Timberwolves-Kings Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Mar 17 2012 4:36PM

The Minnesota Timberwolves need to pick up the pace if they want to stick around in the Western Conference playoff race.

While the Sacramento Kings have a ways to go to get back in the mix, they looked nothing like one of the weaker teams in the league their last time out.

Hoping to avoid a fifth loss in six games, the Timberwolves continue a seven-game road swing Sunday night seeking a third straight win over the Kings.

Lurking just outside of the playoff picture for much of the season, Minnesota (22-23) may be on the verge of falling out of contention. The Timberwolves have played the last four games without rookie standout guard Ricky Rubio, who suffered a season-ending torn ACL on March 9.

After opening its trip with a 127-124 win over Phoenix on Monday, Minnesota suffered a 111-105 overtime defeat to Utah on Thursday and fell 97-92 to the Los Angeles Lakers the following night.

Kevin Love had 27 points and 15 rebounds Friday for his NBA-leading 37th double-double, but the Timberwolves went 4 of 22 from 3-point range and fell below .500 for the first time since March 1.

"If you want to be in the playoff race, you have to go out and play like you really want to stay in it," coach Rick Adelman said.

"We have to have more urgency as a group. You can't talk about it. You have to do it. We have to go out in the last four games on this road trip and make a statement."

Sunday's matchup may give the Timberwolves their best chance to get back on track with visits to Golden State, San Antonio and Oklahoma City in store. After defeating Sacramento 99-86 on Jan. 16 behind Love's 33 points and 11 boards, Minnesota escaped with an 86-84 win Feb. 7 with Love suspended.

A third straight victory in the series, however, could be hard to come by if the Kings' latest effort is any indication. Sacramento is in 14th place in the West, but snapped a three-game skid with a 120-95 rout of Boston on Friday.

Marcus Thornton scored a season-high 36, Jason Thompson had 21 points and 15 rebounds for the second consecutive game and Isaiah Thomas added 13 points and 10 assists.

The Kings shot a season-best 53.5 percent from the field and held a 45-28 rebounding edge over the Celtics, who surrendered their highest scoring output in almost three years. Sacramento also scored 32 fast-break points.

"I think we made shots," said Thomas, averaging 14.5 points since moving into the starting lineup Feb. 17. "We're a young team that feeds off little things like that. If we're making shots, you can say we're going to have a good game."

While the Kings' overall efforts have left much to be desired, the team has held its own against some of the better clubs in the league. Sacramento is a combined 3-0 at home versus Oklahoma City, Dallas and the Lakers, and also defeated San Antonio on the road.

"I think that for some reason we play to the competition," Thompson told the league's official website. " ... When we get stops and finish with a rebound, we can run and when we run and get easy fast-break points, then it makes the half-court game easy."

Averaging 17.1 points, Tyreke Evans in uncertain to be available after sitting out Friday with a sprained left ankle. Minnesota's Michael Beasley is expected to return following a two-game absence due to a sore left toe.

Kings hand Wolves third straight loss

Posted Mar 18 2012 10:25PM

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) Despite having the second-worst record in the Western Conference, the Sacramento Kings are proving to be a dangerous offensive team of late.

Marcus Thornton scored 24 points for the Kings, who used a strong second half to beat the slumping Minnesota Timberwolves 115-99 on Sunday night.

It was the second straight impressive victory for the Kings (16-29), who humbled the visiting Boston Celtics 120-95 on Friday night. Thornton had 36 points against the Celtics and was a primary threat against the Timberwolves, but he had plenty of help with six players scoring in double figures.

"We're having fun right now, playing the game the right way," said rookie point guard Isaiah Thomas, who had made four 3-pointers and scored 18 points. "It's always nice when guys are knocking down shots. It makes it that much easier for me."

The Kings were tied at halftime, but gained the lead for good by outscoring Minnesota 33-25 in the third quarter. Sacramento quickly built on its eight-point lead after three quarters and the Timberwolves trailed by double digits for much of the fourth.

"We were giving them too much room on the perimeter and easy paths to the basket in the first half," Kings coach Keith Smart said. "I think we had them well above the 3-point line running their offense in the second half."

WIth center DeMarcus Cousins having an off night and minus injured starter Tyreke Evans, the Kings needed some additional help and got it from their bench. Chuck Hayes had a season-high 12 points and eight rebounds, and Donte Greene added 11 points for the Kings, who outscored Minnesota 25-17 in the fourth quarter.

"That's the bench's job, that's what we need to come in and do," Hayes said. "We need to come in with energy and enthusiasm and we did that tonight."

John Salmons scored 15 points and Jason Thompson had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Kings. The Kings are 4-3 on their franchise-high, nine-game homestand that concludes Thursday against Utah.

Kevin Love had his 33rd 20-10 game, scoring 21 points and getting 11 rebounds for the Timberwolves, losers of three straight and four of five. Derrick Williams had 16 points and nine rebounds, Martell Webster had 14 points, while Michael Beasley and Luke Ridnour had 13.

Love and reserve guard Jose Barea got into a brief shouting match on the bench late in the game. Minnesota, which is losing ground in trying to secure a berth in the Western Conference playoffs, is 1-3 on a seven-game road trip that concludes Friday in Oklahoma City.

"It's frustrating, but nothing personal against JJ," said Love, who made just 7-of-20 shots. "I think we were both frustrated and took it out on each other when we should have took it out on the other team. So both of us made mistakes and both of us feel bad."

The Kings ran off five straight points, including an impressive fast-break dunk by seldom-used rookie Tyler Honeycutt with just over four minutes left that brought the crowd to its feet. The surge put Sacramento in front 110-93 with 3:42 left.

