MINNEAPOLIS -- Kawhi Leonard scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half and hit the go-ahead jumper with 54 seconds to play to help the San Antonio Spurs to a 100-93 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night.
LaMarcus Aldridge scored 26 points for the Spurs, who remained three games behind Golden State for the top seed in the Western Conference. San Antonio scored 35 points off of 23 turnovers by Minnesota and held off a fourth-quarter rally from the Wolves.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 25 points and 14 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who have lost four straight games to fade from playoff contention in the West. Andrew Wiggins scored 22 points and Shabazz Muhammad scored 16 of his 18 points in the second quarter for Minnesota.
San Antonio trailed by nine at halftime, but turned up the defensive pressure in the third quarter to grab control. Held to just two points in the first half, Leonard scored 12 in the third and the Spurs forced 10 turnovers by the Wolves in a 31-16 frame.
The Spurs led 88-80 midway through the fourth quarter when Leonard had to go to the bench after getting whacked in the face by Gorgui Dieng. That opened the door for the Wolves, who outscored the Spurs 8-4 while their MVP candidate was on the bench.
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Wiggins threw down a big dunk in traffic to ignite the rally and Towns converted a three-point play to put the Wolves up 93-92 with 2:04 to play.
Leonard responded with an 18-foot jumper and Wiggins missed a good look on the other end that would have put Minnesota back in front.
TIP-INS:
Spurs: F David Lee did not play because of a sore left foot. Lee said he expected to be ready to go against Memphis on Thursday. ... Leonard has scored in double figures in 97 straight games, the longest streak by a Spur since David Robinson did it in 157 straight from 1994-96. ... Pau Gasol added 11 points and six boards.
Timberwolves: The team announced it will unveil its new logo on April 11. The Wolves also will get new uniforms as part of a rebrand under Nike next season.
HAMMON'S CHANCE:
Spurs assistant Becky Hammon reportedly is in the running for the women's head coaching job at Florida, and coach Gregg Popovich said she has been "an integral part of what we do and been a fantastic coach for us." Lee pronounced her "more than ready" to run a program. A former Gator, Lee said he offered his assistance to her if she had any questions about the school.
When the Spurs hired Hammon, the belief was she may one day become the first female head coach in the NBA.
"If anybody's going to do it, it would be her," Lee said. "She has a great disposition."
BJELICA UPDATE:
Timberwolves forward Nemanja Bjelica had surgery on Tuesday to repair a fractured navicular bone in his left foot. The team said the surgery went as expected, but did not put a timetable on his return.
Bjelica was injured in a game against Boston last week, removing a key bench player for a Timberwolves team lacking in depth to begin with. The Wolves signed Omri Casspi to take some of his minutes down the stretch, and he played 22 minutes in his debut on Tuesday night.
UP NEXT:
Spurs: San Antonio begins a four-game homestand on Thursday against Memphis.
Timberwolves: Minnesota starts a two-game road trip in Los Angeles against the Lakers on Friday.
