SAN ANTONIO - Now all the Timberwolves must do with that second-round pick they acquired before Tuesday's 117-99 loss at San Antonio is find a guy like Manu Ginobili.
The Spurs drafted Ginobili 57th overall in the 1999 draft, well after such now-forgotten names as William Avery, Quincy Lewis and Trajan Langdon were selected.
A decade later -- after persevering through a list of maladies that include ankle, hamstring, groin injuries and a bat bite on Halloween night this season -- he continues to twist and spin and gyrate the Spurs to victory.
On Tuesday, he did it with a 14-point, 10-assist, nine-rebound performance off the bench on a night his team once again proved playing hard is as important as talent and experience.
The Spurs ended the Wolves' two-game winning "streak" by building leads of 16 points by halftime, 19 by late in the third quarter and 24 by the time fewer than seven minutes remained in the game. The Spurs tied a season high by scoring 66 first-half points.
"Did he really?" Wolves forward Kevin Love asked when told Ginobili was one rebound shy of a triple-double. "Quiet. But I guess he's just a great player. He's one of those guys who can be quiet and still do that."
He did so with an energy Wolves coach Kurt Rambis would like his team, someday, to play with every night.
"He just creates so much havoc with his energy," Rambis said. "His ability to crash the glass, get steals, play defense, shoot the long shots, penetrate, find guys open. He just plays an unorthodox style of basketball that makes it very difficult to cover him. He plays his butt off.
"He just plays so hard all the time. That's one of the reasons he has to be physically healthy because when he's healthy, he can play that way. In some instances, he's an offense onto himself. They let him out there and he creates things."
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