MINNEAPOLIS, April 30 -- San Antonio's "Twin Towers" came up big Monday night , but Danny Ferry scored 14 of his 16 points after halftime and hit three clutch 3-pointers down the stretch as the Spurs posted a 97-84 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves to win their first-round series in four games and advance to the NBA's Western Conference semifinals.
Tim Duncan and David Robinson controlled the paint and the tempo of the game, but Minnesota stayed close until Ferry exploded for 11 points in the third quarter as San Antonio opened a 71-61 lead with 55 seconds left.
The Timberwolves closed within a basket on back-to-back 3-pointers by Anthony Peeler with 5:31 left in the fourth quarter, but Robinson sank two jumpers around a Minnesota turnover to pad the lead. Minnesota climbed back within 79-75, but Duncan made two free throws and, after Peeler missed another 3-pointer, Ferry drained one from the left corner to open an 84-75 lead with 3:15 remaining. Duncan scored five points in the final 2:29 to secure the victory for San Antonio, which defeated Minnesota in four games on the way to winning the NBA title in 1999.
Duncan, who saw limited minutes in Game Three due to foul trouble, had 24 points and 16 rebounds but made just 8-of-23 shots from the floor. He was 8-of-12 from the line. Robinson scored 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting and grabbed 14 boards.
The Timberwolves were knocked out in the first round for the fifth consecutive season. Wally Szczerbiak scored 20 points and Kevin Garnett 19, but the duo combined for just five points in the final period for Minnesota. Terrell Brandon had 17 points, six rebounds and six assists as the Timberwolves fell to 5-15 all-time in the playoffs.
After coming up big down the stretch in Minnesota's Game Three victory, Peeler did not score until his 3-pointers with less than six minutes to go and finished with eight points on 3-of-12 shooting.
