How to Watch Spurs at Timberwolves on Thursday Night
Losing DeMar DeRozan, Rudy Gay and Patty Mills last offseason, many anticipated the San Antonio Spurs taking a step back and fully committing to a rebuild.
While they have definitely taken a step back from being the championship contender they were with Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, the Spurs have found a lot of success with their youth this season.
Dejounte Murray emerged as a first-time All-Star for this team and with Keldon Johnson, Jakob Poeltl, Devin Vassell and some others being key contributors, San Antonio finds themselves already clinching a Play-In Tournament spot and possibly on the verge of making the playoffs.
This would be a huge accomplishment for this young group and while they could lose their remaining two games and still be in the Play-In field, the Spurs are looking to possibly win against the Minnesota Timberwolves and have the New Orleans Pelicans lose tonight, resulting in them being tied with the Pelicans for the 9-seed.
In Minnesota, the Timberwolves are having their best season since they made the playoffs during the 2017-18 season and this is because of their three-headed monster in Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell.
These three have combined to average 63.8 points per game for the Timberwolves this season and while they are two games back of the 6-seeded Denver Nuggets, Minnesota could pull within a game of Denver with a win tonight and a loss by the Nuggets to the Memphis Grizzlies.
There may only be two games left for a vast majority of the league, but there are still playoff implications on the line and both the Spurs and Timberwolves have a lot to play for.
Here's how to watch Thursday’s game, with gametimes and TV, lineups, bios and other must-know details.
How to watch Spurs vs. Timberwolves
- WHO: San Antonio Spurs (34-45) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (45-35)
- WHEN: 8:00 p.m. ET, Thursday , April 7
- WHERE: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
- TV: NBA League Pass
Key Stats & Facts For Spurs vs. Timberwolves
- Minnesota currently ranks first in the league in three-pointers made per game (14.8) and they rank twelfth in three-point field goal percentage (35.7%).
- The Timberwolves have lost five of their last eight games this season, but have posted a 25-14 record at home.
- The Spurs have won eight of their last ten games, including their last five road games.
- San Antonio has averaged 28.0 assists per game as a team this year, the most in the NBA.
- Without Dejounte Murray, the Spurs have gone 4-8 this season.
Last Matchup:
March 14, 2022 - Timberwolves 149, Spurs 139
Dropping a franchise- and career-high 60 points, Karl-Anthony Towns paved the road to victory for the Timberwolves in San Antonio. Towns shot 19-31 from the floor, 7-11 from three-point range and went 15-16 from the free-throw line in a historic performance against the Spurs. San Antonio had no answers on how to stop Towns offensively, despite getting a combined 85 points from Dejounte Murray, Keldon Johnson and Jakob Poeltl.
Spurs-Timberwolves Most Recent Games:
- Spurs last game: The San Antonio Spurs defeated reigning league-MVP Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets 116-97 this past Tuesday. Without Dejounte Murray, the Spurs locked in defensively and contained everyone on the Nuggets other than Jokic, who went for a game-high 41 points. Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson each scored 20 points in the game for the Spurs.
- Timberwolves last game: Looking to pick up a big win to possibly catch the 6-seeded Nuggets, the Timberwolves fell at home 132-114 to the Washington Wizards, who were playing for nothing but pride. Minnesota could not get anything going defensively all night long, as they allowed seven of the eight Wizards’ players to score in double figures.
Latest Injury News:
Spurs: Dejounte Murray (respiratory illness) - OUT, Doug McDermott (ankle) - OUT, Jock Landale (foot) - OUT, Lonnie Walker IV (back) - QUESTIONABLE, Romeo Langford (heel) - PROBABLE, Devin Vassell (Achilles) - PROBABLE
Timberwolves: Jaden McDaniels (ankle) - QUESTIONABLE, Patrick Beverley (ankle) - QUESTIONABLE, G Malik Beasley (ankle) - PROBABLE
Projected Starters:
PROJECTED SPURS STARTERS:
- G Tre Jones, 6-foot-1 guard: 5.6 points, 3.2 assists
- G Joshua Primo, 6-6 guard: 5.5 points, 2.3 rebounds
- F Devin Vassell (P), 6-8 forward: 12.2 points, 4.3 rebounds
- F Keldon Johnson, 6-5 forward: 16.9 points, 6.1 rebounds
- C Jakob Poeltl, 7-1 center: 13.5 points, 9.2 rebounds
PROJECTED TIMBERWOLVES STARTERS:
- G Patrick Beverley (Q), 6-4 guard: 9.3 points, 4.6 assists
- G D’Angelo Russell, 6-4 guard: 18.1 points, 7.1 assists
- G Anthony Edwards, 6-8 guard: 21.1 points, 4.8 rebounds
- F Jarred Vanderbilt, 6-9 forward: 7.0 points, 8.5 rebounds
- C Nikola Jokic, 6-11 center: 24.6 points, 9.8 rebounds
What to watch for:
- The Timberwolves will be locked into a play-in game with a loss or Denver win.
- With a win and a Pelicans loss, the Spurs can pull even with New Orleans for the 9-seed, Spurs owning the tiebreaker.
- Anthony Edwards is averaging 23.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and is shooting 41.4% from three-point range over the Timberwolves’ last five games.
- Karl Anthony Towns (40.7%) ranks 20th in the league in three-point shooting percentage this season; Keldon Johnson (40.3%) ranks tied for 23rd.
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