Despite a valiant effort to mount a comeback, the Spurs started the in-season tournament with a loss. They dropped their fourth straight game in a hard-fought battle against the Timberwolves, which rode a great third quarter to a 110-117 win.
The Spurs started the game looking like a team that wanted to put an embarrassing loss behind them. Their energy was fantastic and it seemed to take the Timberwolves by surprise. The defense was making life hard for the visitors by being disruptive and was creating opportunities for easy baskets on the other end, either directly in transition or with San Antonio finding ways to attack early or find mismatches.