Timberwolves-Kings Preview

By ALAN FERGUSON
Posted Nov 26 2012 4:09PM

While Tyreke Evans' resurgence has lifted the Sacramento Kings, the Minnesota Timberwolves have yet to reap the full benefit of Kevin Love's return to the lineup.

The Kings hope to get another standout performance from their star guard Tuesday night as they seek a third win in four games and try to deal the Timberwolves a sixth consecutive defeat.

Evans has averaged 21.3 points and 52.5 percent shooting in the last four contests for Sacramento (4-9), which had dropped five in a row before taking two of three. He scored a season-high 27 points in a 108-97 victory over Utah on Saturday.

Evans averaged 11.6 points and 38.8 percent from the field in his first nine contests.

"If I miss one shot, I'm (still) trusting my shot. I've been coming here after the games and before games just to get extra shots up and it's working for me," he said.

With Evans' help, the Kings have topped 100 points and shot at least 50.0 percent in the past three games after averaging 91.2 points and 41.8 percent in their first 10.

"I think this team is always growing and learning," coach Keith Smart said. "I think it's going to be a process for us. We've shown we can compete and play with everyone. Now, our offense is catching up."

The Kings might have a chance to keep rolling against the Timberwolves, who have struggled to contain opponents lately. Minnesota (5-7) has allowing an average of 101.5 points in its last four games after giving up 88.5 in its first eight.

The Timberwolves allowed Golden State to outscore them 26-11 in the fourth quarter of a 96-85 defeat Saturday, including a 19-2 run. They were also outrebounded 48-39 with Love the only Minnesota player pulling down more than six boards.

Love totaled 15 rebounds but also scored a season-low 15 points and shot 6 of 20 while struggling with a protective pad on his injured right hand. The All-Star forward scored a combined 58 points in his first two games back.

"(The pad is) very restricting," Love said. "I can't bend my hand all the way back and I couldn't get a good feel for the basketball. The doctor said it was OK to play but at the same time he warned that I'm coming back two weeks early and I have to keep working on my conditioning, my range of motion and shooting."

The Timberwolves didn't need Love's help in a season-opening 92-80 win over the Kings on Nov. 2, but injuries and Evans' recent play could result in a different outcome this time. Minnesota is without Chase Budinger, Brandon Roy and Ricky Rubio.

J.J. Barea, who scored a team-best 21 points against the Kings, has totaled 24 points and shot 32.0 percent in his three games since returning from a sprained left foot.

The Timberwolves have lost six of seven on the road to Sacramento. Evans had 24 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in a 116-108 victory April 2 after missing a 115-99 win March 18 due to a sprained ankle.

Copyright 2012 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Love grabs 24 rebs, Timberwolves beat Kings 97-89

Posted Nov 28 2012 2:05AM

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) Disgusted with his performance since coming back from a broken right hand, Kevin Love decided to play without his protective glove Tuesday night against Sacramento.

Despite no extra padding for his healing shooting hand, the All-Star forward played a bruising inside game and rediscovered his outside shot as well.

Love had 23 points and an NBA season-high 24 rebounds to help the Minnesota Timberwolves stop a five-game losing streak by beating the Kings 97-89.

After missing the first nine games this season, Love returned last week. Bothered by the awkwardness of that fingerless padded glove, he shot 35 percent from the field in his first three games. He hit only 19 percent of his 3-point attempts and was just under 65 percent from the free throw line.

Love was unstoppable on the boards Tuesday, but it was the shooting that pleased him most. He went 8 of 17 from the floor and 5 of 6 at the foul line. Although he shot 2 for 8 from 3-point range, Love said most of those attempts were on target and felt good coming out of his hand.

"The glove was pretty restricting for me," Love said. "Every day my hand is getting stronger. The ball still doesn't feel quite right in my hand, but it's getting better."

And for one night, the struggling Timberwolves (6-7) were better as well. They took the lead late in the first quarter and never trailed again.

It helped that Love grabbed an amazing 21 defensive rebounds and helped Minnesota to a 51-36 overall edge on the boards. Love had six points in the fourth quarter and played nearly 44 minutes overall.

