SACRAMENTO- The Kings were down five players tonight. Omri Casspi and Marco Belinelli were out because of injury while Rudy Gay, Kosta Kofous and Darren Collison sat on the sideline just to rest. This might have played a factor in the loss tonight as Sacramento was out hustled and out rebounded.
The Kings’ biggest fault in tonight’s game was giving up offensive rebounds and way too many second chance opportunities. Portland score 26 second chance points and had 19 offensive rebounds. Somehow, the Kings lost while shooting over 50% in the game.
DeMarcus Cousins started off the game and dominated with 18 first half points. Cousins finished the game with 30 points to tie Mitch Richmond for the most 30 point games in a season with 26.
Rajon Rondo had a huge night himself with his sixth triple double of the season to set the all time Sacramento record. Rondo recorded a season high 27 points, 12 assists and 10 boards. However, the big nights from the Kings top players was just not enough. Even though the Blazers made less field goals than Sacramento, they made nine more free throws. Portland gave themselves way more opportunities than the Kings to score on the offensive end and yet again Sacramento’s defense was below par.
Not to mention, the Kings turned the ball over 19 times, which led to 24 points in Portland’s favor. As the final buzzer sounded, Portland won 115-107.
The Kings gave a pretty good effort against the playoff bound Blazers and even cut the lead down to one with plenty of time left in the fourth quarter. The Kings got themselves in trouble thanks to a Cousins’ technical foul, his 17 of the season, as well as a tech on Quincy Acy.
On an inbounds pass, Acy pointed from the bench and the ball hit his hand causing interference and a technical.
Portland’s Maurice Harkless played a huge role in the Blazers’ win with a great second half. Harkless scored all of his 20 points in the second half. The Kings were up 57-51 at the half, meaning Harkless half was pivotal to the win. Damian Lilliard added 20 for the game.
CJ McCollum, who was once on the Kings draft radar, had a game high 30 points going 11-20 from the field and 5-10 from behind the arc. McCollum continues to improve and solidify him and Lilliard’s case as one of the best starting backcourts.
Sacramento will take on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday at 7 p.m. Minnesota just defeated the Golden State Warriors tonight. The Kings will played their second to last game ever at Sleep Train Arena and hopefully they can get a couple more wins in the historical arena.
picture credit: NBAE– Minnesota Timberwolves Karl Anthony Towns (32) goes up on the Sacramento Kings Wednesday night
SACRAMENTO- The Kings had to play without DeMarcus Cousins after he injured his right knee in Monday’s contest in Chicago. As the Kings headed into tonight’s game, the team has struggled all season when he hasn’t suited up. Without the All Star center in the lineup, the Timberwolves looked to capitalize on that with their rookie center Karl Anthony Towns.
Towns had a huge game as DMC watched from the sidelines. The missing presence of Cousins in the middle allowed Minnesota to score a total of 64 points in the paint.
Sacramento was able to stay in the game for most of the game thanks to Rajon Rondo. Rondo totaled 14 points in the first quarter alone for his highest total in a quarter all season. The point guard kept the Kings in a good position all through the first half, as the T-Wolves led 50-48.
Minnesota broke it open in the third quarter as the the T-Wolves shot 70% from the field in the quarter. Sacramento was unable to play tough defense and allowed their opponent to out score them by ten in the quarter. Minnesota would lead 84-72 to end the the third.
The Kings did however try to make a come back to start the fourth. They were able to go on a 15-5 run and get the score to within two points at 89-87. But Minnesota was able to hit A 6-0 run and open their lead back up. After getting back ahead, the T-Wolves never looked back and won by nine, 113-104.
The Kings turned the ball over 17 times, which led to 22 points for Minnesota. Towns totaled 26 points and 11 rebounds. Andrew Wiggins and Zach Lavine both added 23 more as the T-Wolves shot 56.3%. The Kings turnovers cost them the gave as they did get some good production out of other players. Kosta Koufus scored 15 points and grabbed 15 boards for a double double as he started in place of Cousins . Rondo finished with a team high 25 points and added 8 rebounds and 12 assists.
