Back-to-back assignment goes poorly for the Timberwolves in 113-103 loss to Spurs

One night after Friday’s dramatic and emotional comeback home victory over rival Denver, the Minnesota Timberwolves summoned no late magic in a 113-103 loss at San Antonio.

This time, they trailed by as many as 19 points — and never fewer than 10 after the Spurs went on a game-changing 17-5 run early in the third quarter.

They also never mounted a run such as their 17-4 late-game burst fueled by Nickeil Alexander-Walker that won Friday’s game 119-116.

Keldon Johnson led the Spurs with 25 points off the bench while veteran point guard Chris Paul had 15 points and 13 assists.

Julius Randle and Anthony Edwards led the Wolves with 21 points each before Wolves coach Chris Finch called upon his bench with the result decided and out of reach in the final three minutes.

The Wolves came back from 10 points behind in the final four minutes to beat the Nuggets on Friday night in a late game at Target Center. The game was an 8:30 p.m. CDT start for ESPN, and the team didn’t arrive at its San Antonio hotel until nearly 4:30 a.m.

Meanwhile, the Spurs didn’t play Friday night and were home resting and waiting.

“I love these types of situations,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said before the game. “You got to be physically tough. You got to be mentally tough. You got to go out and find a way to win. We’ve never been a rest team anyway. I think our guys enjoy the challenge.”

Finch adapted to the circumstances by calling upon Josh Minott off the bench late in the first quarter. He played the quarter’s final 3:46 on a night when the Wolves were tied at 32 after the first quarter and trailed 62-57 at halftime.

The Spurs started the third quarter with a 10-1 run that expanded their lead to 12 points, at 72-60 — their largest lead at the time — little more than two minutes into the second half.

The Spurs played on without head coach Gregg Popovich, who was out Saturday because of an undisclosed illness.

Assistant coach Mitch Johnson, 36, served as head coach. He has been a Spurs assistant since 2019, played for Stanford and is the son of the late former Seattle SuperSonic John Johnson.

“This has happened before,” Johnson told reporters before Saturday’s game. “We’ve had it with injuries and sometimes people don’t feel well or things come up in life. He’s just not feeling well.”

Popovich is the NBA career leader with 1,390 victories. He has won 170 postseason games and five NBA titles as well and is now in his 29th NBA season, all with the Spurs.

Apple Valley’s Tre Jones, former Duke star and brother of the Phoenix Suns’ Tyus Jones, was out Saturday for the Spurs because of an ankle injury.

Spurs sophomore sensation Victor Wembanyama came to Saturday’s game off a rare 5x5 game in Thursday’s lopsided victory over Utah. He had at least five in five different statistical categories: 25 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, five steals and five blocked shots.

That’s now the second 5x5 game in his young career. Former Jazz star and former Timberwolf Andrei Kirilenko had three in his career. Former Houston Rockets great Hakeem Olajuwon did it six times.

On Saturday, Wembanyama had a 17-point, six-rebound, three-assist game.

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