San Antonio Spurs (11-47, 15th in the Western Conference) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (40-17, first in the Western Conference)
Minneapolis; Tuesday, 8 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: San Antonio enters the matchup with Minnesota after losing four in a row.
The Timberwolves are 27-8 against Western Conference opponents. Minnesota has a 5-4 record in games decided by less than 4 points.
The Spurs are 7-25 against Western Conference opponents. San Antonio is ninth in the Western Conference with 33.0 defensive rebounds per game led by Victor Wembanyama averaging 7.9.
The Timberwolves are shooting 48.8% from the field this season, 0.5 percentage points lower than the 49.3% the Spurs allow to opponents. The Spurs average 12.4 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.1 more made shots on average than the 11.3 per game the Timberwolves allow.
The two teams square off for the fourth time this season. The Spurs defeated the Timberwolves 113-112 in their last matchup on Jan. 28. Devin Vassell led the Spurs with 25 points, and Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves with 32 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: Karl-Anthony Towns is averaging 22.6 points and 8.5 rebounds for the Timberwolves. Edwards is averaging 28.2 points over the last 10 games for Minnesota.
Wembanyama is averaging 20.7 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 3.3 blocks for the Spurs. Vassell is averaging 2.9 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for San Antonio.
LAST 10 GAMES: Timberwolves: 7-3, averaging 116.8 points, 46.3 rebounds, 26.4 assists, 7.3 steals and 6.2 blocks per game while shooting 48.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 101.7 points per game.
Spurs: 1-9, averaging 109.6 points, 44.8 rebounds, 30.7 assists, 7.6 steals and 6.9 blocks per game while shooting 44.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 119.0 points.
INJURIES: Timberwolves: Jaylen Clark: out (achilles), Rudy Gobert: day to day (ankle).
Spurs: Charles Bassey: out for season (knee).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Associated Press
