In a refreshing turn from a year ago, the Timberwolves haven't turned in too many clunkers this season, and they have made sure to take care of the teams who are down in the standings.
They saved one of those down nights for Wednesday's national TV audience on ESPN, perhaps trying to throw the rest of the league off the scent that they might be deep playoff contenders this season.
But after three and a half quarters of uninspired play, the Wolves closed strong to beat the Western Conference-worst Spurs 102-94.
The Wolves (16-4) trailed 77-75 with 9 minutes, 16 seconds to play when the shots finally began to fall and the stops piled on the defensive end.