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.