Minnesota, which is 1-4 since rookie point guard Ricky Rubio was lost for the season with a torn ACL, committed 21 turnovers, shot 41 percent, and made only six of 25 3s.

"Everything we started off at the beginning of the season trying to avoid we did tonight," Minnesota coach Rick Adelman said. "I don't know how many second-chance points they had, but they continued to beat us to the rim. Their season has been tough and we talked about that before the game. If you let them get going in their own building they will be tough."

Ahead by eight points to start the fourth quarter, the Kings pushed the lead to 13. Hayes had the first four points of the quarter and Thornton made a jumper and added a 3-pointer a short time later, giving Sacramento a 99-86 lead at the 8:35 mark.

"They hit a lot of jumpers in that first half, so we needed to contest their shots better in the second half and we were able to do that," Greene said. "We got rebounds, and got out on the break for some easy baskets and were able to break the game open."

Evans, the Kings' second-leading scorer, missed his second straight game with a sprained left ankle. Although they both were in uniform, reserves Francisco Garcia (sprained right wrist) and J.J. Hickson (back spasms) didn't play.

The Timberwolves started Darko Milicic at center in place of Nikola Pekovic, who is bothered by a sore left ankle. Milicic was ineffective, getting two points and no rebounds in just six first-quarter minutes.

Thomas and Cousins both had nine points in the third quarter for the Kings, who led 90-82 heading into the fourth. But Cousins also picked up his fourth foul and went to the bench with just over four minutes left in the period.

The Kings came out fast in the third quarter, producing a 12-4 run. Thornton made a pair of free throws and followed with a 3-pointer, putting the Kings ahead 69-61 at the 8:26 mark.

After missing the previous two games with a toe injury, Beasley delivered off the bench against the Kings. Beasley made a 3-pointer on his first shot late in the opening quarter and continued shooting well in the second.

Salmons scored 13 points for the Kings, who outscored the Timberwolves 29-26 in the second quarter to pull even at 57 by halftime. Love and Beasley both had 11points for Minnesota.

Notes: Cousins got off to a slow start, missing all five shots and getting one rebound in a scoreless first half. . Adelman, the Kings head coach for eight seasons, was given a big ovation during introductions. Adelman was fired after guiding the Kings to a 44-38 record in 2005-06. The Kings have not had a winning season since his departure. . Rubio will be operated on this Wednesday in Denver. . The Timberwolves made all 17 free throws and the Kings finished 19 of 21.

Notebook: Kings 115, Timberwolves 99

Posted Sunday March 18, 2012 9:15PM

James Ham, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: The Sacramento Kings used a huge third-quarter spurt to put away the visiting Timberwolves on Sunday by the score of 115-99.

Marcus Thornton struggled with his shot early, but finished with a game high 24 points for the Kings. Rookie Isaiah Thomas had another strong game, hitting 6-for-10 from the field on his way to an 18-point performance. Jason Thompson recorded his third straight double-double, scoring 13 points and grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds.

Kevin Love put in a solid 21 points and 11 rebounds for the visiting Timberwolves, but it wasn't enough. The Kings struggled to defend both Derrick Williams and Michael Beasley for a stretch, but in the end, the Wolves couldn't match the home team's intensity.

QUOTABLE: "The NBA is a game of runs, especially if it's the first group or if it's the guys coming off the bench, if they're in a rhythm and a run, then you let them play it out. If it starts to die down a bit, then you start to make some changes, but if it's not broke, don't fix it."
--Thompson on both he and DeMarcus Cousins telling coach Keith Smart to leave the bench on the floor late in the victory.

THE STAT: Thompson is on fire while his parents have been in town visiting from Philadelphia. The fourth-year forward has put up three consecutive double-doubles and over that stretch and hit an amazing 24-for-29 (83 percent) from the field.

TURNING POINT: Thomas burst past J.J. Barea and laid the ball in to close the third quarter, giving the Kings the 90-80 lead going into the final frame. The Kings outscored the Wolves 33-23 coming out of the break and never looked back.

HOT: Thornton struggled early, going just 3-for-11 from the field in the first half, but he turned it around late. By the final horn, Thornton led all scorers with 24 points on 8-for-20 from the field.

NOT: Wesley Johnson struggled mightily tonight, finishing with two points on 1-for-6 shooting in 28 minutes. He also let Kings forward John Salmons get loose for 15 points.

GOOD MOVE: With less than five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and his team up 13, Smart left his bench in the game. They finished strong, including a couple of highlight-reel dunks by rookie Tyler Honeycutt and veteran Travis Outlaw.

BAD MOVE: Beasley was tough on the Kings early, scoring 11 points before the half on 5-for-8 shooting. The second half for Beasley was a nightmare. He hit just one of his eight shot attempts and finished the game with 13 points.

NOTABLE: Tyreke Evans missed his second straight game with a sprained left ankle. Nikola Pekovic was also a late scratch for the T-Wolves.

UP NEXT: For the Timberwolves, Monday @ Golden State, Wednesday @ San Antonio, Wednesday @ Oklahoma City. For the Kings, Tuesday vs. Grizzles, Thursday vs. Jazz, Saturday @ Golden State.

• Timberwolves: Pekovic, Rubio
• Kings: Evans

• Timberwolves: --
• Kings: --

• Lead Changes: 13
• Times Tied: 7

• Arena: Power Balance Pavilion, Sacramento, CA
• Officials: #8 Marc Davis, #11 Derrick Collins, #73 Tre Maddox
• Attendance: 15616
• Duration: 2:03