Balanced scoring leads Spurs past Timberwolves

Devin Vassell scored 23 points to lead six Spurs in double figures as San Antonio beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 115-106 on Monday in the opener of a two-game series between the teams in Minneapolis.

San Antonio led by 10 points at halftime but outscored the Timberwolves 36-14 in the third quarter to put the game away. As good as the Spurs were in the third, they were equally bad in the fourth, scoring only 12 points, though Minnesota never got closer than the final margin.

San Antonio has won the first three of a four-game road trip that ends when the two teams run it back on Wednesday.

Keldon Johnson added 18 points for the Spurs. Rookie forward Jeremy Sochan and Jakob Poeltl had 14 each, Zach Collins scored 11 off the bench and Joshua Primo tallied 10. Poeltl also grabbed 14 rebounds.

Karl-Anthony Towns led the Timberwolves with 27 points and 11 rebounds. D'Angelo Russell added 25 points and seven assists, Jaylen Nowell scored 13 points and Rudy Gobert contributed 11 points and seven boards.

The Monday game was the second of a road-home back-to-back for Minnesota, which beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 116-106 on Sunday.

The Spurs shot 63 percent in the first quarter, building as much as a 13-point lead on the way to a 39-28 edge after 12 minutes of play.

The Timberwolves fought their way back into the game, using an 11-2 run midway through the second period to pull within 58-49 on Anthony Edwards' 3-pointer at the 3:27 mark of the quarter.

San Antonio led by as many as 20 points and carried a 67-57 lead to the break after Vassell canned a 3-pointer with 5.4 seconds remaining.

Sochan eclipsed his total output in his first three career games (nine points) with a team-leading 12 in the first half to lead the Spurs. Towns paced Minnesota with 19 points, while Russell added 11 over the first two quarters.

San Antonio ripped off the first 14 points of the third quarter, with Poeltl and Vassell scoring six points each on the run, to go up 81-57. From there, the Spurs just poured it on, running their advantage to as many as 35 points before settling for a 103-71 lead heading into the final period.