Timberwolves fall 121-111 at San Antonio as Wembanyama scores 43 with Edwards, Gobert out
Missing Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert, Minnesota got 27 points from Ayo Dosunmu but couldn't handle Victor Wembanyama in a 121-111 loss in San Antonio.
The Minnesota Timberwolves played Saturday night without their two biggest pieces and ran into Victor Wembanyama at full strength. The Spurs center scored 43 points, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked six shots as San Antonio won 121-111 at Frost Bank Center. Minnesota dropped to 4-3. The Spurs have now won four in a row.
According to the Associated Press recap carried by ESPN, Wembanyama shot 17 of 34 from the field. He hit 40 in style, blocking a Jonathan Kuminga 3-point try and running the floor for a two-handed dunk. Dylan Harper added 25 points and De'Aaron Fox scored 20. The Star Tribune reported that Rudy Gobert was a late scratch with low back spasms. That took away Minnesota's best answer to Wembanyama's size, on the second night of a back-to-back and with Anthony Edwards already out after knee surgery.
The Wolves stayed in the game anyway. Ayo Dosunmu led them with 27 points and nine rebounds, and Kuminga and Jaden McDaniels scored 19 each. Minnesota's best stretch came after LaMelo Ball went to the bench with his fourth foul at 7:40 of the second quarter. A 16-0 run, with Kuminga and Dosunmu scoring five points apiece, turned a 10-point deficit into a 51-46 lead. The Wolves won the quarter 33-26, and 10 of those points came off five San Antonio turnovers.
The third quarter swung it back. San Antonio opened the second half on a 13-4 run, and Ball picked up his fifth foul along the way. He played only 20 minutes and finished with 10 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals before fouling out with 3:43 to play. The Spurs outscored Minnesota 33-27 in the third and 28-23 in the fourth, and the Wolves never got close enough to threaten again.
This is the stretch Chris Finch's group will be working through for a while. The Star Tribune has reported that Edwards is out at least eight weeks. Saturday showed both sides of life without him. Dosunmu, Kuminga and McDaniels can produce in bunches, but the team has little room for error when Ball is stuck on the bench and Gobert is unavailable.
What it means for Monday against Milwaukee
The Timberwolves come home to face the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday, November 2. They are 4-3 overall and 2-1 at Target Center this season. Their last two home games went in opposite directions: a 119-114 loss to Golden State and a 127-101 rout of the Clippers. Since Edwards went down they are 1-2, and both losses were within 10 points.
The early-season run that built the record, double-digit road wins at Miami and Orlando followed by a 23-point home win over Toronto, came with a full roster. Now the issues are more basic. Gobert's back is the first thing to watch. Without him, Minnesota had no one who could make Wembanyama work on the inside. The second is Ball's foul trouble. His two stints on the bench on Saturday decided the game in both directions, first through the 16-0 run without him and then through the third-quarter collapse once he fouled out. After a back-to-back, Monday also brings a day of rest, which this rotation needs.
Minnesota sits fourth in the Northwest Division, one game behind Portland. The schedule doesn't ease up, and the Wolves still have three more meetings with San Antonio this season.