The three young Minnesota players dominated the Kings offensively and Sacramento missed DMC’s presence. With the season winding down, it could be interesting to see if the Kings can win a couple ball games for pride maybe just want to get a better lottery pick.
The Kings will head back to Sacramento after their 4 game road trip. They’ve struggled at home in the past month, but hopefully the team can pull out a couple more wins as the arena’s days come to an end. The Kings take on the Suns at home on Friday, March 25, at 7 p.m.
UPI photo: Golden State’s Draymond Green goes for a bucket as the Warriors just get by the Minnesota Wild on Monday night
The Warriors had their hands full with the young and tall Minnesota TimberWolves Monday night at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson did not shoot well for the second game in a row, but Draymond Green and the bench picked up the slack as the Warriors won a thriller 109-104. The Warriors were looking to rebound from the loss in San Antonio Saturday night. The Spurs had crept to trail the Dubs by just three games in the race for home-court advantage in the Western Conference. Minnesota entered the game with a record of 22-47. The Dubs have on the T-Wolves the last couple of seasons and most people would think that this game would be a breeze for Golden State. Those people would be wrong as the Wolves played the Dubs tough. The T-Wolves big four, Ricky Rubio, Karl-Anthony Towns. Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine accounted for eighty-eight points. The Warriors bench, on the other hand, outscored the Minnesota bench 36-8. Andrew Bogut missed his third straight game with an injured toe. Andre Iguodala did not play as he is recovering from an ankle sprain. Festus Ezeli is still not ready to return from knee surgery, but reports indicate that he will be returning to practice next week.
The Warriors had their hands full with the young and tall Minnesota TimberWolves Monday night at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson did not shoot well for the second game in a row, but Draymond Green and the bench picked up the slack as the Warriors won a thriller 109-104. The Warriors were looking to rebound from the loss in San Antonio Saturday night. The Spurs had crept to trail the Dubs by just three games in the race for home-court advantage in the Western Conference. Minnesota entered the game with a record of 22-47. The Dubs have on the T-Wolves the last couple of seasons and most people would think that this game would be a breeze for Golden State. Those people would be wrong as the Wolves played the Dubs tough. The T-Wolves big four, Ricky Rubio, Karl-Anthony Towns. Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine accounted for eighty-eight points. The Warriors bench, on the other hand, outscored the Minnesota bench 36-8. Andrew Bogut missed his third straight game with an injured toe. Andre Iguodala did not play as he is recovering from an ankle sprain. Festus Ezeli is still not ready to return from knee surgery, but reports indicate that he will be returning to practice next week.
The Warriors and the Wolves played a very tight first period. Neither team could get a big lead and the Warriors trailed by two 29-27 after the first twelve minutes of play. It was the sam story in the second period. Neither team could get much going but the Dubs were able to lead by three 61-58 at the half. Golden State had seventeen assists and just three turnovers in the half. They were able to score fourteen points due to several Minnesota turnovers. Steph and Draymond led the Dubs in scoring with ten apiece. Mo Speights had eight of the bench and James Michael McAdoo, who started the game, contributed seven. LaVine, Towns, Rubio and Wiggins did most of the scoring for Minnesota.
In the third period, Minnesota was able to take an 89-83 lead but the Dubs came back and tied it at 89 at the finish of the third period. In the fourth period, the dubs defense put the clamps on the Minnesota offense and limited them to just fifteen points. The Warriors offense wasn’t much better as they scored twenty points but it was enough to secure the win. Draymond Green made two clutch layups in the final stanza. Klay and Steph also made four key free throws to help the Dubs win. Final score 109-104.
Game Notes- Steph finished the game with a double-double. He had nineteen points, eleven assists, and seven rebounds. Draymond had twenty-four points, nine rebounds and six assists. Klay Thompson scored seventeen. He made five three-point shots and two free throws. However, he was 0-for-9 from the floor.
