Spurs rally to beat T'Wolves in OT, cut Warriors' lead to two games

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BOX SCORE

SAN ANTONIO — Kawhi Leonard had 34 points and 10 rebounds and the San Antonio Spurs overcame a listless start to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 97-90 in overtime Saturday night.

San Antonio wrapped up its 20th straight playoff spot with the victory. They won in overtime for the second straight night to extend their winning streak to seven and improve to 48-13.

LaMarcus Aldridge added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs, and Pau Gasol had 17 points and eight rebounds in his fifth straight game as a reserve. The Spurs outscored the Timberwolves 35-20 in the final quarter and overtime.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 24 points and 14 rebounds for Minnesota. The Timberwolves had not played since Wednesday night in Utah and had won four of five.

Leonard had six points in overtime, and played 44 minutes after playing 40 minutes on Friday night in New Orleans. He finished with six steals and five assists as San Antonio beat Minnesota for the 10th straight time.

San Antonio sat Manu Ginobili for rest, but it seemed most of the team needed a break following an overtime victory in New Orleans on Friday night.

The Spurs looked tired after landing in San Antonio at 2 a.m. Saturday morning following a 101-98 victory over the Pelicans.

San Antonio trailed by 16 points in the first half against Minnesota after matching its season low for points in the first quarter, with six field goals and five turnovers in scoring 14 points. The Spurs went scoreless for three minutes during the first quarter as Minnesota went on a 15-4 run.

San Antonio failed to score 20 points in the first and third quarters, but held Minnesota to 15 in the third to set the stage for a fourth quarter rally.

Leonard pulled San Antonio within a point twice midway through the first quarter, the first on a 3-pointer and the second on a short jumper to pull back within 75-74. His short runner with 2:40 gave the Spurs their first lead at 80-78.

TIP-INS:
Timberwolves: Minnesota is 5-29 when scoring less than 100 points. . The Timberwolves finished their four-game road trip at 2-2. ... Minnesota's last victory against the Spurs was on April 8, 2014 and its last win in San Antonio was on April 17, 2013.

Spurs: Leonard has scored 30-plus points in 22 games this season. He joined George Gervin and David Robinson as the only players in franchise to score 30-plus in at least 20 games in a season. ... Leonard has scored in double figures in 90 straight games, the longest streak by the Spurs since Tim Duncan had 91 straight in 2002-2003. ... Gasol has scored in double figures in all five games since returning from a broken left finger. ... San Antonio is 10-1 in the second night of back-to-back games. ... The Spurs set their season-low for points in the first quarter with 14 points against Memphis on Feb. 6.

UP NEXT:
Timberwolves: Host Portland on Monday night.

Spurs: Host Houston on Monday night.

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