NBA: Anthony Edwards scores 34 to push Wolves over struggling Spurs

Anthony Edwards shrugged off a late-second quarter ankle injury to score 34 points as the Minnesota Timberwolves held on for a 114-105 win over the hapless San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday in Minneapolis.

The Timberwolves built a 15-point lead at halftime that they expanded to 24 points late in the third thanks to Edwards’ 14 points in the period. Minnesota’s star guard showed no ill effects from when he turned his left ankle with 1:59 to play in the first half and had to be helped off the floor.

San Antonio closed to within six points on a Keldon Johnson 3-pointer with 34 seconds remaining but could get no closer.

Naz Reid added 22 points off the bench for the Timberwolves, with Mike Conley scoring 16 and Rudy Gobert racking up 13 points and 17 rebounds. Minnesota won its second straight game and the sixth of its past seven outings to remain atop the Western Conference standings despite playing without Karl-Anthony Towns, who missed the game for personal reasons.

Devin Vassell led the Spurs with 21 points while Johnson added 20. Victor Wembanyama tallied 17 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks, Malaki Branham had 12 points and Tre Jones and Cedi Osman produced 11 and 10 points, respectively.

San Antonio dropped its fifth consecutive contest and 12th in its last 13 games. The Spurs finished 1-8 on its annual Rodeo Road Trip that began Feb. 7.

The Spurs led by five points in the early minutes of the game before Minnesota leapfrogged to the front, with an Edwards jumper with 36 seconds left in the quarter granting the Timberwolves a 29-19 edge.

Jordan McLaughlin’s 3-pointer at the 5:53 mark of the second quarter expanded Minnesota’s advantage to 48-28. The lead was 19 points after a layup by Edwards with 2:23 to play in the period, but Vassell scored the half’s final four points on a pair of layups to close the Spurs within 58-43 at the break.

Edwards had 18 points to lead all scorers at the half while Reid added 11 points for the Timberwolves. Vassell paced San Antonio with 10 points.

Minnesota kept to the accelerator in the third quarter. Edwards rained down a corner 3-pointer over the charging, outstretched arms of the 7-foot-4 Wembanyama and then followed that highlight play with a steal and a breakaway dunk to make it 85-61. — Field Level Media/Reuters