Minnesota’s Big Four had Rubio with twenty, Towns with twenty-four, Wiggins twenty-five and LaVine nineteen. The Dubs bench received contributions from Mo Speights, Shaun Livingstone, Leandro Barbosa, Brandon Rush and Anderson Varejao. The bench contributions were the difference in the game.
The Warriors improve their season record to 63-7 with twelve games left to play. They play nine games at Oracle and just three on the road. The Dubs won for the thirty-first time on the road. They became the eleventh team in NBA history to achieve the feat. The Charlotte Hornets beat the San Antonio Spurs 91-88 to help the Dubs increase their lead to four games in the race for home-court advantage.
Next up for Golden State will be the Los Angeles Clippers Wednesday night at Oracle Arena.
Sacramento – The momentum that the Sacramento Kings brought with them when they returned home from a five-game road was lost on Friday night when they were defeated by the Minnesota Timberwolves 101-91.
If you like uptempo basketball with plenty of 3-point shooting, then this game would have been to your liking. The ball crossed the mid-court line in three to five seconds on each possession and there was a total 47 three-point attempts in the game.
What was missing for the Kings in the game was defense in the first half and offense in the second half.
In the first half, the Kings allowed the T-Wolves to shoot 54.3-percent (19-for-35) from the field. Minnesota shot 53.8-percent (7-for-13) from 3-point range. The Kings generated just enough offense to keep the game close. At the half, the Timberwolves held a 53-47 lead over the Kings.
The Kings defense improved in the second half but their offense went away. Sacramento was unable took take the lead in the second half. The Kings did cut the T-Wolves lead to just two points early in the fourth quarter, but they were unable to capitalize on their effort as Minnesota opened up double-digit leads with less than six minutes left to play.
The Kings desperately needed to put together a run of six to eight points but were unable to do so. As the fourth quarter progressed, Sacramento was relegated to trading baskets with their opponents. In the end, the Kings just ran out of time.
Sacramento (6-11) was without DeMarcus Cousins who dressed for the contest but did not play due to a lower back strain. The Kings are now 1-6 when Cousins is not in the lineup.
The Timberwolves (8-8) have become true road warriors. Minnesota is now 6-2 on the road for the season.
Kings
Rajon Rondo was the workhorse for the Kings again in this game. Rondo recorded a double-double putting up 16 points and distributing 16 assists. He made 7-of-16 field goal attempts and shot 1-for-2 from beyond the 3-point line. Rondo did not commit a turnover in his 36-plus minutes on the floor.
Marco Belinelli was the Kings leading scorer with 17 points off the bench. He shot 7-for-12 from the floor and hit 3-of-5 three-point attempts. Belinelli has scored in double-figures in each of the last five games.
Kosta Koufos had a solid game for the Kings posting a double-double scoring 16 points and pulling down 13 rebounds.
Omri Casspi was strong off the bench for Sacramento once again. Casspi scored 15 points shooting 6-for-10 from the floor including two 3-pointers.
The shock of the night was the play of Rudy Gay. He shot 1-for-13 and scored just two points in 26-plus minutes of playing time. Much of the credit for Gay’s subpar performance can be credited to Andrew Wiggins who played tough defense against the Kings star forward all night long.
As a team the Kings shot 43.0-percent (37-for-86) for the game. They made 8-of-22 three-point attempts. The glaring statistic of the night was the Kings free throw shooting or rather the lack there of. Sacramento averages 23 free throw attempts per game. The had just 15 attempts on Friday night converting just nine of those attempts.
In order to close the scoring gap in the second half, the Kings needed to drive the lane, pick up fouls and score with the clock stopped. They were unable to make that happen.
The Kings were out-rebounded by the T-Wolves. Minnesota pulled down 46 rebounds to just 36 for Sacramento.
The Kings dished out 21 assists while turning the ball over 15 times. The 15 turnovers resulted in 16 points for Minnesota.
