Why the Wolves' Playoff History Suggests Game 2 Blowout Loss Means Very Little

Is it even a real playoff series if the Timberwolves don't get blown out at least once?

The latest playoff debacle happened in Game 2 of the conference semifinal series against the Spurs, as San Antonio rode the back of a loud home crowd and smacked Minnesota 133-95 to even the best-of-seven series at one game apiece.

Minnesota scored 35 points in the first half, watching a 28-22 deficit balloon to a 59-35 hole at the half as the Spurs closed the second quarter on a 31-13 run. The Wolves just couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, and nothing changed in the second half as the Spurs pushed the lead to as many as 49 points in the fourth quarter.

Should Minnesota panic? Not even close.

It's almost a rite of passage for the Wolves to get blown out in at least one game of every playoff series they've played in over the past three seasons. In fact, they've had a game just like they had in Game 2 against the Spurs in seven straight series dating back to the second round of the 2024 playoffs.

Denver 2026: Trailed by as many as 23 points in a Game 5 loss
Oklahoma City 2025: Blown out in Games 1 and 5
Golden State 2025: Trailed by 25 points in the third quarter of a Game 1 loss
LA Lakers 2025: Trailed by 22 points in the third quarter of a Game 2 loss
Dallas 2024: Blown out in a Game 5, season-ending loss
Denver 2024: Lost by 27 points at home in Game 3

Thanks to a win over the Spurs in Game 1, the Wolves have stolen the home-court advantage, as the series transitions to Minnesota for Games 3 and 4 on Friday and Sunday, respectively. The Wolves went 3-0 at home in the first round against the Nuggets, with those wins coming by 17 points, 16 points, and 12 points, respectively.

You can look at the stats from Game 2 until you're blue in the face, but it was just one of those games. In fact, it was similar to Minnesota's Game 2 loss to Denver when they had 25 turnovers. The biggest difference is that the Wolves still scored 113 points in that game. This time around, they had 22 turnovers and couldn't shoot.

Overall shooting: 35 of 88
Three-point shooting: 9 of 30
Free-throw shooting: 16 of 31 (28 of 52 in the series)
Anthony Edwards: 5 of 13
Julius Randle: 4 of 10
Terrence Shannon Jr.: 4 of 12
Mike Conley: 1 of 4
Rudy Gobert: 1 of 4
Ayo Dosunmu: 0 of 4
Bones Hyland: 0 of 3

The only regular players to shoot the ball okay were Jaden McDaniels, who was 6 of 10, and Naz Reid, who made 4 of 7 shots off the bench.

It was so bad that Minnesota emptied the bench with eight minutes left in the game, using a lineup featuring Kyle Anderson, Jaylen Clark, Julian Phillips, Joe Ingles, and rookie Joan Beringer.

Game 3, which can't get here soon enough, tips off around 8:45 p.m. CT on Friday in Minneapolis.

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