MINNEAPOLIS – Kawhi Leonard scored 31 points and the San Antonio Spurs improved to 13-0 on the road this season with a 105-91 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night.
Leonard hit 11 of 15 shots after not scoring at all in the first quarter and Patty Mills scored 15 points off the bench for the Spurs (18-4), who played without Tony Parker after he bruised his left knee against Milwaukee on Wednesday night. San Antonio overcame a slow start to shoot 52.7 percent.
“Now I have game experience under my belt,” Leonard said. “That’s what you need to get better, get comfortable – see the ball go through the net in the game.”
The Spurs moved past the 1969-70 New York Knicks to take sole possession of the second-best road start to begin a season in NBA history. The Golden State Warriors started 14-0 last year.
“Maybe there’s just a little extra focus when we go into someone else’s arena,” Mills said. “It’s hard to put your finger on it.”
Zach LaVine scored 25 points for the Timberwolves. Karl-Anthony Towns had 11 points and 14 rebounds, but shot just 3 of 16.
“You have to eliminate all the ways in which you beat yourself first,” Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau said. “So we have to understand that, we have to improve in that area.”
With seven new faces on the roster and Tim Duncan no longer there, it’s been an adjustment for the Spurs this season. They haven’t been their usual precise selves, but here they are with the second-best record in the league, tied in the win column with the Warriors (18-3).
The Timberwolves erased a seven-point deficit with less than a minute to play to beat Charlotte on Saturday night, but Leonard buried a pair of 3-pointers to end the threat Tuesday.
In other results, Orlando thumped Washington, 124-116; New York clobbered Miami 114-103; Detroit walloped Chicago, 102-91; and Memphis held off Philadelphia, 96-91.