antonio gave up a wide-open transition dunk to start the second, drawing a quick timeout from Pop.
Dejounte cut for a dunk on a pass by Zach Collins, then Murray ripped a steal and Lonnie got free throws. The next trip, Walker stepped back and pulled up to make it 11 points in the early going. Josh Primo drove his way to the line, and missed one but brought the Spurs back within 5 points.
Zach Collins came up with a huge block at the rim, and Dejounte got all the way to the cup in transition to make it a one-possession game. Collins blocked another shot, and when the Spurs threw it away in transition, Collins again stood tall in the paint.
Keldon dumped it off to Poeltl in the paint for a deuce, then crossed over and bullied his way to the basket for a finger roll. KAT scored a bucket in the paint, screamed "FOUL" at the ref and got a technical for it. Towns fouled Poeltl, then got called for a free-throw lane violation in a move that felt rather petty.
Tre Jones hit a floater, Dejounte forced a turnover, and Keldon got fouled on a dunk attempt. Devin Vassell grabbed a steal, and though he missed in transition, Keldon cleaned it up and scored. On the next trip, Keldon drove through the paint and tied things up at 59.
KAT got stuffed, then finished an open dunk. Devin Vassell cut and crammed over him to tie the game again. Keldon finished on a pass from Dejounte, the Timberwolves hit a three, then DJ hit Jak on the exact same cut for another layup.
DJ crossed over and hit a jumper, making it 75-73 Timberwolves at the half.
Third Quarter
Keldon Johnson dunked to start the second half off right and tie the game.
KAT scored 5 points in a row, then jumped knee first into Jakob Poeltl's groin for a flagrant 1. Poeltl hit one at the stripe, then Keldon swished a three to take the lead.
Towns put the T-Wolves back up three, then Keldon hit another contested three to knot things up. Towns again hit free throws and a three.
Dejounte scored at the line, and he and Patrick Beverly exchanged fouls and free throws. Minnesota went up 6, and Pop called time. Murray hit free throws on the ensuing play, and after the Timberwolves hit a mid-range jumper, then Vassell grabbed his own miss and laid it in.
Minnesota got a three, then Lonnie hit right back with his own. Murray blocked Beverly, but on the inbound he got it to KAT for a streaking dunk. Walker hit a long two, then KAT drained a three to get to a season-high 44 points.
Jaylen Nowell hit a free throw and put back the miss on the second. Towns stepped back for a corner shot, then Walker hit a catch-and-shoot triple. Towns made a layup, then got free throws to make it a 14-point deficit for the Spurs.
Murray grabbed an offensive board and got fouled, hitting one. After a stop, Murray pulled the trigger on a three and drilled it. Towns stepped back and hit another triple, then went through Collins in the paint for 56 points in three quarters.
Minnesota led 121-106 heading to the fourth quarter.
Fourth Quarter
The Timberwolves got a dunk to open the fourth, giving them their largest lead of the game at 17.
Lonnie made a mid-air adjustment and finished an and-1. Minny scored, then the ball moved and Murray flipped it to Poeltl underneath for a dunk. Poeltl got a block, and Murray again found him on a roll to make it a 12-point game.
D'Lo scored at the rim, then Keldon did the same. Russell scored on San Antonio's 15th turnover to make it a 14-point game, and Pop called time.
Towns came back in the game trying to add to his scoring total, but the strategy of forcing the ball to him became obvious. Minnesota turned it over on back to back possessions, and Towns picked up his fourth and fifth fouls.
Dejounte drove and hit a floater, the Timberwolves coughed it up again, and Keldon followed his own miss to make it a 10-point game. Murray answered a score with a physical drive. Beverly hit an open three, then Poeltl got a putback. Murray found him underneath, but he blew the layup. The Timberwolves went back up 13.
Pop pulled the plug, and KAT came back in to add to his total. Keldon Johnson scored at the line, making it a career-high 34 points.
Towns broke his own franchise record with 57 points.
Jock Landale hit from the corner, and it was a 9-point game. Towns missed a heat-check three, and Joe Wieskamp had an open attempt from deep that would've made it a 6-point game, but missed. Towns hit his next one from deep, making it 60 points and 17 rebounds before exiting the game.
San Antonio finished the game with four players over 20 points, but it wasn't enough in the 149-139 defeat.
Pregame
The San Antonio Spurs (26-42) will host the Minnesota Timberwolves (39-30) for their second meeting of the regular season.
San Antonio is 0-1 versus the Wolves this season. Before the game, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said that the ankle sprain that Doug McDermott suffered in the previous game would keep him out for a little while. Josh Richardson will start in his place.
In response to a question about the coaching wins record, Pop reiterated that the win didn't just belong to him. He said he'd been joking to people that if Tim Duncan had played a little better, he would've gotten the record faster.
In their previous game, the depleted Spurs lost to the Pacers, 119-108.
Jock Landale led the team in scoring with 26 points. Lonnie Walker IV had 20 points while Devin Vassell added 19 points in the win.
“I think we worked hard, but we weren’t really that sharp. We didn’t shoot very well, just weren’t very sharp, but we worked hard and didn’t give in," said Gregg Popovich. "Just didn’t play well. Bottom line. It happens.”
Here are five things to watch for in Monday night's game:
1. The Wolves are 26-18 versus West teams this season.
2. The Wolves are 23-11 against teams below .500.
3. Spurs' Dejounte Murray has scored 20-plus points in 6-straight games.
4. The Spurs are 10-28 against teams with an above .500 record.
5. The Spurs are 17-10 when they out-rebound teams this season.
Stay here at KENS 5 throughout the season for complete Spurs coverage.
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