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Spurs top T'Wolves in OT for 12th straight win

Nov 25, 2010 - 5:02 AM Minneapolis, MN (Sports Network) - Manu Ginobili led a fourth-quarter rally and Matt Bonner drilled the go-ahead three-pointer with 49.7 seconds left in overtime, giving San Antonio its 12th straight victory, 113-109 over Minnesota.

The Spurs won despite another incredible effort from Kevin Love, who had a career-high 32 points and 22 rebounds for his second 30/20 contest of this season. He had 31 points and 31 boards in a win over the Knicks on November 12.

Ginobili scored 26, including 14 in the fourth quarter, as the Spurs came back from 21 points down to beat the Timberwolves for the 13th straight time. Richard Jefferson added 19 points and Tony Parker 18 for the Spurs, who moved to 13-1 on the season, extending their best start in club history. Tim Duncan recorded nine points and 13 rebounds for the Spurs, who didn't lead in the game until the extra session.

"I don't think it was a great game today, but the fourth quarter we started making a few shots," Ginobili said. "We adjusted defensively and we made a couple big threes. The one by Matt Bonner in overtime was huge, but we're not happy with the way we played. There were some key plays we got a little bit lucky."

Darko Milicic filled the stat sheet with 22 points, eight rebounds and five blocks, but he also accounted for seven of Minnesota's 18 turnovers. Wes Johnson finished with 15 points, while Michael Beasley chipped in 11 points and nine rebounds for Minnesota, which lost for the fifth time in six games. The Timberwolves haven't beaten the Spurs since January 3, 2007.

"It was very tough. We need to learn how to win ball games," Love said. "Sooner or later we're going to get our foot in the door and figure out how to do that. We played 3 1/2 great quarters of basketball and then just lost it down at the end. We made a couple defensive mistakes down the stretch."

Luke Ridnour nailed a three-pointer for a 100-94 Minnesota lead with 2:06 left in regulation, but the Timberwolves faltered down the stretch. Two free throws from Love boosted the margin to 106-103 with 19.1 seconds remaining, but Johnson fouled Gary Neal on a three-point try just three seconds later. After Neal made all three from the charity stripe, the game was even.

Ridnour had his drive blocked by Antonio McDyess in the waning seconds and the ensuing inbound pass was tipped away as the game went to overtime.

Anthony Tolliver's free throw had the T'Wolves up, 109-108, with 1:04 to go, but Bonner then spotted up from the right wing for a three-pointer and nailed the shot after receiving a cross-court pass from Ginobili. That gave San Antonio its first lead of the night.

Love, who was suffering from a leg cramp, tried to bring his team back, but his errant pass from under the hoop was picked off by Ginobili with 30.9 seconds left. Ginobili then lost the ball in the lane with 7.6 seconds left, giving Minnesota one last chance, but Love's desperation three-pointer was smothered by Ginobili. McDyess made two free throws with a second left to seal the victory.

Love scored 13 points in the opening quarter, helping Minnesota build a 33-18 lead after 12 minutes. It was 55-41 at the half and the hosts expanded the cushion to 64-43 three minutes into the third, following a Beasley jumper.

San Antonio whittled the deficit to 82-71 moving to the fourth and Bonner's three-ball had the Spurs within 87-85 with 6:49 left in regulation.

Game Notes

San Antonio's franchise-record winning streak is 17, which occurred February 29 - March 31, 1996...The Spurs are 6-0 on the road, which is the best start since a franchise-record 7-0 in 2006-07...George Hill had 12 points for the Spurs...Duncan has 11,466 career rebounds, moving him past Elgin Baylor (11,463) into 24th place on the NBA's all-time list. Patrick Ewing (11,607) is 23rd.