Spurs 123, Timberwolves 97
Kawhi Leonard collected 15 points, six rebounds and five steals in 25 minutes as San Antonio made quick work of visiting Minnesota.
Tony Parker added 11 points and eight assists while Danny Green scored 13 for the Spurs, who moved into a three-way tie for fifth place in the Western Conference with the Los Angeles Clippers and Dallas. Tim Duncan recorded 10 points, six rebounds and six assists and Manu Ginobili scored 11 points before leaving in the third quarter with an ankle injury for San Antonio.
Kevin Martin scored 19 points, Zach LaVine had 18 and Andrew Wiggins added 13 points as the Timberwolves suffered their fourth straight loss. Justin Hamilton scored nine points, matched his career high with 10 rebounds and handed out a career-high six assists for Minnesota.
The Spurs scored the first six points of the game and never trailed, grabbing a 29-23 edge at the end of the first and easing the advantage to 60-50 at the break. Leonard scored the first five points of the third quarter and Green’s 3-pointer highlighted a 13-0 run through the middle of the period that pushed it to 81-54.
The lead reached 33 points on Ginobili’s free throw with 1:39 left in the third and San Antonio breezed into the fourth up 93-63. Matt Bonner and Patty Mills hit back-to-back 3-pointers to stretch it to 111-72 as the Spurs coasted to the finish.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Hamilton has hit his career high of 10 rebounds in each of the last two games. … The Timberwolves were without Kevin Garnett (knee), Nikola Pekovic (ankle), Ricky Rubio (ankle) and Gary Neal (illness). … Ginobili had to be helped off the floor with less than a minute left in the third and did not return.