SAN ANTONIO – About 75 minutes before the game against the Spurs, the Timberwolves locker room was mostly empty. Jimmy Butler, wearing headphones, getting dressed and singing a loud version of singer Chris Young's "Losing Sleep."

"Yeah we're winning, we're losing, when we're losing sleep," Butler crooned, out of tune.

Butler may have caused a lot of insomnia, but it was not until Wednesday, but it was unlikely that it seemed as if it was making a difference. ago.

Almost as improbable was the Wolves played after an awful preseason, just falling to the Spurs, 112-108, at AT & T Center.

But the Wolves were hardly downtrodden after the game. Coach Tom Thibodeau said he liked the team's "spirit," while Butler said he liked the players' energy. Nobody knew what to expect from the Wolves with Butler back in the fold for now. The result was not a calamity, and that was good enough for now.

"Everybody is a little bit rusty, including myself," Butler said. "Everybody missed easy shots, but we took the right ones, shared the ball. … We take the best things from this and that's our energy and how hard we played for 48 minutes. "

Butler, who finished with 23 points on 9-for-23 shooting, tied the score at 108 with 42.1 seconds remaining on a three-pointer corner. DeMar DeRozan (a game-high 28 points) followed by a runner on the other end to the spurs the lead, then iced the game with a pair of free throws after Derrick Rose missed on the Wolves' last attempt to tie.

LaMarcus Aldridge wrought havoc inside with 21 points and 19 rebounds. He had made room to work thanks to Karl-Anthony Towns' foul trouble. Towns fouled out with 4:18 to play after 22 minutes and only eight points.

"I was very happy just to see all the weightlifting I was getting to fruition," Towns joked after the game. "To see those bicep curls coming into effect was great."

Towns 'jovial mood was not atypical in the Wolves' locker room. There was reason for encouragement. Andrew Wiggins, who got off to a woeful start, turned it around to score 20 points. Jeff Teague had 27 points on an efficient 12 shot while Gorgui Dieng's attempts (12 points) were solid off the bench in place of Towns.

At the opposite end of the locker room of Towns was Butler, much better than pregame, as well as a postgame meal of chicken and asparagus.

"We did not know what to do," Butler said. "We came up short. We did not do that. But you learn from it. We got 81 more of these. "

As if realizing what he let slip out, Butler flashed a sly smile. Does he have 81 more games with this team?

"You got 81 games, baby. That's all that matters, "Butler said. "We got to lock in on today. What is happening, see where we're at. If that comes to be, there's nothing I can do about it. But in the meantime, I got to figure out a way to help us win some games. "

They almost figured it out.