DeRozan leads Spurs past Wolves 112-108

SAN ANTONIO — DeMar DeRozan had 28 points in his San Antonio Spurs debut, LaMarcus Aldridge added 21 points and 19 rebounds and the Spurs overcame a 23-point performance by Minnesota's Jimmy Butler in a 112-108 victory over the Timberwolves on Wednesday night (Thursday, PHL time) in a matchup of teams coming off a tumultuous offseason.

DeRozan was acquired from Toronto Raptors after the Spurs responded to Kawhi Leonard's trade demands by dealing their star forward and Danny Green for the Raptors' All-Star guard and Jakob Poeltl.

Minnesota is facing a similar trade demand from Butler, who has opted to play through it. Butler, who has told Minnesota that he will not resign with the team in the offseason, added seven rebounds and three assists in an active 31 minutes.

DeRozan banked in the eventual game-winning shot in the final minute against Butler, driving hard to the basket against the 6'8" forward and then pulling up from 12 feet to give San Antonio a 110108 lead with 32.4 seconds remaining. DeRozan sealed the victory with a pair of free throws with 7.8 seconds remaining after Minnesota's Derrick Rose missed a runner in lane.

Jeff Teague scored 27 points and Andrew Wiggins added 20 points for the Timberwolves.

Rudy Gay had 18 points and Bryn Forbes had 11 points in his first start at point guard for the Spurs.

San Antonio led by as many as 11 points in the first half, but Minnesota went on a 12-4 run late in the second quarter to pull within 48-46 and shift the early momentum. Butler, Teague and Wiggins were the only players to score during that run.

Karl-Anthony Towns picked up his third foul with two minutes left in the first half and fouled out with 4:18 remaining in the game and the Spurs up 99-92. Towns finished with eight points and nine rebounds in 22 minutes.

UP NEXT

Timberwolves: Cleveland on Friday (Saturday, PHL time).

Spurs: Host on Saturday night PHL time).

Host night

Portland (Sunday,

Eight teams, including one from Malaysia, are expected to participate in the Negros Occidental Football Association (NOFA) MassKara 9-A-Side Festival at the Sta. Maria football field in Talisay City.

The competition will be divided into two groups.

Group A is comprised of Iloilo FC, Erco Cebu FC, Real Negrense FC, and Bacolod United; while Group B includes BG Products Manila, Dynamic Builders FC, Bacchus FC, and Malaysia outfit X Mail Malay FC.

“This event will further develop camaraderie and establish friendship among the participants, as well as strengthen our partnership with neighboring Asian countries,” said tournament organizer Dave Javellana./JSG,

WDJ

Eric Gay) (AP Photo/ San Antonio Spurs guard DeMar DeRozan (10) shoots over Minnesota Timberwolves guard Jimmy Butler (23) during the first half of their NBA basketball game, Wednesday, October 17, 2018, in San Antonio.

(PIO photo) NOFA MassKara 9-A-Side Festival organizers and representatives from Malaysian football team X Mail Malay FC, who will be participating in the tournament, paid a courtesy call on Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia at the Bacolod City Government Center earlier this week. Also present was Bacolod City Councilor Ricardo Tan.