Edwards’ 36, Gobert’s glass seal Wolves’ late escape over Spurs

The Wolves don’t fully break the Spurs until the final four minutes.

Minnesota and San Antonio trade punches all night, but when the game tightens in the fourth, Anthony Edwards is the one making the biggest plays. The Wolves guard pours in 36 points on 59% shooting, and the final stretch belongs to him and Rudy Gobert as Minnesota edges the Spurs 114-109 in a game that stays within one possession deep into the closing minutes. There are 11 lead changes, the biggest Minnesota cushion is just nine, and the biggest San Antonio lead reaches eight, which tells you everything about how little margin either side gets to breathe.

The first half is fast, loose, and full of shot-making. Minnesota opens with a 9-0 style push that turns a 3-7 deficit into a 10-12 game when De’Aaron Fox hits a 7-foot driving floating jump shot, and the Spurs answer with one of their own as Dylan Harper runs in a finger-roll layup to put San Antonio ahead 26-23. Neither team can separate. By halftime, the Wolves are up only 60-56, and the score keeps hinting at the same thing: whoever wins this one is probably going to have to earn it possession by possession.

San Antonio grabs its best momentum of the night in the third. The Spurs use an 8-0 run capped by Vassell’s 9-foot fadeaway jump shot to surge from 68-69 to 68-76, flipping the game and forcing Minnesota to chase again. That’s where the Wolves’ front line starts to matter. Gobert finishes through contact, cleans the glass, and keeps possessions alive, while Edwards keeps pulling Minnesota back within striking distance. The Wolves don’t panic, but they do need a jolt — and they get it at the start of the fourth.

That jolt comes from Edwards. With Minnesota trailing 91-97, he steps into a 25-foot three that cuts the gap and ignites a 9-0 Wolves run from 91-97 to 98-97. Suddenly the building feels like it tilts. N. Reid drives for a layup at 4:08 to make it 100-99, Dylan Harper answers with a runner to swing San Antonio back in front, and then Gobert and Edwards go to work. Gobert scores inside to put Minnesota ahead 102-101, Edwards slices in for a driving finger-roll layup at 2:24 for a 105-101 lead, and from there the Wolves begin to squeeze the game shut. Gobert throws down a dunk at 1:56 to stretch it to 107-101, and that’s the moment the Spurs’ final push starts to run out of runway.

The closing sequence is all about Minnesota’s size and star power holding up under pressure. N. Reid’s putback with 39.8 seconds left makes it 112-105, and even when San Antonio keeps answering with quick buckets, the Wolves never surrender the lead again. Edwards finishes with 36 points and 6 rebounds, Gobert posts 11 points, 13 boards, and 4 assists, and Reid’s activity around the rim matters in the final minute. On the other side, Fox gets 24 points, Harper adds 24 points and 7 rebounds, and Stephon Castle chips in 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists, but San Antonio’s offense can’t quite match Minnesota’s late shot-making and second-chance pressure.

For Minnesota, this is the kind of win that matters in the standings and in the locker room. The Wolves survive a game that was always in the balance, lean on their best player in crunch time, and get enough from the frontcourt to finish it off. For San Antonio, it’s a frustrating near-miss: the Spurs show they can punch with a contender for long stretches, but the final few possessions expose the difference between a good fight and a finished result.