The Wolves tip off in San Antonio tonight in their fourth and final late 8 p.m. Saturday start against a Spurs team that is resting veteran guard Manu Ginobili on the second night of back-to-back games.
The Wolves end a four-game trip that started last Saturday at Houston and took them west to Sacramento and Utah before they end it up back in Texas tonight.
The Wolves are 2-1 so far on the trip and trail Denver by three games for the West's eighth and final spot. Both the Nuggets and Portland play tonight as well as all three teams are in the hunt for that playoff spot.
They'll do so against a Spurs team that is 41-13 -- second best in the NBA to only Golden State -- and 9-1 this season on the second night of back-to-backs.
The Wolves waited in San Antonio last night while the Spurs won in overtime at New Orleans in a late game that started at 8:30 p.m. for ESPN.
The Spurs have won the last nine games between the teams.
"For them, they play the same," Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau said before tonight's game. "Doesn't matter: Beginning of the year, middle of the year, end of the year, they come in and they stay within their system. They play their system. They play to win. You have to play tough against them. They play for 48 minutes. So I think when you look at what they've done over the years, it's the same thing.
"They have a system. They have a mental toughness, a physical toughness and they grind their way through the years and prepare for the playoffs."
