Mitch Johnson gets real after physical loss to Timberwolves

That Victor Vembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs held a 19-point lead and started the night with the first 16 points actually weren’t the most difficult aspect of a 104-103 loss to Minnesota Timberwolves. Mitch Johnson highlighted the silver and black’s problems, especially in the fourth quarter.

“We have to match that,” the Spurs coach said of Wolves’ physicality.

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

San Antonio led by 14 points in the final period before Minnesota outscored them 33-18.

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

Although Wemby scored a game-high 29 points in just 27 minutes, he didn’t hit a field goal in the final stretch, collecting just five shots 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, at times preventing him from touching the ball. One of Vembanyama’s failures it came with 6.6 seconds left on a shot that would have given the Spurs the lead before De’Aaron Fox missed the buzzer.

Julio Randle’s defense on Victor Wembanyama, the Target Center crowd loves it pic.twitter.com/DzAdmTJiVo

— Timberwolves Clips (@WolvesClips) January 12, 2026

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

The Spurs fell to the Timberwolves for the second time this season

Marked defeat by Minnesota the second for San Antonio. The first looked like the latest. The home team outscored the Spurs by 17 in the fourth quarter, 125-112, in a game also in Minneapolis on November 30.

“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 matchup, because they have the ability to turn it on when they’re down a little bit or when it’s crunch time and they’re in a tough car. And I thought they beat us, obviously, certainly in the fourth quarter.”

The Spurs’ 18 points in that final period marked their game-low.

“The ball stagnated, missed a few shots,” Western Conference Coach of the Month for December he admitted before firing back the familiar chorus, “but I think the most disappointing thing, again, was the physicality at that end. They picked up the physicality, pushed us out of our seats.”

Anthony Edwards’ banker with 16.8 seconds left proved to be the game-winner. The Timberwolves superstar finished with a career-high 23 points. Randle’s 15 points also helped the Spurs get back on the defensive end.

“We weren’t on the same page a couple of times in terms of passing and catching and creating leads and timing. They deserve credit for that,” Johnson continued. “I think it was mostly because of their physicality and trying to initiate contact on plays. We’ve got to be able to play it in a way that matches their physicality, but still has a little bit of poise and composure on offense, and that’s been lacking, mentally and physically, unfortunately.”

In 27-12 and 26-14, respectively, after the outcome, San Antonio and Minnesota are among the top four teams in the West.