Zach LaVine’s rookie roller-coaster was at a high point Saturday night in San Antonio and dipped again Monday against Golden State.

The Timberwolves’ starting point guard recorded his first career double-double with 22 points and 10 assists against the Spurs.

“The biggest thing in looking at the game again, and when you watch him play, he looks like he belongs,” Wolves coach Flip Saunders said.

Against the Warriors, LaVine had nine points, eight assists and six turnovers.

“He had a rough night,” Saunders said. “They are a good defensive team.”

One of LaVine’s fundamental mistakes has been jumping in the air to pass the ball.

“That’s one of his bad habits, and he got caught in that probably about four times,” Saunders said. “It definitely didn’t help.”

LaVine has been helping his cause by acting like he’s been there before.

“He believes that he should be there and he plays like he should be there,” Saunders said before Monday’s game. “When he does have problems, it’s because of just his size and physicality and the game at times. That’s going to improve with him.”

At 6-foot-5, 183 pounds, LaVine has had other highs, including a game- and season-high 28 points against the Los Angeles Lakers on Nov. 28.

There have been other lows, too. In two recent games, he played less than 15 minutes, with no assists Wednesday against Philadelphia and Nov. 30 at Portland.

Saunders said the difficulty comes from trapping or switching defenses that are new to LaVine.

“Those are things that he hasn’t seen yet,” Saunders said. “He’s having to go through it. The more he goes through it, the better he’s going to be.”

LaVine, 19, became the fourth teenager to record a 20-point, 10-assist game in the NBA. The other three are LeBron James (eight times); Dajuan Wagner and former Wolves player Stephon Marbury (each three times).

Golden State coach Steve Kerr was asked about the necessity of patience when working with teenagers.

“You mean because the guys are like 13 years old when they start playing?” Kerr asked. “Yeah, probably. It’s just hard to tell.”

Kerr said the early returns on LaVine have been positive.

“LaVine looks fantastic out there, and they show him up close and you’re like, ‘Wow, he’s just a kid!’ ” Kerr said. “But he’s playing well and who knows? He might be one of those guys who gets it right away and age doesn’t matter.”

Playing hurt

Wolves forward Shabazz Muhammad was limited in Monday’s game due to a balky left ankle.

“We were trying to limit him,” Saunders said. “He did some good things. I just didn’t want to take a chance with where we are at.”

Muhammad still finished with 14 points in 18 minutes. It was his fifth double-digit scoring output in his past six games.

Despite the ankle issue for the last few games, Muhammad is averaging 17.3 points on 57 percent shooting in those six games. He shot 4 of 8 from the field Monday and was 6 for 6 from the free-throw line.

Briefly

Saunders provided a glimpse in the recovery time for center Nikola Pekovic (ankle and wrist). “I would say he’s still 10 days away,” Saunders said. … Corey Brewer had five first-half steals Monday, equaling the most for a Wolves player since Kevin Garnett had six during a game in 1999.

Follow Andy Greder at twitter.com/twolvesnow.