Dylan Harper sends bold statement that Timberwolves fans cannot ignore

Dylan Harper continues to impress in his rookie season. The Spurs' first matchup in their series against the Timberwolves was about as intense as it could get from start to finish, but the first-year man out of Rutgers was in his element.

He scored 18 points on 7-13 shooting from the floor, along with four assists and four rebounds. He even came up huge in the clutch, scoring a massive fastbreak bucket late in the final quarter to cut the deficit to two points.

The Spurs couldn't pull out a victory, but one thing is for certain: Dylan Harper is built for moments like this. He's been showing off his reliability on this stage all postseason long, and tonight was just another example of that.

Harper found a ton of success in the paint

Few players can contain Harper when he's able to get a head of steam and barrel downhill to the rim. He found success with that all night long, either finding opportunities in the halfcourt or in transition. There was an impressive play in the third quarter where he grabbed an outlet pass, raced up court, and made a tough and-one layup to give his team the lead.

While this wasn't an amazing offensive game for the Spurs, one area they dominated in was fastbreak points. They won that battle 27-10, and Harper played a significant role in that area. It was a great asset to them in this game, as they weren't very effective in the halfcourt.

This is exactly what you need from a reserve. When something isn't working, you must have options off the bench who can create a new dynamic to keep the game within reach. It's exactly what Harper provided in this game.

We needed more from Harper as a floor spacer

While Dylan was great in this game, leading the Spurs in scoring, he did struggle from downtown. He had four attempts from range and only drained one of those. Now, it wasn't just him. It seemed like San Antonio couldn't get any of their threes to fall, making just 27.8% from downtown.

For Harper, we know that his three-point shot can be dangerous. He was lethal in the regular season after the All-Star break and carried that into the first round against the Trailblazers. So there's strong evidence that he can get it going from distance at any given moment.

But regardless, even with the three-ball not falling, the rookie found several other ways to make an impact on this game. Without him, the Spurs would have been facing a much larger deficit instead of just a two-point loss.

It's refreshing to know that you can rely on a first-year player to shoulder your offense. If he can keep his foot on the gas and get back to normalcy as a shooter from range, the Spurs can find a way to take back control of this series.

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