The San Antonio Spurs beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 115-108 at Target Center on Friday in Game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinals. This contest looked to be in danger of turning into a blowout when the Spurs led 14-1 in the opening minutes, but the hosts stormed back.
The Timberwolves only trailed by a point at the end of the first quarter, and the scores were tied at halftime. The Spurs would then get their noses ahead again in the second half, and they led by nine points early in the fourth.
The Timberwolves wouldn’t go away, though, and even trimmed that lead down to one point. They weren’t able to get ahead, however, and the Spurs have now regained home-court advantage after losing Game 1. They are up 2-1 and will look to gain complete control of the series with another victory in Game 4. Before we get there, though, let’s take a look at how the Spurs players fared on this night.
Victor Wembanyama: A+
Game Stats: 39 PTS, 15 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 5 BLK, 1 TOV, 13-18 FG, 3-5 3PT, 10-12 FT, 37 MIN
Victor Wembanyama hadn’t been at his best offensively in the first two games of this series, but he exploded in this one. Wembanyama had 16 points in the fourth quarter as he made light work of that Timberwolves defense. Rudy Gobert was doing a fine job defending him, but this was a classic case of great offense beats great defense.
Speaking of defense, Wembanyama had at least five blocks for the fourth time in five games. The Frenchman was in foul trouble here, but he managed to stay on the court and power his team to victory.
Stephon Castle: B+
Game Stats: 13 PTS, 4 REB, 12 AST, 4 TOV, 3-11 FG, 1-3 3PT, 6-8 FT, 40 MIN
Stephon Castle notched the first double-double of his playoff career on this night. While those postseason career-high 12 assists are great, Castle was a bit careless with the ball. He also struggled shooting the ball, but did at least get to the line for some freebies.
Devin Vassell: B+
Game Stats: 13 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL, 1 TOV, 6-14 FG, 1-6 3PT, 36 MIN
The threes weren’t falling for Devin Vassell on the night, but he did have success once he stepped inside the arc. Vassell was also active on the glass and played some good defense.
Julian Champagnie: B
Game Stats: 6 PTS, 12 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL, 2-7 FG, 2-6 3PT, 29 MIN
Julian Champagnie had a quiet night offensively, but hit arguably the biggest shot of the night for the Spurs. With the Timberwolves having cut their lead to 99-98, Champagnie drilled a three-pointer from the corner with 6:03 remaining in the fourth to give the Spurs breathing space.
Champagnie also set a new postseason career-high with 12 rebounds here.
De’Aaron Fox: B-
Game Stats: 17 PTS, 3 REB, 5 AST, 1 STL, 2 TOV, 7-19 FG, 1-5 3PT, 2-3 FT, 35 MIN
De’Aaron Fox was another who had a rough shooting night, but he did hit some timely shots. Fox was 3-10 from the field in the first half and 4-9 in the second. He also made a couple of clutch free throws in the final two minutes to help the Spurs keep the Timberwolves at bay. We haven’t seen the best of Fox in this series, and the fact that the Spurs are still 2-1 up is impressive.
Dylan Harper: B-
Game Stats: 8 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 1 BLK, 1 TOV, 2-6 FG, 0-2 3PT, 4-6 FT, 20 MIN
Dylan Harper has been great in these playoffs for the Spurs, but this was a relatively quiet night for the rookie. Still, six of his eight points came in the fourth quarter, as he stepped up when it mattered.
Keldon Johnson: C+
Game Stats: 11 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 3-7 FG, 2-4 3PT, 3-4 FT, 19 MIN
Keldon Johnson provided a spark offensively off the bench here with his 11 points. The Spurs aren’t doing too well in this series when he is on the court, though. He had a team-worst plus-minus of -11 here. He was a -13 in Game 1, too, and this is something to keep an eye on moving forward.
Carter Bryant: C+
Game Stats: 6 PTS, 2-2 FG, 2-2 3PT, 8MIN
Carter Bryant probably had a case to get some more minutes here. Bryant hit those two three-pointers in the second quarter, but then only played three minutes in the entire second half.
Luke Kornet: C
Game Stats: 2 PTS, 1 REB, 1 BLK, 1-1 FG, 11 MIN
Luke Kornet proved to be a great backup for Wembanyama in the regular season, but that hasn’t been the case in this series. The drop-off for the Spurs when he came in for the Frenchman here was drastic.
Now, of course, no one expects Kornet to be anywhere near as good as Wembanyama. Also, it’s not easy for him in this series, as he is going up against Gobert, Naz Reid, and Julius Randle, but he has to do better.
Harrison Barnes: C
Game Stats: 1 REB, 1 STL, 6 MIN
Harrison Barnes has seen his role reduced in these playoffs, and he was largely anonymous here in his six minutes.
