On Monday night, the San Antonio Spurs unexpectedly lost to the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves, falling behind 0-1 in their NBA playoff series in the second round. With a few seconds left in the fourth quarter and a two-point deficit, the Spurs grabbed a defensive rebound to secure one last chance to tie or seize the lead.
\Mitch Johnson, the head coach of San Antonio, chose to let the game continue rather than taking a timeout and move the ball to half court. Julian Champagnie had a wide-open three-point try that would have won the game after the Spurs pushed the ball during transition.
The Timberwolves won 104-102 after the ball rebounded off the front rim. During his postgame media conference, Johnson defended his choice to forego calling a timeout.
Johnson remarked, “We got a rebound on the last play, and it felt like they weren’t organized. There was enough time for us to push the ball and get a look.” “Julian scored a three-pointer in rhythm and had a flyby. That shot didn’t bother me at all. What a fantastic shot. I’m hoping he always shoots it.
Spurs star Victor Wembanyama struggled on the attacking end of the ball despite recording a triple-double with 15 rebounds and 12 blocks. The 7-foot-4 Frenchman only scored 11 points after shooting 5/17 from the field and 0/8 from beyond the 3-point arc. De’Aaron Fox, a seasoned guard, also had trouble, scoring 10 points on 5/14 from the field and 0/4 from three. In the first game of the series, Anthony Edwards performed admirably despite having limited playing time. The All-Star guard scored an effective 18 points despite having a bone bruise on his left knee.
With a game-high 21 points, Julius Randle led the Timberwolves in another outstanding performance. Tipoff for Game 2 is scheduled for Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. ET.
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