In the midst of its January swoon, one of Minnesota’s more befuddling losses was a defeat in San Antonio at the hands of the hapless Spurs.

The Wolves made certain no such disaster occurred Tuesday. Playing without Karl-Anthony Towns — who missed the game for personal reasons — Minnesota controlled play for nearly the entire way in its 114-105 home victory over San Antonio at Target Center.

Victor Wembanyama electrified Target Center in the first quarter with a nifty triple off the bounce and an attempt at finishing a bucket off the backboard on a play in which he was fouled. But Minnesota (41-17) did a nice job locking down the No. 1 overall pick from there.

He finished with just 17 points, though he did add 12 boards and three blocked shots.

Frankly, Minnesota flummoxed the young Spurs (11-48) for most of the evening. San Antonio often had trouble even generating a shot. The Spurs were forcing passes that weren’t there, frustrating by Minnesota’s suffocating defense. That resulted in San Antonio committing 21 turnovers that led to 27 Minnesota points.

The game wasn’t competitive, though the final score suggests otherwise. The Wolves led by as many as 24 points before committing a series of silly turnovers and bad shots that allowed San Antonio to get as close as six in the game’s final minute.

Anthony Edwards was productive in transition. The wing finished with 34 points on a night where it looked as though he’d exit in the second frame. Edwards appeared to badly turn his ankle coming around a screen. He had to be helped off the floor by a couple of assistant coaches. But Edwards emerged from the locker room after halftime and rejoined the action.

Those mid-game scares that turn out to be nothing have become seemingly weekly occurrences for the star guard.

Naz Reid added 22 points and Rudy Gobert had 12 points and 16 rebounds on a night where Kyle Anderson left the contest with hamstring tightness and did not return. That thinned out Minnesota’s generally deep front court, but Timberwolves coach Chris Finch noted Towns is expected back for the Wolves’ bout Wednesday with Memphis.