The San Antonio Spurs answered their Game 1 shock with a runaway 133-95 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night, leveling the Western Conference semifinals at 1-1. Game 3 shifts to Minnesota on Friday at 9:30 p.m. ET on Prime Video.
The Spurs controlled the game with defense and pace, holding Minnesota to 5-of-21 shooting inside the paint before the fourth quarter and 5-of-21 from 3-point range through three quarters. They also won the turnover battle 19-12 and had 10 more free throws, a margin that turned a blowout into a statement. All five Spurs starters scored in double figures before the fourth quarter, and Julian Champagnie helped break the game open by making four straight 3-pointers during the decisive run.
Stephon Castle led all scorers with 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while Dylan Harper added 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists off the bench. The Timberwolves never found a rhythm, finishing with 13 assists and getting a quiet night from Anthony Edwards, who played 24 minutes off the bench and scored 12 points on 5-of-13 shooting with no assists and four turnovers. Jaden McDaniels, Julius Randle and Terrence Shannon Jr. each also finished with 12 points.
The series had already been tilted by the stakes surrounding Edwards' surprise return in Game 1 and the absence of Donte DiVincenzo for the series, but Game 2 exposed how hard it is to keep up with a 62-win Spurs team when its pressure defense is locked in. Ayo Dosunmu, who had been considered questionable, left early with heel pain, adding another problem for Minnesota on a night when the margin widened quickly and never came back down.
For the Timberwolves, Friday now becomes about proving Game 2 was the outlier. For San Antonio, the question is whether this version of the Spurs can carry the same edge onto the road and seize control of a series that has already turned once.