Timberwolves
The T-Wolves leading scorer was second-year forward Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins scored 22 points hitting on 8-of-17 shots. He went 5-for-6 from the free throw while grabbing six rebounds. Wiggins also showed off his defensive prowess by helping to hold Rudy Gay to just two points.
Zach LaVine started at point guard for the injured Ricky Rubio. LaVine scored 19 points, hauled in eight rebounds and had four assists for the T-Wolves.
The NBA’s number one overall draft pick Karl-Anthony Towns had a relatively quiet night. He scored just seven points but he did record eight rebounds.
Shabazz Muhammad put up 15 points off the bench and the ageless Andre Miller scored 12 points playing as the backup point guard.
The Timberwolves shot 48.1-percent (33-for-77) from the floor and made 9-of-25 (36.0-percent) 3-point shots. The T-Wolves converted 18-of-19 (94.7-percent) free throw attempts.
Minnesota posted 20 assists and 18 turnovers. Their turnovers resulted in 19 points for the Kings.
What they said after the game
“Tonight was a struggle. A struggle offensively in the second half, defensively in the first half,” said Kings head coach George Karl. “First half, I had all sorts of trouble with our defense. We just don’t have a luxury with Cuz (DeMarcus Cousins) not playing to not give an effort defensively. I thought the second half effort was there defensively, but offensively we were just frustrated and confused.”
“We need to give them (Minnesota) credit. They played hard tonight. They are a talented team, but that was a very winnable game for us. At the same time, we have to turn the page and move on and learn from our mistakes,” said Kings center Kosta Koufos.
When asked about how it felt to reach .500 (8-8) Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins said, “It feels good. Especially, when we were three games out of it then we won the last three games, so we’re picking it up. We’re getting better every game so it feels good.”
Up next
The Kings will have no time to sit and ponder their next moves to improve their play. Sacramento travels to Oakland to take on the 17-0 Golden State Warriors Saturday night. Playing DeMarcus Cousins against the Warriors will probably be game-time decision.
The Timberwolves travel to Los Angeles to face the Clippers on Sunday in the finale of their two-game road trip.
The Golden State Warriors finished the five-game road trip Wednesday night by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 94-91. The Warriors have won five of the last six games but they look like a tired team as the motion game has slowed down and the passing is not as crisp as it has been earlier in the season. The Warriors, however, will be getting a chance to rest as they are off until February 20th because of the NBA All-Star break.
The Warriors have not played up to their standards especially in the last three games against the New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers and now the Minnesota Timberwolves, All three teams are having a woeful season and the Warriors should be blowing them out but that did not happen and they were lucky Wednesday night as they blew a 14 point lead with just 7:30 left to play in the game.
The Dubs were led by Steph Curry. Curry had 25 points on 9-for-23 shooting and had 8 assists.
Draymond Green, who was questionable due to an ankle sprain, had 8 rebounds in the win. Andre Iguodala and Leandro Barbosa came off the bench to put some spark in the game and were big factors helping The Dubs to the victory. Iguodala was 4-for-4 from the floor and Barbosa added 10 points but those two sparked the second unit that made up for the sluggishness of the starters. With the win, the Warriors now have a 42-9 record, which is the best record in the NBA as the Atlanta Hawks were beaten by the Boston Celtics.
The Warrior bench outscored Minnesota’s bench 32-14. The T-Wolves were led by Marco Rubio and Nikola Pekovic. Pekovic had 17 points and 13 rebounds but missed a layup with 7.9 seconds left in the game that would have put Minnesota in the lead.
After the game, coach Steve Kerr had this to say " Amazing, amazing recordReally proud of the guys, and I’ve never seen a group of guys that needed the All-Star break more than this team.We’re so out of whack now.We’re tired, We’re not making our cuts. We’re not getting good shots for each other. The ball has stopped moving and we need a rest, and fortunately we’ll get one. "
The Warriors next game will be in Oakland at the Oracle Arena on February 20th against the San Antonio Spurs.
