Scott Wachter/USA TODAY Sports
Spurs Blown Out By T-Wolves in Austin for Final 'Home' Game
In their second of their two games in Austin, Texas, the San Antonio Spurs took to home court away from home at the Moody Center to face the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Play-in implications were at stake for the Wolves, who had lost three of their last four games entering Saturday's matchup. They came out of the gates at full force against the injured Spurs, who were without Keldon Johnson, Jeremy Sochan, Devin Vassel and Zach Collins.
Despite some hot shooting from San Antonio, third-year star Anthony Edwards found his rhythm in the first half, which set up Minnesota's second-half glide that ended in a 151-131 victory.
It was an all-around effort by the Wolves, who had six players in double digits by the end of the game, including Edwards and Minnesota's big man-duo of Karl Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert. Every player helped contribute to the Wolves' historic 3-point shooting, as the team finished with a 56 percent shooting clip from deep.
The 151 points from Minnesota was the most allowed in regulation by the Spurs in the Gregg Popovich era.
Spurs rookies Malaki Branham and Julian Champagnie got things started early for San Antonio, keeping it close throughout the first quarter. Branham hit a pull-up midrange jumper almost immediately, and finished the quarter with six points, while Champagnie's near-perfect 3-point shooting made him the leading scorer of the quarter with nine.
The Spurs worked to equalize Edwards' 16 points to keep the game close, and ended up tying the game at 35 heading into the second quarter. Champagnie's 14 points in the first half kept the Spurs within striking distance, but a Towns 3-pointer with 10 minutes to play in the half gave the Wolves their biggest lead of the game.
From that point on, the Spurs never recovered. Towns finished the half with 12 points, Edwards with 23 and the Wolves took a 12-point lead into halftime. That lead quickly turned into 20, and hit a high point at the end of the third quarter when San Antonio went down by 28 points off of a Jaden McDaniels 3-point shot.
Champagnie continued to be a bright spot for the Spurs throughout the game, however, tallying 24 points by the end of the contest. The Spurs also had six players in double digits, notably guard Tre Jones, who recorded a 21-point triple-double, adding 10 rebounds and 12 assists.
Spurs big man Sandro Mamukelashvili also tallied 16 points, six boards and four assists on the night, serving as another example of the young talent that San Antonio will continue to develop in the coming years.
Saturday's matchup was the last "home" game for the Spurs for the season, and with the loss, they dropped to 21-60 this season, remaining in the bottom three to secure a 14 percent chance at landing the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft. Minnesota's win moved it one game closer to a chance at the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference.
Next up for the Spurs is a final road trip to Dallas on Sunday, where they will face the recently-eliminated Mavs to conclude the 2022-23 season. Tip-off from American Airlines Center is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
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