|
 Forward Shabazz Muhammad drained a 3-pointer from the corner with
five seconds left to pull Minnesota within one before Collison made
two from the charity stripe.
Minnesota inbounded the ball at half court and got Daniels a good
look, but his shot missed.
The victory snapped a brief two-game losing skid for the Kings, but
was just their third win in their past 12 games.
For Minnesota, the loss was its 10th straight.
The Kings opened the game with an 8-0 run and pushed their lead to
double digits less than five minutes in.
The early energy on offense made the Timberwolves chase the rest of
the game. Minnesota would tie the game once in the third quarter and
once more in the fourth, but could never wrestle a lead away.
"We did some good things in the game tonight," Kings coach Tyrone
Corbin said. "Offensively, we did a great job. We shot 54 percent
and scored 110 points. But to get them down after they shot 50
percent in the first half, I thought our defense got better."
Down five with 5:43 to play in the fourth, rookie guard Andrew
Wiggins scored four straight points, including an impressive
spinning drive into the lane for a lay-in to make it a 99-98 game.
The Wolves forced a turnover and tied the score for the final time
on a free throw by forward Thaddeus Young, but he missed the second
free throw, and forward Derrick Williams drilled a three to give
Sacramento the lead for good.
"We needed that," Williams said. "With Rudy and DeMarcus being out,
we needed a big win. Obviously with our two best players being out
with fouls and that just means other guys on the team gotta step
up."
All five starters finished in double figures for Sacramento, led by
Collison and forward Rudy Gay, who each finished with 21 points.
Gay scored seven in-a-row for the Kings before fouling out with 4:20
to play, but also turned the ball over eight times, a career high.
Sacramento got 19 points inside from center DeMarcus Cousins, who
was also in early foul trouble. Cousins got his fourth personal foul
early in the third quarter then re-entered at the start of the
fourth, only to pick up his fifth only 10 seconds in. He fouled out
with 2:46 remaining.
"To finish the game without DeMarcus and Rudy on the floor, the guys
showed a lot of resolve and really fought to win this game," Corbin
said. "It was good to see."
Highlight reel dunks by guard Ben McLemore on back-to-back
possessions gave the Kings a 12-point lead and a slam by Gay put
Sacramento ahead 29-16 with two minutes left in the first.
The Kings shot nearly 78 percent from the floor over the first 12
minutes and led 37-29.
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"Defensively, you can't let a team shoot 70 percent," Wolves coach
Flip Saunders said. "They shoot 70 percent and we're down four, I
was trying to figure out how that happened. I was surprised we were
even in the game."
Minnesota closed the first half on an 8-2 run, led by rookie guard
Andrew Wiggins' game-high 21 first-half points, to pull within
60-58.
Gay and Cousins were each in double figures; Gay with 14 points and
Cousins chipping in with 12 points and four rebounds.
Five straight points by Collison put the Kings' lead back into
double figures, and Sacramento led by as many as 12 midway through
the third. But Minnesota closed the quarter with eight straight
points to make it a four-point game heading to the final quarter.
"We got some key stops, but at the end of the day, they were just
matching our shots," Daniels said. "(Kings players) were hitting
shots from everywhere. If we can narrow that down, we'll be fine."
Minnesota pulled back within three points with nine minutes to play,
but a three-point play by Gay pushed the Kings' lead to six and
swung momentum.
Wiggins led all scorers with 27 points. He also had nine rebounds.
Muhammad and center Gorgui Dieng each finished with 15 points. Dieng
also chipped in with 10 rebounds.
Minnesota's bench outscored Sacramento's 35-18, led by Daniels' 11
points. Jeff Adrien scored a career high 10 points.
NOTES: For the fifth game in a row, Sacramento was without G Ramon
Sessions (lower back strain). ... Kings F Eric Moreland sat out his
third consecutive game due to a shoulder injury. Basketball Insiders
reported that Moreland will undergo season-ending surgery Saturday
to repair a labral tear. ... Sacramento F Omri Casspi (knee) also
did not play. ... Timberwolves C Nikola Pekovic will have an MRI
exam on his injured right ankle last week. Pekovic missed all but
nine games this season with ankle and wrist injuries.
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