The Sacramento Kings snapped their two-game road skid on Thursday night using an opportune matchup against the cellar dwelling Minnesota Timberwolves, battling their way to a 110-107 victory.
After dropping consecutive games to Brooklyn and Boston, the Kings used a balanced scoring attack that saw all five starters in double digits to down the Timberwolves, who are currently tied for the second worst record in league with just 5 wins on the season.
Rudy Gay and Darren Collison led the team with 21 points a piece, while DeMarcus Cousins followed closely behind with another strong showing, posting 19 points and seven rebounds in the winning effort.
But despite the scoring outbursts from the Kings’ starting five, another weak night from Sacramento’s bench allowed Minnesota to make it an interesting game down the stretch. Sacramento had lost both of their key starters in Gay and Cousins with the score tied at 99, with just a little over 4 minutes left to play.
But Collison came up clutch for the Kings down the stretch, sinking two key free throws that forced Minnesota into a last second three pointer that missed its mark, securing the win for Sacramento in the tight contest.
Rookie standout Andrew Wiggins had an impressive showing for Minnesota, posting 27 points and nine rebounds while keeping the Timberwolves within striking range.
After dropping the first two games of the roadtrip, Sacramento can now finish the four game series with a 2-2 showing, as they look to keep their win streak alive against the Detroit Pistons on Sunday.
OAKLAND — Stephen Curry scored a game-high 25 points to go along with six assists helping the Golden State Warriors shake off a two-game losing streak with a comfortable 110-97 victory over the struggling Minnesota Timberwolves Saturday night in front of 19,596 at Oracle Arena.
Klay Thompson added 21 points and five rebounds for Golden State, who out-shot Minnesota 46.6 to 44.2 percent from the field. Golden State led as much as 27 points in the fourth quarter, and forced Minnesota into 25 turnovers while committing just 14 turnovers.
Even with sporting the NBA’s best record at 24-5, Golden State has been brought back down to earth recently with back-to-back losses in Los Angeles to the Lakers and Clippers respectively. Warriors first-year head coach Steve Kerr, who is an even-keel guy, has voiced his frustration with his team’s lack of focus and commitment during games, but seemed satisfied after the game.
“I told our guys, `If we want to win in May and June, we have to play every possession,” Kerr said. “You just can’t completely lose focus and throw the ball where nobody is. Or maybe at a guy with a different color jersey. I was dumbfounded with some of the stuff that I saw. But as I said, a lot of great stuff, too.”
Thompson is clearly on board with what Kerr is trying to preach to his team.
“We’re still growing and we’re still getting there. I completely understand where Steve’s coming from,” Thompson said.
“I just think our team has a tendency, at times, to want to put on a show instead of just making the right play,” Kerr said. “What they need to understand is making the right play will provide the show.”
Minnesota (5-24) didn’t look like a team that wanted to be on the court.
Small forward Thaddeus Young scored 17 points, talented rookie Zach LaVine added 12 points and a game-high 14 assists, while Troy Daniels finished 14 points off the bench for Minnesota, who dropped their eighth straight game.
Rookie Andrew Wiggins finished with 10 points. Point guard Ricky Rubio missed his 24th straight game due to a sprained ankle.
Golden State has dominated the Northwest Division this season, improving to 6-0 on the season. With the win over Minnesota, Golden State have won nine straight home games, their longest home winning streak since the 1994 season where they won 10 straight.
The Warriors will have a chance to tie that 10-game home winning streak Tuesday with Michael Carter-Williams and the Philadelphia 76ers visiting Oracle Arena.
Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports is reporting the Sacramento Kings are interested in trading the number eight draft pick and an unnamed player package to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Kevin Love. Of course, the Kings are not the only NBA team interested in Love.According to Yahoo:
The Sacramento Kings have let the Minnesota Timberwolves know they are interested in trading for All-Star forward Kevin Love – and the Kings would make a deal without any assurance from Love he’d re-sign with them, a league source told Yahoo Sports.
