De’Aaron Fox and the Spurs escaped with a win over the Timberwolves (Photo via X)
The San Antonio Spurs led the Minnesota Timberwolves by 25 points. Unfortunately, Minnesota rallied in San Antonio and nearly stole the game before heroics authored by Victor Wembanyama saved the day. When all was said and done, the Spurs escaped with a 126-123 victory to improve to 29-13 on the season.
Stats: Spurs vs. Timberwolves
spurs timberwolves grades
Spurs vs. Timberwolves – Final Grades
Victor Wembanyama
This was a memorable outing for Wembanyama. In the fourth quarter, with the fate of the game on the line, the tall Frenchman came up uber clutch. He finished the fourth with 12 points and authored a response whenever the Spurs needed it most. On the night, Wembanyama totaled 39 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks. His perimeter shooting was grand, he drove with purpose and his physicality paid dividends. Defensively, he was really good. He had a few miscommunications along the way on defense but he was once again a difference-maker on that end. All in all, Wembanyama put on a stellar performance and came up big in the biggest moments.
Grade: A
De’Aaron Fox
Good stuff from Fox. He came out of the gates with the proper amount of aggression and ended up with 25 points and 12 assists. The shifty guard shot well from all ranges and turned the ball over only twice. Fox hit timely shots in the fourth quarter and did his best to keep San Antonio’s offense flowing the right direction. Defensively, while the impact wasn’t always positive, he tried extremely hard on that end and had some impressive moments.
Grade: A-
Stephon Castle
The good: Castle was 2-for-4 from three-point range and tallied nine assists compared to only two turnovers. His passing was really good; it was actually one of his best precision-passing performances of his campaign. Defensively, Castle was the best the Spurs had on the perimeter. The bad: Castle was 0-for-4 from two-point range and 2-for-6 from the charity stripe. That’s pretty abysmal. Castle also fouled out in less than 28 minutes of action and, thus, was on the bench down the stretch.
Grade: C+
Julian Champagnie
This was not a memorable night at the office for Champagnie. First of all, he bricked a pair of clutch free throws late in the fourth quarter. Those misses could have been very costly. Champagnie was also 1-for-5 from three-point territory, didn’t rebound as much as usual and turned the ball over more than normal. All told, Champagnie had too many negatives to overlook.
Grade: D+
Harrison Barnes
Barnes’ stretch of meh continues. He was 2-for-6 from three-point range as he continues to be colder than usual from deep. His drives to the hoop against the Timberwolves were few and far between. The silver lining for Barnes on this night was his total of eight rebounds. It was the rare night where the forward was felt in the rebounding department.
Grade: B
Keldon Johnson
It was a somewhat odd performance by Johnson. He grabbed only one rebound and shot just two free throws. But, on the whole, Johnson was really darn important. He poured in 20 points, including a 3-for-5 showing from three-point land. He scored in the lane with muscle and chipped in timely plays in crunch time. Johnson continues to be one of the best bench players in the league this year.
Grade: A-
Dylan Harper
I mean, yeah, this was a step in the right direction for the slumping rookie. Harper was 3-for-5 from two-point land, handed out three assists and didn’t turn the ball over. While his long distance shooting was lacking, Harper played pretty good defense while giving the Spurs a weapon on the offensive end.
Grade: B
Luke Kornet
Kornet did a good job of holding down the fort without Wembanyama. In 19 minutes, the seven-footer had eight points, six rebounds, two assists and two blocks. His rim protection was good and his overall mobility on defense was a plus. Offensively, he set sturdy screens while doing a smart job of getting open. His offensive rebounding was also a palpable advantage for the good guys.
Grade: B
Carter Bryant
Bryant played six minutes. The good news is that he didn’t miss a dunk. The bad news is he didn’t attempt a field goal. He grabbed a couple rebounds, played acceptable defense and recorded his sixth assist of the season.
Grade: B-
Lindy Waters III
Waters had a strong drive for a score — and that ended up being the only time he moved the needle in his six minutes of playing time.
Grade: C+
Mitch Johnson
It was frustrating to watch the Spurs blow another lead against the Timberwolves. This time, though, Johnson found the right buttons to push to help San Antonio hold on to get the W. He deserves credit for Wembanyama getting a lot of quality touches. I also thought the rotation was wise. Defensively, the Spurs were slow to react to Edwards going nuclear — so Johnson deserves some blame for that.
Grade: C