By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo Credit: nba.com
The Minnesota Timberwolves stole the home court from the San Antonio Spurs to take Game 1 on the road on Monday night.
The Timberwolves were relentless—a highly competitive game. Julius Randle played a good game. Randle led the team with 21 points. Jayden McDaniels was key for Minnesota, scoring 16 points. Veteran Mike Conley made some big shots in the fourth quarter. Naz Reid added 12 points and 9 rebounds. Reid made two out of three 3-pointers.
Spurs, we’re not expecting the return of Anthony Edwards. Edwards scored 11 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter. He was aggressive in the fourth. Edwards wasn’t happy with his performance. He took accountability for his mistakes. Edwards also had 3 rebounds and 3 assists in 25 minutes. He’s not 100 percent because of his knee injury.
“I don’t feel like there’s any pressure,” Edwards said.
Terrence Shannon jr dropped 16 points and 5 rebounds. He deserved a lot of credit for bringing contributions from the bench. When the role-play steps up, it can cause problems for the other team. Many people have doubted the Wolves coming into this series. They are battle-tested and kept applying pressure against the Spurs’ defense. Victor Wembanyama kept blocking shots, but Minnesota kept coming at him.
Wemby blocked 12 shots to go with 11 points and 15 rebounds. Stephon Castle fouled out in the last 3 minutes of the game. Castle finished with 17 points.
The team has heart, tenacity, and a bond that you can see in every game, every possession.
Minnesota made some mental mistakes that could’ve cost them the game, but luckily, the Spurs missed the game-winning three-pointer. Minnesota will play Game 2 on Wednesday at 9:30 pm—the Timberwolves are seeking their third consecutive Conference Finals appearance.
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
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