The Kings are willing to give up their eighth overall pick in this year’s NBA draft and a combination of players for Love, even though he would not be expected to sign a contract extension before next season – if ever, with the rebuilding, small-market franchise, the source said. Sacramento envisions Love and DeMarcus Cousins playing alongside each other in the front court. Swingman Rudy Gay has a player’s option for next season.
The Kings know they’d have to gamble on convincing Love to re-sign, given that the franchise is rebuilding and Love is looking to play for a contender after never reaching the playoffs with the Timberwolves. Love’s suitors also figure to include a number of bigger markets, including the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets and Chicago Bulls.
Love’s representatives with Excel Sports have pushed Timberwolves president Flip Saunders to find an acceptable trade prior to the start of free agency in July. Without a trade, Love plans to opt out of his contract in the summer of 2015 and likely leave Minnesota as a free agent.
The Kings showed in their first season under new owner Vivek Ranadive and general manager Pete D’Alessandro they are willing to spend money. They acquired Gay and signed Cousins to a four-year, $62 million extension.
Sacramento struggled to a 28-54 record last season and missed the playoffs for the eighth straight season. The Kings expect to begin playing in a new downtown Sacramento arena in 2016.
The Kings have not issued any reaction to the Yahoo Sports report.
Love has never played in a post-season game in the NBA. He most likely wants to be traded to a contender. A team that is just one player away from competing for the NBA Championship. That does not describe the Sacramento Kings who must first make the playoffs before thinking about playing for a title.
The Kings have become an aggressive team when it comes to acquiring personnel. Going after a Kevin Love is admirable but not realistic at this time. The packaging of the eighth pick for a veteran impact player is a logical move if the right player is available. If a fair trade cannot be arranged then it’s time to choose the best available player on draft night.
The next 30-days will be active ones for the Kings player personnel department.
The Sacramento Kings and the Minnesota Timberwolves met in Sacramento on Sunday night in a game that meant nothing in the standings. Both clubs are out of the playoff picture. The only thing that was on the line was pride. The Kings and T-Wolves brought plenty of pride to the game and put on a hard-fought show for the big crowd which went home happy because the Kings won the game 106-103.
The Kings were led by the outstanding play of DeMarcus Cousins who scored 35 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and handed out six assists. It was Cousins’ 53rd double-double of the season. He shot 13 of 21 from the field and was 9 of 13 from the free throw line.
Cousins’ brilliant play was not the biggest story of the night for the Kings’ center. With one-minute and 13-seconds left in the game, Cousins picked up his 16th technical foul of the season which means he will be suspended for the Kings’ final game of the season versus Phoenix. Cousins had played with the 15 technical fouls hanging over his head since February 25th.
The Kings can and will appeal to the league office who can overturn the call. Head Coach Michael Malone said, “I feel for him. (We will) try to get it rescinded.
Rookie Ben McLemore played with abandon on offense and defense. McLemore scored 19 points and shot 3 for 6 from beyond the 3-point arc. On defense, McLemore held Kevin Martin and Robbie Hummel to just five points combined.
To the delight of the fans, Isaiah Thomas returned to the floor after missing 10 consecutive games with a right quad contusion. Thomas was very productive in his 30-minutes of playing time. He scored 14 points and dished out four assist.
The Timberwolves were led by Kevin Love’s 43 points and 11 rebounds. Love was 15 of 17 from the free throw line. Love had a relatively quiet first-half scoring just 13 points. He really came alive in the second-half and was the leader on the floor for Minnesota.
Rookie Center Gorgui Dieng had a spectacular game through three quarters. He picked up his fourth foul and was quiet after that. Dieng scored 21 points, pulled down 14 rebounds and had four assists.
After the game Kings Head Coach Michael Malone said, “(It was a) hell of an effort for our guys. (We) played better in the second half. Happy to get this win after losing five in a row.”
The Kings will play their final game of the season on Wednesday night in Sacramento against the Phoenix Suns who battling for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Kevin Martin scored 31 points and Kevin Love hit for 26 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and distributed five assists as the Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Sacramento Kings 104-102 on Sunday night in Minneapolis.
