Timberwolves fall 121-111 to Spurs in first meeting since playoff exit, drop to 4-3

The Minnesota Timberwolves' first meeting with San Antonio since last spring's playoff exit ended with a 121-111 loss on Halloween night. Minnesota is now 4-3 and has dropped three of its last five games after opening the season with two straight road blowouts.

The game came with plenty of backstory. As Matthew Harren of Canis Hoopus pointed out in a game preview that SB Nation syndicated, the Spurs beat Minnesota in the Western Conference semifinals in May and then lost the Finals to the Knicks. In the offseason, Tim Connelly answered with a trade built around LaMelo Ball, giving up draft capital and popular players for a playmaking guard who could break the double-teams San Antonio threw at Anthony Edwards in that series.

That plan still hasn't been tested against the team it was meant to beat. Edwards is recovering from arthroscopic surgery, so Ball took on the Spurs' guards without his co-star, and he did it on the second night of a back-to-back. Harren expected San Antonio to send two defenders at Ball with some mix of Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper and Devin Vassell. He also expected the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Victor Wembanyama, to guard the rim behind them. Harren described Wembanyama as stalking the paint "like Jack Skellington on the hunt for a new holiday."

Harren saw an opening late in games. Through four games, Wembanyama had averaged 5.3 minutes and 1.5 points in fourth quarters, which made a case for attacking him early and testing his legs at the finish. The Spurs came in at 3-2, with a top-ten defense and a shooting profile Harren described as middle of the pack. Even so, the final margin left Minnesota short of the result he predicted.

What it means for Milwaukee

The Wolves return to Target Center on Monday, November 2, to face the Milwaukee Bucks. They are 2-1 at home this season, with a 23-point win over Toronto and a 26-point win over the Clippers on either side of a five-point loss to Golden State. They are 2-2 on the road, splitting wins at Miami and Orlando against losses at Cleveland and San Antonio.

The season numbers are better than the record suggests. Minnesota has scored 840 points and allowed 761 over seven games, a margin of about 11 points a night. The four wins all came by at least 23 points. The three losses came by 2 in Cleveland, 5 against Golden State and 10 in San Antonio. The Wolves haven't lost a game by much yet, but they've struggled to close out tight ones.

Until Edwards returns, that falls mostly on Ball. Monday also gives the Wolves something they didn't have in San Antonio: a day off. The Saturday loss came the night after the win over the Clippers. With a full day of rest and a home crowd, the Wolves get a cleaner look at how this roster plays while it waits for its best scorer.

Follow the season on our Minnesota Timberwolves page.