The San Antonio Spurs came into Target Center Wednesday and gave the young Timberwolves a lesson in team defense and unselfish offense in a 108-83 win that pushed the Spurs' winning streak to seven.
It was, as Wolves interim coach Sam Mitchell said, often a matter of men vs. boys. And the men won.Afterward Mitchell said he hoped his young team would learn from the experience.
Here are some final thoughts on the game:
--It's impressive the way the Spurs protect the rim. San Antonio got nine blocks tonight, and five of them were on Wolves guard/forward Andrew Wiggins.
--San Antonio's deep – and big, and strong – lineup limited the Wolves to 24 points in the paint and out-rebounded Minnesota 47-31.
--There were a couple bright spots for the Wolves. Rookie guard Tyus Jones, back from the Development League, got a whopping 19:49 of playing time. He scored six points and got his first NBA field goal on a left-handed drive for a layup in the first quarter.
--But Mitchell's decision to give Jones playing time meant moving Zach LaVine to the two-guard spot and left Kevin Martin on the bench with a DNP-coache's decision. You may see more of that moving forward. Mitchell said he talked to Martin about that before the game.
--LaVine was a bright spot. He scored 17 points on 7-for-13 shooting and had four assists.
--Karl-Anthony Towns got his rookie-leading 14th double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 boards, but he didn't head into the paint very much, settling for jumpers most of the night.
That's about it for now. Have a great holiday.
