Frederick: Timberwolves set standard in fourth quarter of Spurs win

Minnesota trailed San Antonio by four to open the final frame Sunday night at Target Center Then the Timberwolves put the Spurs away with six-plus minutes of their very best basketball of the season The Wolves moved the ball freely with possessions flush with drives and kicks and swings that were paid off with buried open triples It was a fitting ode to the opposition the Spurs are the Godfathers of basketball s beautiful championship On the other end Minnesota was relentless with its ball pressure and rotations not allowing the Spurs offense that it couldn t contain for the first three quarters any room to operate Minnesota opened the quarter on a - run to cruise to a - win over San Antonio the Wolves second straight win with both coming over teams with winning records after dropping their first seven such contests this season Anthony Edwards finished with points six assists and four rebounds on a night where he shot a blistering for from the field And the star guard subbed in for part of that majestic period of basketball excellence But the run started with Naz Reid Julius Randle Mike Conley Jaden McDaniels and Donte DiVincenzo They moved the ball with precision and purpose All five guys on the floor scored in the first five and a half minutes of the quarter before Spurs coach Mitch Johnson at last called timeout with Minnesota s lead up to Sure the Spurs played center-less for that portion of the contest which allowed Minnesota s smaller unit to defend better than it has for much of the season San Antonio is at this time without star big man Victor Wembanyama Still Minnesota was dialed in Conley noted after Saturday s win over Boston that the Wolves have so much talent the defense can suffer because of it I think we have so a multitude of guys that can push the ball count the ball and that s the fun part of the championship Everybody looks to run everybody looks to play with pace the guard reported That s something we set out to do this year is play faster throw the ball out get guys more opportunities When you re doing that you can slip up on the other end with what made you good in prior seasons Because the fun part is putting that ball in the hole and everybody having a good night But it s equally hard to do both and I think we re finding that out To run to play offense and to guard is really hard to do Minnesota has demonstrated that thus far this season as the defense has waxed and waned The Wolves absolutely tried to tally alongside the Celtics in the first half Saturday and then did the same for three quarters Sunday against San Antonio But if you want to be one of the better teams you ve got to do both Conley noted And that s what we re trying to do That s what the best teams in the NBA do the two to three that can go to sleep at night truly believing they re NBA title contenders The brand of basketball Minnesota played in the fourth quarter Sunday emulated that standard That has to be what Minnesota holds itself to moving forward The results are clear The Wolves shot from the floor and from deep The crew tallied assists of which belonged to Randle Seven players scored eight-plus points And most of importantly Minnesota scored a key win Sunday s fourth quarter provided the path the roadmap to sustained success and championship contention This pack of Wolves has unveiled its North Star how frequently it can follow it will determine its seasonlong success MINNEAPOLIS MINNESOTA - NOVEMBER Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves rebounds the ball against Luke Kornet of the San Antonio Spurs in the second quarter at Target Center on November in Minneapolis Minnesota NOTE TO USER User expressly acknowledges and agrees that by downloading and or using this photograph User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement Photo by David Berding Getty Images Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels right defends against San Antonio Spurs forward Harrison Barnes in the first quarter of an NBA basketball meeting Sunday Nov in Minneapolis AP Photo Bruce Kluckhohn