The NBA schedule makers played the Grinch, giving the Spurs a Christmas Day game in Phoenix. To make up for it, they left a couple of Christmas cupcakes under the tree for the Spurs to open early.
Sacramento and Minnesota arrived at the AT&T Center this week with a combined 11-43 record, the perfect pre-Christmas gift for the NBA team that has everything. The Spurs weren't as dominating against Minnesota on Tuesday night as they were against the Kings on Monday. But they were just good enough.
Slipping into his familiar role as a Timberwolves killer, Tony Parker had 36 points and eight assists as the Spurs held off pesky Minnesota 99-93.
Tim Duncan added 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Spurs, who improved to 18-10 with their ninth victory in 11 games.
The Spurs led by 16 entering the fourth quarter before the Timberwolves rallied to within three.
Al Jefferson and Randy Foye provided quite a one-two punch for the Timberwolves, who are still searching for their first victory since coach Randy Wittman was fired Dec. 8.
Jefferson had 28 points, while Foye provided 26 points and 16 rebounds.
The Timberwolves (4-23) were within four points with less than two minutes to go. For the third time in as many meetings this season, Parker finished them off.
With 1:29 to go, Parker buried an off-balance 21-footer, launched in desperation to beat the shot clock. That put the Spurs ahead 95-89.
Moments later, Parker sank another jumper to put the Spurs ahead by eight, 42.3 seconds from victory.
It was Parker's third game of 30-plus points this season, and his second against the Timberwolves. He had a career-high 55 against them in a double-overtime victory at Minnesota in November.
Down 15, the Timberwolves wouldn't do the Christmasy thing and just go away. By the half, they had cut their deficit to eight points.
