Aldridge's double-double leads Spurs by Timberwolves, 107-99

 LaMarcus Aldridge had 25 points and 10 rebounds, and the San Antonio Spurs held on for a 107-99 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night while opening the season without leading scorer Kawhi Leonard.

The Spurs were without Leonard and Tony Parker, but they had enough to hold off the revamped Timberwolves.

Minnesota bolstered its young lineup with the addition of veterans Jimmy Butler, Jamal Crawford, Taj Gibson and Jeff Teague. The quartet helped the Wolves rally from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter, but the Timberwolves only managed two field goals after taking a 92-91 lead with 5:02 remaining on an 18-foot jumper by Butler.

Butler finished with 12 points and Crawford had 10. Andrew Wiggins led Minnesota with 26 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 18.

Aldridge had one of his most complete games with the Spurs, two days after signing a three-year, $72 million extension. He shot 9 for 21 from the field and had four assists.

He was limited to five attempts in the first quarter as the Spurs did not go out of their way to get the ball to their 6-foot-11 forward, but instead let him ease into the contest.

It's part of San Antonio's plans to make Aldridge more comfortable after two frustrating seasons with the Spurs.

Aldridge's running dunk on a bounce pass from Manu Ginobili gave the Spurs a 100-92 lead with 1:42 remaining.

Ginobili finished nine points and four assists, including a 3-pointer within a minute of entering the game midway through the first quarter. Ginobili received a huge ovation similar to the one he got in the team's final game last season when fans were not sure if he would return.

Danny Green added 17 points while shooting 3 for 7 on 3-pointers. Dejounte Murray had 16 points, five rebounds and two assists while starting in place of Parker.

TIP-INS

Wolves: Minnesota's last victory over San Antonio came April 8, 2014, in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves have lost 12 straight to the Spurs and eight straight in San Antonio. . After being one of the league's youngest teams the past few seasons, Minnesota has only one rookie on its roster this season, 7-foot center Justin Patton. . Patton missed the season opener while recovering from surgery on his left foot.

Spurs: San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said there is no timetable for Leonard's return from right quadriceps tendinopathy. . Parker plans on returning in mid-November from left quadriceps tendon surgery. . San Antonio swept all four games against Minnesota last season, winning by an average of 9.0 points. . San Antonio is coming off back-to-back, 60-win seasons, the first time in franchise history they have achieved that feat. . The Spurs have won 128 regular-season games since Aldridge joined the team, which is the best two-year span in the franchise's history. The second-best mark came the two years prior to Aldridge's arrival, when the team won 122 games.

UP NEXT

Wolves: Host Utah on Friday.

Spurs: Visit Chicago on Saturday.

Green sparks short-handed Grizzlies over Timberwolves 107-99

The excuses were right there for the Memphis Grizzlies. End of a 10-day trip, second night of back-to-back, three key players getting the night off.

They were having none of it, the latest chapter of toughness in a franchise history rich with it.

JaMychal Green scored a career-high 29 points and the short-handed Grizzlies grinded out a 107-99 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.

Mike Conley added 20 points and eight assists for the Grizzlies, who rested Marc Gasol, Tony Allen and Chandler Parsons on the second night of a back-to-back. The Grizzlies scored 21 points off of 13 turnovers by Minnesota and only turned it over 10 times.

"We all had kind of excuses to make up to lose a game, but guys didn't use that," Conley said. "We said, `We're playing for something.'"

Karl-Anthony Towns had 27 points and 16 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who have lost three straight after showing some signs of life. The Wolves led by 18 points in the first half, but were outworked the rest of the way on a day they lost Zach LaVine for the remainder of the season with a knee injury.

"We got too comfortable with the lead," Towns said. "We felt like we were just cruising to the victory line and we stumbled along the way."

The Grizzlies may have been resting three key players, but they still had Conley. The clutch point guard directed traffic, got his lesser-celebrated teammates involved early and then made his move late. His three-point play with 4:23 to go put Memphis up 88-82. And Green gobbled up two misses down the stretch for putbacks to power Memphis to the win.

The Wolves started the day with some devastating news when LaVine's MRI revealed a torn ACL. A sullen locker room pregame showed the concern for a very popular teammate, but Minnesota built an 18-point lead early in the second quarter on the strength of superior ball movement.

The flow ground to a halt for much of the next two quarters, and Vince Carter hit back-to-back 3-pointers for an 11-point lead midway through the third.

Andrew Wiggins scored 23 points, but shot just 9 of 22 for Minnesota.

