SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Spurs are looking to bounce back from a rare loss, and will also be seeking their ninth consecutive victory over the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday.
The Spurs are a stellar 45-9 at home against the Timberwolves, who haven't won a contest in San Antonio since April 17, 2013.
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The Spurs let an 11-point third-quarter lead get away while falling 108-105 to the revved-up Phoenix Suns in Mexico City on Saturday, and that put a damper on small forward Kawhi Leonard's career-high 38-point performance.
"I'm never trying to break a career high out there," Leonard said afterward. "I'm always trying to come down with a win. That's what matters to me and my squad. It was definitely disappointing to come out with a loss."
Minnesota rolled off three consecutive victories before suffering a 98-87 road loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday but is showing signs of making an upward climb.
"We're still not there," Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters. "We went into camp with that idea of locking into daily improvement. Studying the team closely in the offseason, I knew there were a lot of areas we were short in. ... I like the direction we're moving in."
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ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (14-27): Shooting guard Zach LaVine (hip) struggled in his return from a two-game injury absence and had just 11 points in 34 minutes against the Mavericks. LaVine admitted to feeling "a little tired, a little gassed" in the opening minutes but said the poor effort was due to his subpar shooting and not rust. Standout center Karl-Anthony Towns had just 18 points and nine rebounds against Dallas to snap a streak of 10 consecutive double-doubles.
ABOUT THE SPURS (31-9): The fans in Mexico City are up on their NBA knowledge as they repeatedly serenaded Leonard with MVP chants during the loss to the Suns. The sixth-year pro notched his 11th 30-point outing of the campaign, and that is the most by a San Antonio player through 40 games since legendary David Robinson had 13 in 1995-96.
"He's improving every year," point guard Tony Parker said of Leonard. "He's already all-NBA first team. So I think MVP is the next step for him."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Leonard registered 31 points as the Spurs notched a 105-91 victory over the Timberwolves on Dec. 6.
2. Minnesota PG Ricky Rubio recorded four straight double-digit assists outings and is averaging 14 during the stretch.
3. San Antonio C Pau Gasol scored just three points in the loss to Phoenix after having 22 on 9-of-9 shooting against the Los Angeles Lakers two nights earlier.