, who played without Tony Parker after he bruised his left knee against Milwaukee on Wednesday night. San Antonio overcame a slow start to shoot 52.7 percent. The Spurs moved past the 1969-70 New York Knicks to take sole possession of the second-best road start to begin a season in NBA history. The Golden State Warriors started 14-0 last year. Zach LaVine scored 25 points for the Timberwolves. Karl-Anthony Towns had 11 points and 14 rebounds, but shot just 3 of 16. With seven new faces on the roster and Tim Duncan no longer there, it's been an adjustment for the Spurs this year. They haven't been their usual precise selves, but here they are with the second-best record in the league, tied in the win column with the Warriors (18-3). The Timberwolves erased a seven-point deficit with less than a minute to play to beat Charlotte on Saturday night, but Leonard buried a pair of 3-pointers to end the threat Tuesday. TIP-INSSpurs: Leonard didn't make his first shot until 90 seconds into the second quarter. He missed just his 14th free throw of the season after coming into the game shooting 91 percent. ... LaMarcus Aldridge had just six points on 3-for-8 shooting and did not score until early in the third quarter. ... San Antonio shot just 29 percent and scored a season-low 19 points in the first quarter. Timberwolves: Andrew Wiggins was quiet for the Wolves as well. He scored 11 points on 5-for-12 shooting. ... Coach Tom Thibodeau received a technical foul for arguing with officials in the second quarter. ... PG Kris Dunn played well with 15 points on 6-for-7 shooting. LINE CHANGEThe Spurs starters got off to a terrible start after a narrow victory over the Bucks the previous night, so coach Gregg Popovich pulled all five starters with 7:30 to play in the first quarter and a 12-3 deficit. The bench unit of Mills, Kyle Anderson, Dewayne Dedmon, David Lee and Jonathon Simmons energized the team with a 14-3 run to get them back in the game. PARKER'S ABSENCEParker was injured when he knocked knees with a Bucks defender in the third quarter. The Spurs said he was listed as day to day, but Popovich seemed to indicate he could miss a stretch of time. Rather than the elevate veteran Mills to the starting lineup, Popovich wanted to keep the second unit intact and so he gave Nico Laprovittola, a rookie from Argentina, his third career start. Laprovittola scored 10 points in 22 minutes.'' We knew Tony was going to miss some games,'' Popovich said of the team's mindset going into the season. ''To have another person that has the courage and the experience to play that position is important.'' UP NEXTSpurs: San Antonio heads to Chicago for a game against the Bulls on Thursday in Gasol's first game there since he left for the Spurs in free agency. Timberwolves: Minnesota faces former coach Dwane Casey and the Raptors in Toronto on Thursday.)
Time: 08:00 P.M. EST Venue: Target Center The San Antonio Spurs have not lost a road game all season -- although that streak was certainly put to the test Monday in Milwaukee. Thanks to a big second half, the Spurs (17-4) erased a first-half deficit and edged the Bucks, 97-96, to improve to an impressive 12-0 away from San Antonio. The Spurs' road winning streak will be on the line once again Tuesday night in Minneapolis. For whatever reason, San Antonio is playing much better basketball on the road -- the Spurs are just 5-4 at AT&T Center this year. The reason why his team is barely .500 at home despite remaining perfect on the road has escaped head coach Gregg Popovich." If I knew, we wouldn't lose," Popovich told the San Antonio Express-News. San Antonio's lineup Tuesday will be worth watching as Popovich tries to keep his players healthy during a stretch of four games in seven days. There's a chance some players may be given rest against a Minnesota team that is just 6-15 on the season. Veteran guard Tony Parker returned to San Antonio's lineup Monday against Milwaukee after missing two games with a thigh contusion. In total, 13 Spurs players saw the court in Monday's narrow road victory. The young Timberwolves snapped a four-game losing streak on Saturday with a win over Charlotte. To make it two straight wins, the Wolves and coach Tom Thibodeau will have to top one of the best teams in the NBA. Minnesota has struggled to close out games this year, seeing many second-half leads disappear. That wasn't the case Saturday against Charlotte, however, as the Wolves escaped with a 125-120 overtime victory. Saturday's win allowed Minnesota to let out a sigh of relief after losing seven games in an eight-game stretch." I haven't smiled like that and felt that good in a while," Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns told the Minneapolis Star Tribune on Monday. "(Tuesday) was an amazing day. I haven't had a day like that. A lot of smiles, happy." Towns was a big reason for Minnesota's sixth win of the year. The second-year big man had 27 points and 15 rebounds, including six points in overtime. It was his 11th double-double of the year, tied for eighth most in the league. As the early-season losses have piled for the Wolves, Towns has tried to shoulder much of the blame on his own -- even though he's hardly the reason for Minnesota's inability to string together wins. In 20 games so far this year, the reigning NBA Rookie of the Year is averaging a double-double: 22.6 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. Given how hard Towns has been on himself, Saturday's win was particularly satisfying." The way we're losing, not getting blown out but making mental errors late in the game, it hurt us. It hurts me, especially," Towns told the Star Tribune. "To have a win like that, I'm finally able to smile, laugh a lot more and have my spirits up."
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