Julius Randle scored 21 points and Anthony Edwards came off the bench to hit for 18 points as the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves outlasted the San Antonio Spurs 104-102 on Monday in Game 1 of the teams’ Western Conference semifinal series.
The Timberwolves will take a 1-0 lead into Game 2, which will be contested on Wednesday in the Alamo City. Games 3 and 4 will be in Minneapolis on Friday and Sunday, respectively.
Minnesota was bolstered by the return of Edwards, who suffered a bone bruise in his left knee on April 25 that was supposed to keep him out “multiple weeks.”
San Antonio led by three points after three quarters. Edwards scored 11 of the Timberwolves’ first 19 points of the fourth period before Minnesota reeled off a 7-0 run capped by a 3-pointer by Mike Conley with 4:42 left to build a 95-86 advantage.
Victor Wembanyama’s dunk with 44 seconds left trimmed the margin to four and Dylan Harper’s steal and layup with 31 seconds remaining brought San Antonio within a bucket. After a miss by Randle, the Spurs opted not to call a time out and got the ball to Julian Champagnie, who’s 3-pointer at the buzzer hit the front of the rim and away.
Jaden McDaniels and Terrence Shannon Jr. added 16 points each for Minnesota. Naz Reid and Conley had 12 points apiece with Randle and Rudy Gobert grabbing 10 rebounds each.
Harper led the Spurs with 18 points while Stephon Castle and Champagnie scored 17 each. Devin Vassell had 14 points and Wembanyama recorded an 11-point, 15-rebound, 12 blocked shots triple-double despite going 0-for-8 from beyond the arc. Keldon Johnson also had 11 points for San Antonio.
Randle ran the floor for a dunk over Wembanyama at the buzzer to allow the Timberwolves to earn a 24-22 advantage after 12 minutes of play.
The teams traded runs over the first half of the second quarter as San Antonio built a 35-29 lead after a pair of free throws by Luke Kornet at the 6:38 mark. The Timberwolves swung back with a 7-0 surge capped by a layup by Reid that netted them a 36-35 advantage, and the rest of the half went back and forth before ending tied at 45-all.
Harper led all scorers with 11 points before halftime while Castle added 10 for the Spurs. Edwards, Reid and Randle had seven points each to pace Minnesota in the first half.
