The Minnesota Timberwolves erased a 19-point deficit to beat the San Antonio Spurs 104-103 after Anthony Edwards banked in a go-ahead, 3-foot runner with 16.8 seconds left in the fourth quarter on Sunday night.
Edwards scored 23 points, Julius Randle added 15, eight rebounds, and the winning defensive possession against Victor Wembanyama.
The 7-foot-4 Frenchman dropped 29 points in 27 minutes in his return with the Spurs’ starting lineup and had trouble with Randle’s defensive effort, missing a 16-foot jumper with 6.6 seconds to go.
Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox’s three-point heave near the buzzer missed again, sending the Wolves crowd into loud cheers after the back-and-forth finish between two of the top teams in the West.
Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo scored 19 points with a major spark for the comeback from the 19-point deficit early in the third quarter, while Edwards gave the first lead at 100-98 on a turnaround jumper with 2:19 remaining.
Minnesota center Naz Reid also contributed a double-double of 17 points and 11 boards.
Wembanyama was a plus-17 with seven rebounds and three steals to upstage his fellow Frenchman Rudy Gobert.
The Wolves played without head coach Chris Finch due to illness and were down 16-0 before finally making their first basket 4:39 into the game, as Assistant Coach Micah Nori took charge.
Both teams will play in a road game on Tuesday night, as the Spurs take on the Thunder, while the Wolves play against the Bucks.
