San Antonio Spurs vs Minnesota Timberwolves: Game Grades

The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 108-83 to win their seventh in a row. Spurs are clicking on all cylinders as they displayed tremendous passing, defense and Spurs basketball.

The battle in the paint was no match for the Spurs. The Timberwolves were mismatched all-game long and had no answer for the Spurs bigs. Spurs were plus-30 in the paint (54-24) in the game.

Kawhi Leonard was being Kawhi Leonard. Leonard paced the Spurs with 19 points and six rebounds. What could possibly be a good showing was Danny Green getting out of his shooting slump, well for one game at least.

Green scored 11 points and was 4-of-5 from the 3-point range–he also had seven rebounds.

The Spurs have only been too happy to lay in the shadows while they work to get LaMarcus Aldridge and David West incorporated into a system that has been the NBA’s gold standard over the last two decades.

Dec 23, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard (2) drives to the basket against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the fourth quarter at Target Center. The Spurs win 108-83. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

All of the attention has been fixed on the Golden State Warriors and their 24-game winning streak to start the year. The Spurs have been playing ‘Under the Radar’, and they are ok with that.

They’ve picked up steam over the last two weeks, eviscerating opponents on both ends of the court to assert themselves as legitimate challengers to the defending champion Warriors in the West.

Leonard has proven himself to be in talks of the leagues MVP. He shut-down the Timberwolves young-star Andrew Wiggins as he was held to just 2-of-11 from the field and 10 points for the game.

From tip-off the Spurs never trailed in the game. This marked another victory with a margin of 20-plus for the Spurs.

Post Game Grades

A-. 14 points (6-of-11 FG), 2 rebounds, 6 assists — Parker has been playing good basketball as of late and he surely did again on Wednesday night. Parker distributed the ball well to his teammates for six assists. In just 29-minutes of playing time, Parker finished with 14 points.. PG. San Antonio Spurs. TONY PARKER

B+. 11 points (3-of-4 3-PT), 7 rebounds — Probably his best game of the season shooting wise this season, Green hit three from downtown against the Timberwolves. On the other side of the ball, Green continues to play at a high-level. He helped the Spurs hold the Timberwolves to just 41-percent shooting.. SG. San Antonio Spurs. DANNY GREEN

KAWHI LEONARD. A+. 19 points (8-of-16 FG, 3-of-7 3-PT), 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks — What more can you expect from Leonard? He continues to play at an MVP level for the Spurs. He helped hold the Timberwolves Andrew Wiggins to just 10 points on 2-of-11 shooting from the floor. He continues to give opponents a headache on both ends of the floor.. SF. San Antonio Spurs

12 points (4-of-9 FG), 8 rebounds, 1 block — Aldridge has found his comfort zone with the Spurs. He is not thinking anymore about forcing a pass. When he is open now he does not hesitate, he shoots the ball up. He also continues to play strong not he defensive end as well alongside Tim Duncan.. PF. San Antonio Spurs. LAMARCUS ALDRIDGE. A

A+. 2 points (1-of-6 FG), 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 blocks — Though he scored just two points in the game, Duncan excelled in other aspects of the game. To go with his five rebounds and 5 assists, Duncan had four blocked shots. With Duncan and Aldridge both down on the block, it makes teams think twice about taking the ball into the rim. Duncan continues to play great basketball.. PG. San Antonio Spurs. TIM DUNCAN

A+. 50 points, 19 rebounds, 11 assists — The second unit continues to prove that they will be a factor for the Spurs success this season. Kyle Anderson had his best game of the season thus far as he finished with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting. What makes this unit so effective is when they come into the game with the starters, they still know what their role is and the teams gameplan. Each player brings their own to the game and to not have one come in and try to do more then they need to is refreshing.. Bench. San Antonio Spurs. SECOND UNIT

Next: Spurs vs Timberwolves: Takeaways & Star Performer