Spurs bounce back in Game 2, blow out Timberwolves to tie series

The Spurs lost a close Game 1 on a missed Julian Champagnie buzzer-beater, and it seems it was the wakeup call they needed. San Antonio demolished the Timberwolves in Game 2, outexecuting them and outhustling them en route to a 133-95 win. At halftime, the visitors had only scored 35 points, and the biggest lead reached 47 points before being reduced during extended garbage time.

It was clear from the start that the Timberwolves were content with taking just one game in San Antonio. They were sloppy in the first few possessions and couldn’t really deal with a physical and intense defense that was not conceding many easy looks. With Minnesota turning it over or missing, the Spurs had a much easier time attacking early, but even in the half-court, they were determined to play faster and try to get to the rim. The commitment to being the aggressor led to a couple of small mistakes on switches on defense and some overpenetrating on offense, but it served to set the tone. As the benches checked in, the visitors couldn’t get the scoring boost from Anthony Edwards, and the Silver and Black received solid minutes from Luke Kornet. After an encouraging opening frame, the lead was seven.

The Timberwolves went small to start the second, and the Spurs were ready for it. Wembanyama made them pay on the block, and everyone who had a lane tried to touch the paint. On the defensive end, Wembanyama toggled between different assignments, always trying to be in help position. Minnesota needed to find answers on offense, but Mitch Johnson threw Carter Bryant on Edwards and started trapping the superstar scorer, leading to some serious disarray for the visitors, who couldn’t get quality looks and were too slow to run back, allowing transition buckets off turnovers, misses, and even the rare made baskets. As the minutes passed, the game turned into a poor execution but high-paced battle that benefited the Spurs, which ruthlessly grew their lead to 24 heading into the break.

A comeback seemed unlikely, considering how locked in the Spurs were, but there were a few minutes that probably made some fans of the Silver and Black nervous. After a strong start featuring an aggressive Wembanyama, San Antonio began to play more slowly on offense and with less intensity on defense. Minnesota went on a mini-run, and the fouls for both sides started to pile up, killing the flow of the game. Fortunately, a couple of timely jumpers from De’Aaron Fox and Devin Vassell helped keep the lead large through that sloppy, sloggy stretch, and a barrage of threes by Julian Champagnie ended any chance of a surprise. The only source of suspense left was whether the Spurs would record their most lopsided playoff win in franchise history, a feat they fell short of by three points.

Game notes

• There’s a strong case to be made for this to be the best game of the Spurs’ season, considering the circumstances and the opponent. It was the perfect bounce-back performance, with Wembanyama and Fox, who struggled to make their mark on offense, leading the way early, and the defense absolutely smothering Minnesota. Whether it’s by one or by 38, wins count the same in the playoffs, but San Antonio made a statement on Wednesday.
• Mitch Johnson deserves credit for making two key adjustments. On defense, the team was ready to keep Edwards, who started cold but was warming up, from making an impact as a scorer by trapping him and forcing him to give up the ball. It took the Wolves a while to adjust to it, and when they did, the lead was already massive. On offense, the Spurs consistently got into the first action much quicker than they did in Game 1, giving themselves more time to execute in the half-court. It took them a game, but San Antonio was prepared in Game 2.
• Wembanyama, Fox, and Castle did most of the damage on offense in the first half, while the third quarter belonged to Julian Champagnie, who made all four of his three-point attempts to really ice the game. The way that the Wolves defend makes it hard to get the shooters involved at times, so it was great to see Champagnie and, later on, Harrison Barnes launching and connecting with confidence. Hopefully, the rhythm they appeared to find will carry over.
• The Spurs won the Luke Kornet minutes, which was massive. Not only did it allow Mitch Johnson to give Wembanyama more rest, but it also gave the guards a different type of screener to work with. There were even some French Vanilla minutes when the win was secured. Huge contribution from Kornet in limited minutes.
• Ayo Dosunmu suffered an injury and was questionable to play in the second half. He wasn’t ruled out and could get better by Game 3, but bf he doesn’t, it could have an impact, as not having him forces Chris Finch to give more minutes to Bones Hyland and Jaylen Clark, a bad defender and questionable shooter, respectively.

Play of the game

After a broken play, Devin Vassell actually had the awareness to jump and get into his shooting motion as he caught the ball on his way up to hit a three. Amazing.

Game 3: at Minnesota on Friday

The series moves to Minnesota, and the Timberwolves will surely play with more urgency than they did in Game 2. Hopefully, the Spurs will be able to maintain the superlative level of play they showed on Wednesday.