Spurs’ Mitch Johnson gets real after physical loss to Timberwolves

That Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs held a 19-point lead and started the night with the first 16 points actually weren’t the toughest aspects of a 104-103 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Mitch Johnson outlined the Silver and Black’s troubles, especially in the fourth quarter.

“We’ve got to match it,” the Spurs coach said of the Wolves’ physicality.

“There’s nothing there where you say, ‘Oh, we’re out of our weight class, so we can’t compete’ or creating leads for passes, securing rebounds, getting through screens, those are probably the most physical things I think that I can remember right now in terms of where we weren’t good enough and they made us pay,” Johnson continued.

San Antonio took a 14-point lead into the final period before Minnesota outscored them 33-18.

“There’s mental things, but they’re very physical. That’s a strength of theirs. That isn’t something where I don’t think we’re outmatched in the paint where we have to counter other than being physical back,” the first-year head coach added.

Though Wemby scored a game-high 29 points in just 27 minutes, he didn’t hit a field goal in the closing frame, mustering just five throws while playing nearly eight minutes in the quarter. Timberwolves big man Julius Randle used his 6-foot-9, 250-pound frame to keep the generational superstar off balance, sometimes preventing him from touching the ball. One of Wembanyama’s misses came with 6.6 seconds remaining on an attempt that would have given the Spurs the lead before De’Aaron Fox missed at the buzzer.

Julius Randle defense on Victor Wembanyama, Target Center crowd loves it pic.twitter.com/DzAdmTJiWo

— Timberwolves Clips (@WolvesClips) January 12, 2026

“They get really physical at the end of games,” Johnson emphasized.

Spurs fall to Timberwolves for second time this season

The loss to Minnesota marked the second for San Antonio. The first resembled the latest. On November 30 in a game also in Minneapolis, the home team outscored the Spurs by 17 in the fourth quarter of a 125-112 victory.

“They’re a really good team. We’ve played some competitive games with them,” Johnson said. “I think that’s what makes them a tough match-up, is they have a knack for turning it on when they get down a little bit or when it gets to be crunch time, and they’re a tough out. And I thought they got the better of us, obviously, for sure in the fourth quarter.”

The Spurs’ 18 points in that final period marked their lowest of the game.

“The ball got stagnant, missed some shots,” the Western Conference Coach of the Month for December admitted before he returned a familiar refrain,” but I think the most disappointing thing, again, was the physicality on that end. They picked up the physicality, pushed us off our spots.”

Anthony Edwards’ banker with 16.8 seconds left proved to be the game-winner. The Timberwolves superstar finished with a team-high 23 points. Randle’s 15 points also gave the Spurs fits defensively.

“Couple times we were not on the same page in terms of passer and catcher and creating the lead and timing. They get credit for that,” Johnson continued. “I think that was mostly due to their physicality and trying to initiate contact on the plays. We have to be able to play through that in a way that matches their physicality, but still has some poise and composure offensively and we lacked that unfortunately, mentally and physically.”

At 27-12 and 26-14, respectively, following the outcome, San Antonio and Minnesota sit among the top four teams in the West.

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