In the middle of the night, the Spurs went through Edwards even though they lost by 55 points
SAN ANTONIO — Déjà vu crept in, Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs put it down Saturday as they overcame a career-high 55 points from Anthony Edwards to hold on for a 126-123 victory over Minnesota.
Wembanyama scored a game-high 39 points for the Spurs as the stars combined for 94 points, the most against the No. 1 pick.
“It was fun,” said Wembanyama. “It’s not the most exciting, but it was a good game for sure. And this one is very important because of the way the West is looking right now.”
Just six nights earlier at the Target Center in Minneapolis, the Spurs jumped out to a 16-0 run and led by as many as 19 before losing on a layup off the glass by Edwards with 16.8 seconds left. Edwards almost played a role of offense again on the road at the Frost Bank Center.
The 24-year-old came off a 26-point fourth-quarter performance, the second-highest in any quarter by a Timberwolves player during the playoffs (1997-98), according to ESPN Research.
Edwards’ 55-point night ranked as the most points this season by a losing player.
“They have Wemby,” Edwards said. “He’s got to be a major leaguer. So, I had to keep fighting for that one. I loved it. I wish we could have gotten everybody out of the way and looked — me against him.”
The third game between the teams played that way down. Wembanyama and Edwards traded doubles in the last three minutes, after the Minnesota guard rallied his team from a 25-point deficit.
“This group did this [us] enough times that everyone remembers and can expect a correction or an uptick in what we’re going to see, and that’s what happened,” said Spurs coach Mitch Johnson. “We let them back into the game, and they’re a tough team, especially if you let them continue like that.”
The Timberwolves took their first lead in the second half with 3:28 left on an 11-foot fadeaway from Edwards. Wembanyama responded on San Antonio’s next possession with an 18-footer to tie the game at 110.
“Vic hit some big shots, and that’s what happened,” said Spurs forward Keldon Johnson, who contributed 20 points, including a three-pointer with 17.3 shots left. “They made it a dogfight, and we made big plays little by little.”
Wembanyama inspired his side to their best performance in nearly 40 years as San Antonio built a 25-point lead at halftime. French scored 20 points in the second quarter — including 11 straight in a 2:06 span — as the Spurs outscored Minnesota 48-22 in the frame.
The outburst marked the most points San Antonio had scored in a quarter since Nov. 20, 1987, when the Spurs dropped 48 points in the final frame of a loss to Denver. His 48-point quarter against the Timberwolves also tied for the fourth-most points scored in any quarter since the franchise joined the NBA (1976-77), according to ESPN Research.
Wembanyama’s 39 points against the Timberwolves were his most since scoring 40 points in the season opener in Dallas.
Minnesota, meanwhile, played without starting center Rudy Gobert (left hip strain). Forward Naz Reid left Saturday’s contest in the first half because of soreness in his left shoulder, the team announced.
“The story of the whole game is that we let the goal go,” said Wembanyama. “The important thing is to look at what we want to achieve in those times because we talk a lot about it. We know it’s a problem and I know our mind is in the right place.
“But we have to know where we are. We are not completely satisfied. It is a small win because they [played a] back-to-back. They had stars sitting outside. We have a lot to fix, but winning is still the most important thing we have to focus on.”
