The third quarter, things got dicey again despite the Spurs' notorious knack for coming out the tunnel firing back into games. They fell into foul trouble, going down by 13 again, before their defense brought them back into the game, not allowing Minnesota to wallop them with more easy points inside, making a nice combo with their stellar perimeter shooting. Patty Mills had been 'off' all game long, then made a 3PTer, and Kawhi's "claw" from deep (4-7 3PT%) got hot for the defending champions as well. Mills would hit a huge 3PTer for the Spurs to stifle the crowd after the gifted "KAT-Town" and former Wildcat hit a long ball to tie the game late for the Timberwolves, after the Spurs dominated the final period 38-21 and took a small lead in the winding-down minutes.
Rudy Gay cooled off in the second half, but hit a pair of clutch shots to spark a huge 16-4 run by the Spurs to narrow the gap. Gay finished 8-12 from the floor, slipping past Kawhi's 25 points and 7 rebounds to go with 4 blocks. Pau Gasol was clutch late as well, with 17 points and 8 rebounds, showing KAT his veteran moves down low, making a mid-range splash to give the Spurs a 4 point lead.
The story of the night though was Iman Shumpert, who has a chip on his shoulder this season after being traded by the Cavaliers. He did not see the trade coming, but has gone on record saying the Spurs are a wonderful team to join. His defense came in handy tonight on Jeff Teague (who lacked aggression, despite 17 assists), Andrew Wiggins (11-20, 23 points) and Jamal Crawford (3 turnovers). His aggressive drives to the paint caused Taj Gibson to foul out of the game. Jimmy Butler was Shumpert's main assignment and he had a so-so showing with 6-15 from the field. Shumpert felt underused by the Cavaliers in past playoffs, so he will definitely get the opportunity in San Antonio.
Not for nothing, KAT had 26 points and 18 monster rebounds. But the Timberwolves fell to the flurry of blows by the weathered San Antonio Spurs tonight, whose win streak grows to nine straight. Patty Mills persevered for 13 points and 9 assists, still nailing 3 long balls when it mattered. Jeremy Lamb contributed 10 points, Josh Smith made some defiant plays on both ends (2 blocks, 5 points) as the Spurs were able to scrap out this victory, despite lacking a strong bench effort they've grown used to.