Karl-Anthony Towns contributed 26 points and 18
rebounds as Minnesota won for the third time in its past six
games. The Timberwolves improved to 16-43 and no longer have the
worst record in the NBA, handing that dubious distinction to the
Houston Rockets (15-43).
Harrison Barnes and Maurice Harkless each scored 20 points while
Chimezie Metu had 16 as Sacramento lost for the 10th time in the
past 11 games.
After a convincing victory Sunday over the Dallas Mavericks, the
Kings (23-35) revived their Western Conference play-in
tournament hopes briefly, but they are now six games behind the
10th-place San Antonio Spurs with 14 games remaining.
The Timberwolves trailed by as many as six points early in the
fourth quarter before making a late push to end a seven-game
road losing streak. Minnesota went on a late 14-0 run that was
capped by a Towns layup with 2:31 remaining to take a 128-115
advantage.
The Kings welcomed fans back to their home arena for the first
time since March 2020, and the teams made sure to put on an
offensive show from the outset. The crowd was estimated at
1,600.
The game was tied 74-74 at the break, with Minnesota just
missing out on the lead when Towns' 3-pointer from inside half
court was ruled to have come just after the buzzer. The Kings
shot 52 percent in the first half while the Timberwolves shot
50.9 percent.
Minnesota kept up the torrid pace, shooting 56.7 percent from
the field in the game and 41.9 percent (18 of 43) from 3-point
range. Sacramento shot 45.4 percent in the game and 42.9 percent
(18 of 42) from long distance.
Jaden McDaniels added 13 points for the Timberwolves, and Josh
Okogie and Naz Reid had 10 each. Ricky Rubio dished out 11
assists for Minnesota.
De'Aaron Fox and Delon Wright scored 14 points each for the
Kings. Hassan Whiteside finished with 12 points and seven
rebounds in just his third start of the season.
--Field Level Media
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