A great way to start the Season as the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves in a thrilling finish, 112-108 on Wednesday night.
It was an awkward night for Minnesota as Jimmy Butler starts the season with them after demanding a trade. A lot of drama that was never seen by fans was happening in practice for the Wolves as Jimmy Butler had some feud with Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins but Jimmy responded with a nice game.
Defense was the key to the game as the Spurs did not let the Wolves score for several minutes when the game was tied at 90. And they took advantage to give them the lead in the final minutes of the game. Jimmy Butler showed why he called himself as the player who works the hardest in their team. He had some good crucial baskets including a corner three-pointer to tie the game in the final minute. But DeRozan also responded as he led the Spurs and took responsibility for the game.
DeRozan is getting used to the Spurs system as he drained a three from the corner after the Spurs moved the ball and all the five players on the court touched it before DeRozan hits the three. The Spurs lack a true point guard after Murray injury but still they managed to run and pass the floor well. That's why Coach Pop is one of the greatest coaches in history.
Stats
DeMar DeRozan had a monster opener as he finished the game off with 28 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists including a game winning basket driving hard against Jimmy Butler. He responded to a trade he didn't want and showed Toronto that he does not deserve to be treated that way after showing his loyalty to the City and the whole Toronto Raptors organization. DeRozan looks well fitted now with the Spurs. He shot 47.6 percent from the field.
Meanwhile, All-star forward LaMarcus Aldridge played 41 minutes in the game and finished with 21 points, 19 big rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 3 blocked shots. Wow. Very impressive for Aldridge. Rudy Gay added 18 points and 7 rebounds shooting 66 percent from the field. It was a nice shooting night for the Spurs gunners as Belinelli made 2 three-pointers and Davis Bertans made three triples.
For Minnesota, Jeff Teague lead the Wolves in scoring as he puts up 27 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists and 2 steals shooting 66.7 percent from the field including 2 threes. Jimmy Butler also showed in this game to try to prove himself and show his value for a nice trade. Butler finished with 23 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals and 1 block. Butler was all over the floor and played really well defensively.
Andrew Wiggins also showed that he's not the type of player Jimmy mentioned to be a player who lacks character and desire to win. He played solid basketball and finished the game with 20 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal. Wiggins shot 44.4 percent from the field and made two three-pointers.
Karl-Anthony Towns looked like he's still not in the right mindset to start the season. Towns only posted 8 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists in this game. He shot 33.3 percent from the field and played 22 minutes only. He picks up where he left off in the playoffs and still not showing up especially on the defensive end of the floor. Let's see if Towns can bounce back next game, as well as the team.
Next game for the Wolves is on Friday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Spurs will face the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night at home.
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