Timberwolves reserves spark rally that starters can't maintain in loss to Sours

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch has said it before and he said it again after his team lost to the Spurs in San Antonio 107-98 Sunday night:

The Wolves offense, with Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns figuring out how to play with each other, will be a work in progress.

Not a lot of progress was made Sunday against a surprising Spurs team that improved to 5-2 with its second victory over the Wolves in seven days.

Afterward, Finch said there was too much reliance on the pick-and-roll, not enough cutting and moving without the ball.

"We talk about cutting more, being more active off the ball," Finch said. "We've got to learn to do what the game requires rather than what we want to do individually."

The Spurs, days after waiving 2021 first-round pick Josh Primo, entered the game missing key rotation players Devin Vassell (knee), Josh Richardson (back) and Jeremy Sochan (flu-like symptoms). In the first half Blake Wesley left with an injury.

But it was the Spurs who played like a connected unit, with Doug McDermott's season-high 23 points — he was 7-for-14 from three — leading a Spurs bench that outscored the Wolves reserves 43-28. It was San Antonio that moved the ball, getting 27 assists on 36 made baskets.

A 16-2 run from late in the second quarter into the third put the Spurs up 19. They still led by 15 entering the fourth.

And then a small Wolves lineup started turning the tide. Held scoreless in the first half, Anthony Edwards had 18 points in the second, including 11 in the fourth. Playing mainly with reserves, including Naz Reid, the Wolves opened the fourth 14-2 — with Edwards and Reid each scoring seven — to pull within three.

It was still a six-point game when Finch decided to put Towns and Gobert back in the game with 6:24 left. The Wolves' offense promptly went flat again, managing just eight points the rest of the way.

"Maybe we should have left that unit in a little longer," he said. "We want to go back to Rudy and KAT, but we do have a unit that is clicking there. I felt that unit had expended a lot of energy. We were going to make some subs there. But we could have done it one at a time. If I had it to do over again I would have staggered those guys in a little bit."

Towns finished with 26 points and 11 boards, but 15 of those points came in the first quarter. He, Edwards and D'Angelo Russell (10) were the only Wolves players in double figures.

Keldon Johnson scored 25 for the Spurs and Keita Bates-Diop had 18.

"They shoot the three-ball well, they shoot free throws well, they finish at the basket well," Towns said. "That's a recipe for success. We have to do a better job. Everybody in that locker room. We didn't compete enough. We didn't beat them. We had chances, but never took 'em. We just didn't do enough."

The Wolves (4-3) forced 20 turnovers, but turned them into just 12 points. They had 16 offensive rebounds, but just 18 second-chance points. Their 98 points marked the first time the Wolves (4-3) were held under 100 points this season. San Antonio hit 16 of 40 three-pointers (40%) while the Wolves were 4-for-29.

Finch said the team wasn't bringing enough physical intensity to the defense. Sunday, he said the Wolves helped too much, leaving McDermott, who was consistently open.

"We'll have a look at the tape," Towns said. "We've just got to take this game in stride and find ways to get better."

The Star Tribune did not send the writer of this article to the game. This was written using a broadcast, interviews and other material.