Target Center reaches an overpowering octave when the Jumbotron instructs Minnesota Timberwolves fans to chant “DEFENSE.” The fans always follow orders, hurling that seven-letter word at the Wolves’ opponent so loudly that it’s hard to hear an official blow a whistle.
The Timberwolves know what great defense is. They know they must form their identity around hard-nosed, rugged, and relentless stops on defense. And their hometown fans appreciate it when that happens. Those plays may lead to euphorically loud moments. But they also stem from a desperate team winning the small defensive battles.
The San Antonio Spurs took a 2-1 lead with a 115-108 win over the Timberwolves on Friday. In their Game 3 loss, it became abundantly clear that the Wolves need to put together a full 48 minutes of defense that balances desperation and smarts. They are guarding against a team built around a 7-foot-4 anomaly, and their season now hinges on it.
Minnesota needed to get desperate immediately in Game 3. Target Center was loud and lubricated, per Anthony Edwards’ request. Still, Minnesota’s 11-straight missed shots to open the game subdued the hometown crowd.
Meanwhile, Victor Wembanyama recorded a quick nine points on 4 of 6 shooting, rolling to the rim and converting shots in close where nobody — not even the four-time Defensive Player of the Year that Minnesota employs — can stop him.
As the Wolves’ shots clanked off the rim one by one, they desperately needed to switch up their defensive intention. The Spurs opened the first eight minutes by making seven of their first 20 field-goal attempts. Still, much of that was due to San Antonio missing quality shots rather than Minnesota’s defense.
However, that switched at the four-minute mark, when an unlikely force sparked the first loud defensive play of the night.
Terrence Shannon Jr. — who Chris Finch called out for his poor defense in the first round — rotated out on Devin Vassell, cutting off his drive to the basket. Then, Shannon switched onto the speedy Dylan Harper off a pick-and-roll and met him with physicality and foot speed to force a heave at the end of the shot clock.
That play injected life back into the crowd and sparked a 19-6 run for the Wolves over the final four minutes of the quarter, digging themselves out of a 15-point hole to trail by one.
“Guys did a good job guarding and making the game about defense,” Finch said postgame regarding how Minnesota closed the first quarter.
Shannon finished Game 3 with 5 points on 2 of 6 shooting. Still, the Wolves outscored San Antonio by 19 points in his 28 minutes off the bench. He turned in a defensive performance that included drawing three offensive fouls against the Spurs and maintaining the energy and focus on defense he has lacked in the NBA.
Naz Reid finished with 18 points, nine rebounds, and five assists in Game 3. He has also struggled to defend at a level that fits Minnesota’s preferred identity during his NBA career.
However, after Minnesota’s 104-102 Game 1 win over the Spurs, Finch praised Reid for his improving defense. And the 6’9” forward showed that again in Game 3, swatting two shots, grabbing seven rebounds, and defending well on the perimeter with gritty physicality.
Collectively, Minnesota’s defense seemed desperate. Two of their worst defenders in the regular season pioneered an effort in the first half on Friday that held the Spurs to 51 points on 41% shooting. Webanyama scored four more points after his hot start.
The Wolves were tied with San Antonio at halftime and had executed their preferred identity. It’s an identity they talk so much about, yet failed to consistently reach in the regular season. Had they held onto that identity for 24 more minutes, the Wolves would have walked out of Target Center with a 2-1 series lead.
Instead, they gave up 35 points in the third quarter and let the Spurs shoot 52% from the floor to take a seven-point lead into the fourth.
San Antonio shot 6 of 10 from deep in the third. The Spurs broke down Minnesota’s defense and produced quality looks from three, which Reid and Finch believe was because they began to play with speed in transition — something the Wolves have struggled to guard against all series.
Compounding things, the Wolves let San Antonio turn three offensive rebounds in the third into two 3-point makes. Edwards finished with 13 defensive rebounds and knows the Wolves need to be better on the glass.
“We’ve got to get those defensive rebounds, man,” Edwards said. “We’ve got to box them out. [Julian Champagnie] is crashing every time. And No. 1 (Wembanyama) is hell on the offensive glass. So we’ve got to box him out, box everyone else out, and gang rebound.”
After halftime, Minnesota’s once desperately electric defense turned into an error-filled operation. They committed 14 fouls, let shooters get too much space at critical times, took bad routes, and made incremental gameplan mistakes down the stretch.
In clutch time, the Spurs outscored the Wolves 10-0.
“Some defensive gameplan mistakes hurt us,” Finch said postgame. “We missed some open shots for sure, and then we just fouled a little bit too much. We just gave them enough of the breathing room they needed.”
Wembanyama, more than any other player in the league, will break even the best defense. He scored 16 in the fourth quarter of Game 3, shooting 5 of 7 from the floor. But the Wolves don’t feel they defended him well down the stretch.
Edwards thought they bailed him out by sending him to the free-throw line for 12 attempts, 10 of which he made. Finch highlighted the little things, such as Rudy Gobert going under on a screen late in the fourth that gave Wembanyama a wide-open three.
Webanyama’s three-pointer with 3:04 left that put the Spurs up by six turned the “DEFENSE” chant at Target Center into a nervous hush in an instant. Players were visibly upset with the defensive miscue.
That hard-nosed, rugged, and relentless defense that the Wolves rediscovered in the first half had disappeared. They lost the small defensive battles in the second half, and that gave way to Wembanyama’s 39-point, 15-rebound performance on 72% shooting and a 2-1 series lead for the Spurs.
The Timberwolves know their identity is defense. So do their fans. Teams always need desperate — yet smart — defense in the playoffs, especially against an anomaly like Wembanyama. The Wolves lost that in the second half on Friday. And if they can’t find it and maintain it for a full 48 minutes in Game 4 on Sunday, they will head back to San Antonio with a 3-1 series hole.