Isaiah Thomas led the Kings with 27 points and Derrick Williams put up 26 points off the bench to take the game down to the wire with Timberwolves. Rudy Gay added 14 points, but it would not be enough to get a win in the seventh and final game of the 13-day road trip.
The Kings started the game with a major disadvantage having to play without DeMarcus Cousins in the lineup. Cousins was suffering from knee tenderness. Cousins is almost a guaranteed double-double in every game he starts which means a significant of number of points and rebounds must be covered by the other starters and the bench.
Nikola Pekovic was unable to go for the Timberwolves due to an ankle problem.
The Timberwolves jumped out to an early 13-6 lead as the Kings looked out of sync on both offense and defense which forced an early timeout call. The Kings looked better for short period after the timeout but then began to give up fastbreaks and easy points to Minnesota.
Derrick Williams – the former Timberwolf – came in with the second unit for the Kings and immediately provided a spark by scoring 10 points on just three shots. The Kings were able to close the gap and trailed the Timberwolves by just three points – 32-29 – after one quarter of play.
The Kings did not start the second quarter well as it took them 2:29 to put up their first points which was another bucket by Derrick Williams. The Kings closed the Minnesota lead to just two and took the lead 39-38 on a Derrick Williams three-point play. After a timeout, Rick Adelman put his first unit back on the floor to face the Kings. Michael Malone chose to keep his second unit out versus the Timberwolves’ first unit.
The Kings and Wolves then began trading baskets and fouls staying within three points of the other team. The game also switched to a half-court offensive contest. The Kings’ defense prevented the Timberwolves from setting up for the fastbreak. The Kings using some inspired play from Rudy Gay and Williams were able to go to the locker room with a 54-53 lead.
Derrick Williams scored 16 points in just 11 minutes of play for the Kings in the first-half. Reggie Evans scored eight points and Rudy Gay added seven points. Isaiah Thomas put up five points and dished out six assists. The Kings had 12 assists versus seven turnovers. The Sacramento bench outscored the Minnesota bench 30-4.
The third quarter began with Kevin Martin and Kevin Love shooting the ball well and allowing the Timberwolves to retake the lead. Gorgui Dieng was very active on defense plugging up the middle and swatting away shots. The Kings then turned it on with Isaiah Thomas tying the game at 69 all.
Isaiah Thomas really turned up the effort scoring 13 points in the third, but the Love, Martin and Dieng combination was very strong allowing the Timberwolves to take the lead 77-74 after three quarters.
The Kings came out in the final period with Williams and McCallum hitting buckets and giving the Kings the lead 78-77. When the Timberwolves had not scored after two minutes, Rick Adelman took a timeout.
The teams proceeded to trade buckets and the game remained tied or within two points of the other team for the next few minutes. Derrick Williams showed the Minnesota fans what they gave up when he was traded to Sacramento by scoring nine quick points.
Kevin Love scored four quick points to give the Wolves the lead, but Thomas and Williams kept the Kings in the game and within one point with 1:26 left to play. The Kings took the lead on two free throw shots by Williams. Love gave Minnesota the lead back with a 3-point shot. Ricky Rubio opened up a three point – 98-95 – lead for the Wolves hitting one of two free throws with 41 seconds left to play. The Kings missed on three opportunities and Minnesota went to the free throw line with 16 seconds left to go. Kevin Martin hit the two free throws and it was 100-95 with 16 seconds to play. Isaiah Thomas hit a 3-point shot to bring the Kings within two points of the lead. Kevin Martin was fouled and hit two free throws. Thomas hit another 3-pointer to make it 102-101 Timberwolves. Martin hit two more free throws and Thomas hit from the charity stripe to make it 104-102 Minnesota. Dieng was fouled and missed both shots with 1 second to go. Rudy Gay took a full court shot that missed and the Timberwolves won the game 104-102.
The long and arduous road trip is finally over. The Kings headed back to Sacramento and will host the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night.
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