The Minnesota Timberwolves strolled into San Antonio and handed the Spurs a 104-102 loss in Game 1. With the T-Wolves riding the wave of their round one upset against the Denver Nuggets, they came out of the gate rallying behind their superstar Anthony Edwards, who was expected to miss time, but made a shocking return for Game 1. Let’s jump into last night’s upset and discuss if the Spurs should be in trouble.
Timberwolves Upset Spurs 104-102
With the news breaking that Anthony Edwards was suiting up for Game 1, it immediately bolstered the Timberwolves’ chances, not only in this series but specifically in the opening game. With Ayo Dosunmu still out with right calf soreness, Ant’s presence changes the whole dynamic on the Spurs’ defense.
San Antonio would jump out to a 17-10 lead in the waning minutes of the first quarter. That seven-point lead would be the home team’s largest lead of the night. The Timberwolves would answer with a 19-6 run and take a six-point lead of their own. Despite the 13-point swing, these two Western Conference juggernauts would be in a stalemate at the halftime intermission, 45-45.
The 3rd quarter was much of the same, a bunch of back-and-forth basketball. Spurs would go up by two, Timberwolves would go up by three, jabs by both teams. Keldon Johnson would hit a buzzer-beating layup to put the Spurs up by three heading into the final frame.
With Game 1 being his first game back after suffering a knee injury, Anthony Edwards was on a minutes restriction. That didn’t stop him from taking the game over. After scoring just 7 points through the first three quarters, Ant would light it up with 11 of his 18 in the 4th quarter. Despite falling into a nine-point hole, the Spurs would fight back and make it a two-point game with 30.9 seconds to go.
Julius Randle would take a difficult 18′ jumper that would fall off the mark. With only 8.2 seconds left, San Antonio wouldn’t call a timeout and push the pace. Dylan Harper would find Julian Champagnie, who got Naz Reid in the air with a head fake, side-stepped to the left, and missed the game-winning three. Timberwolves win by the hair on their chinny chin chins.
What Cost the Spurs?
Their lack of offensive scoring from their superstar Victor Wembanyama. Wemby shot 0/8 from downtown and a very inefficient 5/17 from the floor. Rudy Gobert did as good a job against the 22-year-old superstar as he did last round against Nikola Jokic, but some of his misses were great looks for Wemby, who shot 7/12 from three entering the game last night.
Did they make the right call by not calling a timeout to advance the ball? Absolutely, they made the right call. You don’t call a TO to allow an elite half-court defense to set up. Lastly, Gobert wasn’t in the game at the time, calling a TO allows the Timberwolves to put the four-time Defensive Player of the Year on the floor.
Stephon Castle fouling out with 5:57 didn’t help either. Castle is an excellent defender, but there have been instances in which he’s picked up fouls that have kept him from staying on the floor in crunch time. This would have been a great test for him as the team’s primary ball handler against an elite defense down the stretch of a playoff game. That was one of the question marks of this team entering the playoffs. Will their youth cost them postseason games, leading to an early playoff exit?
Final Thoughts
Last night was just what the doctor ordered! Now, I did predict the Spurs would win in five games, but Edwards’ return gives the Timberwolves a bona fide playoff performer who can steal a game once he’s off his minutes restriction. What were your takeaways from Game 1? Game 2 is tomorrow night at 9:30 p.m. EST on ESPN. Who wins tomorrow night?
As always, thank you so much for checking out my thoughts and recap on the Timberwolves stealing Game 1 against the San Antonio Spurs! Be sure to check out our other amazing content here at New Leaf News! We hope you’re enjoying your day and look forward to seeing you again soon.
