San Antonio Spurs beat Minnesota Timberwolves 115-108 on the road on Friday, May 8.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Spurs struck first, taking the opening quarter 23-22 and a 1-point lead after one. The Timberwolves pulled even with a 29-28 second quarter, sending the game to halftime tied at 51.
The Spurs won the third 35-28 to turn the game around, taking a 7-point lead into the fourth. The teams matched each other with 29 points apiece in the fourth quarter, and the Spurs closed regulation with a 115-108 lead.
What decided it
The Spurs made 29.4 free throws per 100 field-goal attempts, compared with 18.2 for the Timberwolves. The Spurs got more from their shots, finishing at 52.9% effective field-goal shooting compared with 45.5% for the Timberwolves. The points at the line gave them room for error elsewhere.
The Timberwolves did win one battle, second chances: ORB% of 27.3% against 17%. The Spurs made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 103 possessions per team, the Spurs produced 111.8 points per 100 possessions to 105 for the Timberwolves.
Who made the difference
Victor Wembanyama was the game's biggest individual force for SAS: 39 pts, 15 reb, 1 ast, 5 blk on 13-18 shooting. His Game Score of 37.9 led everyone. His team was +16 with him on the floor.
Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves with 32 pts, 14 reb, 6 ast on 12-26 shooting, good for a 23.7 Game Score.
Anthony Edwards (32 pts, 14 reb, 6 ast), Victor Wembanyama (39 pts, 15 reb, 1 ast), and Stephon Castle (13 pts, 4 reb, 12 ast) each recorded a double-double.
What it means
The pre-game Win Meter had it close to a coin flip, at about 59% for the Spurs.
Across the last 9 meetings in our records, Minnesota Timberwolves lead 6-3.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.