If only the Timberwolves had known that the end of their game against the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night was going to be a mirror image of the beginning of the game, they could have smashed, ditched or otherwise lost the mirror.

Then again, their performance was ugly enough to crack it, all by itself.

The Wolves' inability to effectively run their offense in the opening minutes foreshadowed their failures at the end of an 85-77 loss to the Spurs at Target Center. Throwing the ball past the baseline customers early gave way to clanging up forced shots late or not even getting one at all, as the Wolves (39-19) squandered a chance to gain a tiebreaker against a Midwest Division rival crawling up their backs.

Tim Duncan scored 25 points and David Robinson added 18 as the Spurs (37-21) outscored the Wolves inside, 54-26, to split the season series between the teams 2-2.