San Antonio had big games from Julian Champagnie, Tre Jones and Keita Bates-Diop, but gave up the most points ever in a regulation game under Coach Pop.
SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs (21-60) gave up the most points ever in a regulation game under Coach Popovich and fell to the Timberwolves 151-131 in their final home game of the year in Austin.
Sandro Mamukelashvili started the scoring for San Antonio, cutting and finishing a feed from Tre Jones. Jones found Malaki Branham for a mid-range score, then Mamu got it back to the rookie for another one.
Julian Champagnie started and popped, drilling his first three attempts from beyond the arc. Mamukelashvili got it in the paint, threw a sick fake pass and spun into a hook shot that fell.
Rookie Blake Wesley hit a three from the corner, then another through contact. Both were on assists from Jones, his fourth and fifth of the first quarter.
Jones made a difficult layup through contact, then Keita Bates-Diop swished a three and finished a reverse.
It was tied at 35 after one.
San Antonio slowed down in the second quarter and fell behind by double digits.
Mamu drained a three, then spun in for a tough bucket, then drove for a sick overhead pass to Barlow, but that play didn’t end in a bucket. Mamu drained another three, then handed it off to Jones for a layup.
Kyle Anderson beat the buzzer for Minnesota to give them an 80-68 lead heading to the break.
The Timberwolves opened the second half on a 12-2 run to push their lead all the way to 22.
Champagnie hit a short jumper through a foul, then Jones knocked one down. Wesley popped one home, then Dominick Barlow cut for a dunk. The problem was that Minnesota just kept scoring.
With San Antonio down big, fans sent a big wave around the Moody Center for a few minutes. Minnesota led 119-91 heading to the fourth.
The Timberwolves never let up, but the crowd still got amped for every highlight play.
Tre Jones got his second triple double this week. It was also the second triple double of his career.
San Antonio fell 151-131, the most points ever given up in a regulation game under Gregg Popovich.
GAME REWIND
The Spurs are coming off a 129-127 win versus the Blazers in Austin, Texas.
Keldon Johnson had 24 points and five rebounds while Tre Jones added 18 points and 10 assists. Julian Champagnie finished with 24 points and five rebounds while Keita Bates-Diop had 25 points, six rebounds, and four assists in the win. Zach Collins had 21 points.
San Antonio was without Devin Vassell, Devonte Graham, Doug McDermott, and Jeremy Sochan due to injuries.
“Made threes, made stops, followed them up with threes. That’s how you win basketball games. No matter how you slice it, fourth quarter down the stretch, teams that make stops do pretty well and if you make threes on top of it, you’re probably going to win,” head coach Gregg Popovich said.
INJURY REPORT
THE UNIFORMS
The Spurs will be in their Statement Edition jerseys today.
FIVE THINGS TO WATCH
1. The Wolves are 16-4 on the road when leading after the third period.
2. The Wolves have out-rebounded their opponents in two straight games.
3. The Wolves are averaging 114.8 points per game on the road this season.
4. The Spurs have recorded fewer blocks than their opponent in two straight games.
5. The Spurs are 3-34 this season when recording fewer assists than their opponents.
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