Improvement required for Minnesota Timberwolves as NBA play-off series with San Antonio Spurs pivots home

MINNEAPOLIS – Forget the Alamo. That is the Minnesota Timberwolves’ mindset as they return home from Texas.

After a narrow 104-102 win in Game 1 and a lopsided 133-95 loss in Game 2 of their NBA Western Conference semi-final play-off series, they will tip off against the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3 on May 8 (May 9, Singapore time) in Minneapolis.

The winner will seize a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

The Timberwolves’ star guard Anthony Edwards said he and his teammates must play better as they return to home comforts. He finished with 12 points off the bench in Game 2 on May 6 as Minnesota lost by 38 points.

“I tip my hat to those guys,” the 24-year-old said. “They came out and they played hard. They were the more desperate team. They wanted it. And we’ll see where it goes from here.”

The Spurs hope it keeps going in their favour.

De’Aaron Fox may play a prominent role for San Antonio in Game 3. He struggled badly in the series opener which they lost, but bounced back with an impressive performance in Game 2, finishing with 16 points in 26 minutes.

Spurs coach Mitch Johnson encouraged the guard to continue to be aggressive.

“We’re at our best when he’s in attack mode,” he said. “He has probably the strongest ripple effect on our team in terms of when he’s in attack mode pushing the pace. Because you have Steph (Stephon Castle) and Dylan (Harper) that follow suit, and then our shooters get shots in transition, Victor (Wembanyama) plays in space and so on and so forth.

“When he picks up at the point of attack the way he did (in Game 2), he’s the catalyst for us.”

Castle leads the Spurs with 19.6 points per game this post-season. Wembanyama is next with 19.0 points and a team-high 10.8 rebounds per game, while Fox ranks third with 18.1 points per game.

For the Timberwolves in the play-offs, Julius Randle leads with 18.5 points per game, Ayo Dosunmu has averaged 18.2 points while Edwards is at 17.3 points per game.

Wembanyama will look to stay hot for the Spurs after scoring 19 points and grabbing 15 rebounds in Game 2. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year will likely go head-to-head against his fellow Frenchman Rudy Gobert.

The San Antonio star said he would not take anything for granted heading into Game 3.

“We’re going to keep doubling up on what worked,” he said. “And those few things that didn’t, we’re going to erase them. It’s an experienced team. We know they’re going to respond.”

Meanwhile in play-off action on May 7, Chet Holmgren and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 22 points each to lift the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 125-107 home win over the Los Angeles Lakers, claiming a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference semi-final series.

In the East, Cade Cunningham tallied 25 points and 10 assists as he led the Detroit Pistons to a 107-97 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers and a 2-0 advantage. REUTERS