"It was a tough day. But we still have to be ready to play," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "We all felt the disappointment in (LaVine's injury), but no one is going to feel sorry for us. We have to be ready to roll."

TIP-INS

Grizzlies: Zach Randolph had nine points and 10 rebounds in 30 minutes, but fouled out midway through the fourth. ... Green hit all 12 of his free throws and Memphis shot 39 in the game.

Timberwolves: PG Kris Dunn did not play for the second straight game because of an injured right hand, but the Timberwolves said he was available to play if he was needed. ... Seldom-used PF Adreian Payne was out for the second straight game because of an illness. ... Gorgui Dieng had 13 rebounds.

MEMPHIS RESTS

It was the second time this season Memphis has rested key players on a trip to Minnesota. Gasol and Conley did not play in November and the Grizzlies lost by 36.

Memphis coach David Fizdale was asked about fans that pay to see the best players, only to be disappointed.

"That's above my pay grade there," Fizdale said. "That's something the NBA is going to have to deal with and face and figure out. Whether it's shortening the schedule or something like that. That's way out of my realm. I'm just more about what helps our team and what wins games for us and what gives us the best chance to play longer. That's what a lot of teams are doing right now."

GREEN SHINES

Green's previous career high of 21 came against New Orleans and former No. 1 pick Anthony Davis. On Saturday night, he battled Towns, the No. 1 overall pick two years ago.

"I live for them," Green said of those matchups. "I always want to guard the best player. Tonight I had the opportunity to make him guard me."

UP NEXT

Grizzlies: heads home to host San Antonio on Monday.

Timberwolves: plays the second of a six-game homestand on Monday against Miami, which has won 10 straight games.

Conley, Gasol lead Grizzlies over Timberwolves 102-98

The David Fizdale era as Memphis coach didn't get off to a glowing start.

The end of his opening night was much more enjoyable.

The Grizzlies climbed out of a 16-1 hole, put together 16 straight points early in the second half and beat Minnesota 102-98 on Wednesday night, spoiling Tom Thibodeau's debut as Timberwolves coach.

Memphis, which still trailed with 1:45 remaining, closed the game on an 11-5 run to seal the win for Fizdale, the former Miami Heat assistant who was hired to replace Dave Joerger in the offseason.

"You noticed I kept my poise," Fizdale said of the anemic start that caused him to call a pair of early timeouts. "I was squirming on the inside, but I just knew our team just had some big-time jitters."

Mike Conley scored 24 points and Marc Gasol added 18 to lead the Grizzlies in the season opener for both teams. Zach Randolph, in his new role as a reserve, had 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Andrew Wiggins led the Timberwolves with 25 points, while Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 21. Zach LaVineadded 19 points.

Thibodeau found some good things for his team, particularly the fast start, but noted his young players need to finish.

"When we go back and we look into it, we're going to see that the defense wasn't good enough," Thibodeau said. "The rebounding wasn't good enough. The turnovers weren't bad, but, you know, some of the mental mistakes got us down the stretch."

TIP-INS:

Timberwolves: Minnesota connected on eight of its first 10 shots. ... Rookie Kris Dunn, the fifth overall pick, made his NBA debut near the 4-minute mark of the first quarter. He finished with eight points after hitting all three of his shots in the first half. "I think I'm starting to get comfortable," he said, "so I wasn't really nervous. But, you know, playing in a crowd like that, it was great."

Grizzlies: G Vince Carter is the oldest player currently in the NBA at 39 years and 274 days. He entered the game in the first quarter, moving him into 26th place on the career games played list with 1,275. He passed Terry Porter. ... Memphis is 2-14 in home openers. The only win before Wednesday was in 2014 over Minnesota.

SUCCESSFUL OPENING

Fizdale became the first Memphis coach to win his debut since Tony Barone Jr. won his first game in the middle of the 2006-07 season, serving as interim coach after Mike Fratello was fired.

FAST START

After the 16-1 start, Minnesota would eventually lead 20-3, its largest lead of the night. "We were playing the exact game plan we wanted coming in," Towns said. ".We were playing defense at a high level. We were playing quick, the way we wanted to play."

FIRST-AID LIST

Memphis played without F Brandan Wright (left ankle) and Chandler Parsons (right knee rehab), who were inactive. G Tony Allen (right knee) dressed, but was ruled out before the game.

UP NEXT

Timberwolves: Continue on the road to open their season, facing the Sacramento Kings on Saturday.

Grizzlies: Will follow their home opener with their first road game of the season, facing the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden on Saturday.