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 That it helped the Kings to a rare victory in another lost season
was a small bit of satisfaction.
"At least it was a victory, that's the most important thing," Casspi
said after his career-high 31 points helped pace Sacramento to a
116-111 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves at Sleep Train Arena
on Tuesday. "It was a fun game. My teammates got me the ball, I
found my rhythm early and it was good. I'm happy it was in a win."
Wins have been all too few for both Sacramento and Minnesota, which
entered the contest with a combined 42-110 mark this season. The
Kings (27-50) will miss the playoffs for the ninth straight season,
while the Timberwolves (16-61) have lost at least 60 games for the
first time since the 2010-11 campaign.
But Casspi's hot shooting -- he made 12 of 20 shots and was 4-for-6
from 3-point range -- and a 33-point night from Rudy Gay helped the
Kings build a 19-point lead fourth-quarter lead en route to snapping
a five-game losing streak.
Sacramento also made history when, with 16 seconds left, they
inserted center Sim Bhullar into the contest. Bhullar, who last week
signed a 10-day contract, became the first player of Indian descent
to appear in an NBA contest.
"I told him 2 billion (people in India) are looking up to him,"
Casspi said. "I told him to enjoy the ride, be the best role model
possible and have fun with it."
Gay, back after missing three games with concussion symptoms after
being injured March 30 in Houston, was 9-for-17 shooting and also
pulled seven rebounds for Sacramento, which played without center
DeMarcus Cousins. The Kings' leading scorer and rebounder sat out
with a sore right foot and is unlikely to play Wednesday at Utah.
"The game had a lot of flow to it, and because of that, it was
probably easy for him to get shots that he liked," Kings coach
George Karl said of Gay. "He also had somewhat of a good matchup for
both size-wise and post-up wise."
Casspi surpassed his previous career-best of 24, set on Jan. 5,
2010, for the Kings against Phoenix.
Guard Kevin Martin led the Timberwolves with 37 points, matching his
season-best, and also added seven assists. But he couldn't prevent
Minnesota from losing its sixth consecutive contest. The
Timberwolves dressed only nine players.
Forward Andrew Wiggins, the favorite to take home NBA Rookie of the
Year honors, finished with 24 points and six rebounds for the
Timberwolves, and rookie forward Zach Lavine contributed 21 points
and 11 assists.
"We kept on fighting back, but we just didn't set the tone early
enough," Minnesota coach Flip Saunders said. "As bad as we played,
from the perspective of not rebounding the ball well and them
shooting a high percentage, basically it's a three-possession game."
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Minnesota scored 13 straight points early in the fourth quarter to
reduce a 93-74 deficit to just six points with 9:15 left. But a free
throw by Kings forward Jason Thompson and short jumpers by Gay and
guard Ray McCallum built the lead back to 98-88. The Timberwolves
could get no closer than five points the rest of the way.
"That's one thing about this team," Martin said. "We're always going
to play hard. ... We're in a turbine right now, but it's a process."
That run, as well as control by the Kings underneath, kept Minnesota
at arm's length. Sacramento outrebounded Minnesota 49-36, and
outscored them 23-15 on second-chance points.
Former Minnesota forward Derrick Williams had 18 points and eight
rebounds for the Kings, and McCallum added 13 points and a
career-high nine rebounds.
The Kings beat Minnesota in all three contests this season and has
won four consecutive contests against the Timberwolves dating to
last season.
NOTES: Sacramento improved to 4-14 without Kings C DeMarcus Cousins
in the lineup. Cousins must play in two of Sacramento's final five
games to avoid missing more games this season than in his first four
seasons combined. Cousins, Sacramento's leader in scoring (24.1
points per game), rebounding (12.7), steals (1.53) and blocks
(1.76), has played only 59 contests this season. ... Minnesota coach
Flip Saunders has not ruled out a return for F Kevin Garnett this
season. Garnett (sore left knee) missed his 14th consecutive game
Tuesday. ... Kings F Carl Landry sat out while serving a one-game
suspension from the NBA. Landry came off the bench during a
confrontation between Kings F Derrick Williams and Utah C Rudy
Gobert in the fourth quarter Sunday. ... Timberwolves C Nikola
Pekovic, who missed his 14th straight game, will have surgery on his
right Achilles tendon Wednesday. ... Cousins and F Rudy Gay, the
Kings' two leading scorers, have not been on the floor together in
four straight games. Both played in only five of Sacramento's past
14 contests.
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