Forget the Alamo.
That is the Minnesota Timberwolves’ mindset as they return home from San Antonio. After a narrow win in Game 1 and a lopsided loss in Game 2, they will tip off against the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal series Friday night in Minneapolis.
The winner will seize a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Timberwolves star guard Anthony Edwards said he and his teammates must play better as they return home. He finished with 12 points on 5-for-13 shooting Wednesday night as Minnesota lost by 38 points.
“I tip my hat to those guys,” Edwards said. “They came out and they played hard. They were the more desperate team. They wanted it. And we’ll see where it goes from here.”
The Spurs hope it keeps going in their favor.
San Antonio guard De’Aaron Fox figures to play a prominent role in Game 3. He struggled badly in the series opener that the Spurs lost 104-102, but bounced back with an impressive performance in Game 2, finishing with 16 points in 26 minutes.
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson encouraged Fox to continue to be aggressive.
“We’re at our best when he’s in attack mode,” Johnson said. “He has probably the strongest ripple effect on our team in terms of when he’s in attack mode pushing the pace. Because you have Steph (Castle) and Dylan (Harper) that follow suit, and then our shooters get shots in transition, Victor (Wembanyama) plays in space and so on and so forth.
“When he picks up at the point of attack the way he did (in Game 2), he’s the catalyst for us.”
Castle leads the Spurs with 19.6 points per game in the postseason. Wembanyama is next with 19.0 points and a team-high 10.8 rebounds, and Fox ranks third with 18.1 points per game.
For the Timberwolves, Julius Randle has the playoff lead with 18.5 points per game, Ayo Dosunmu has averaged 18.2 points and Edwards is at 17.3.
Edwards and Dosunmu both are listed as questionable for Game 3. Edwards is dealing with a bone bruise in his left knee, and Dosunmu has soreness in his right heel.
Jaden McDaniels also has spent time on the bench, although the reason for that is early foul trouble, not an injury. McDaniels is one of the Timberwolves’ top defenders and will need to play with better discipline.
“We need him on the floor. … When he gets in foul trouble, (the other team gets) happy,” Edwards said of McDaniels. “He’s going to be better next game. He knows he can’t really foul because we’re not going to win if he’s not on the floor.”
Wembanyama will look to stay hot after scoring 19 points and grabbing 15 rebounds in Game 2. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year likely will go head to head against his fellow Frenchman Rudy Gobert, and he will challenge the Timberwolves if they try to drive to the rim.
Wembanyama said he would not take anything for granted heading into Game 3.
“We’re going to keep doubling up on what worked,” Wembanyama said. “And those few things that didn’t, we’re going to erase them.
“It’s an experienced team. We know they’re going to respond.”