"I knew he got a lot of rebounds, but I didn't know how many," Minnesota coach Rick Adelman said. "It was one of the most complete games I've seen him play. He wasn't forcing anything. He passed the ball. He set screens. He did whatever we needed."

Love even benefited from a little luck, tossing in an off-balance 15-footer that went in as the shot clock was winding down to give the Timberwolves a four-point lead with 27 seconds left.

"I went to the bench when they called a timeout and looked at Coach, and he said, `Just like I drew it up.' We both kind of laughed," Love said.

Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins each scored 20 points for the Kings, who had won two of their previous three games. Isaiah Thomas and Marcus Thornton both had 12.

"He (Love) was everywhere and just going for the ball," Evans said. "Everywhere the ball went it seemed like he was there. He does a good job of that. That's why they had a chance to win, because of the way he was crashing the boards."

Love was clearly a major force, but he had plenty of help as well. Luke Ridnour scored 18 and Nikola Pekovic had 16 points and eight rebounds for the Timberwolves, who had fallen into a tailspin after starting the season 5-2. Andrei Kirilenko had 14 points and Malcolm Lee added 10.

Two free throws by Cousins pulled Sacramento to 91-89 with just under 3 minutes left. But Pekovic got free for a layup off a pass from Kirilenko, and Love followed with his unorthodox shot, giving the Timberwolves a 95-89 lead.

"We were in a tough situation; we needed a win," said Kirilenko, who added six rebounds, five assists and three blocks in 41 minutes. "We were finally able to finish a game with our execution."

A tip-in by Love with 3:12 left was his 24th rebound. Anderson Varejao of Cleveland had the previous high this season with 23 rebounds.

Despite the play of Love, the Kings remained close and pulled to 90-87 when Thomas made a breakaway layup. Fouled on the play, Thomas converted the free throw with just under 3 minutes to play.

Alexey Shved made a pair of 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter and a fast-break dunk by Kirilenko gave Minnesota an 85-76 lead at the 7:03 mark.

Five turnovers in the fourth quarter, several of them at crucial times, hindered the Kings' comeback effort.

"We make plays throughout the whole game and then it's either a turnover or a couple of stops we didn't get," Thomas said. "We've just got to learn from it and we've got to fix it or, like I said, we're not going to win these close games."

After struggling with his shot in the first half, Love got going in the third quarter. He made several perimeter shots and finished with nine points and 10 rebounds. Ridnour also shot well, scoring eight points to help Minnesota take a 75-67 lead into the fourth.

Cousins, ejected from his previous game after arguing a foul call, picked up two quick fouls in the third quarter and went to the bench with four fouls at the 8:55 mark.

Pekovic had 12 points and Love had eight points and 11 rebounds in the opening half as the Timberwolves built a 48-45 advantage. Cousins scored 10 points for the Kings.

NOTES: The Kings didn't attempt a free throw until the 7:52 mark of the third quarter. ... Cousins scored eight straight Kings points in a 2-minute stretch of the first quarter. Three of his baskets were long perimeter shots. ... Minnesota shot 63 percent in the first quarter when it scored the final seven points for a 27-26 lead. ... Former Kings big man Brad Miller, who retired last season, sat in a courtside seat by the Minnesota bench. ... A starting forward the first nine games this season, Derrick Williams didn't play for the third time in four games for the Timberwolves.

Copyright 2012 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited

Notebook: Wolves 97, Kings 89

James Ham, for NBA.com
Posted Wed Nov 28, 2012 1:51 AM - Updated Wed Nov 28, 2012 1:51 AM

THE FACTS: The Minnesota Timberwolves snapped their five-game skid in Sacramento, besting the Kings 97-89 Tuesday night in front of a small Sleep Train Arena crowd.

Kevin Love destroyed the Kings frontline, finishing with 23 points and 24 rebounds in just his fourth game back from injury. Luke Ridnour had an efficient 18-point, five-rebound night, while Nikola Pekovic finished with 16 points and eight rebounds in the win.

Tyreke Evans and Isaiah Thomas did their best to keep the Kings in the game late. Evans dropped 20 points on 9-for-14 shooting, while Thomas scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half. Big man DeMarcus Cousins finished with 20 points and five rebounds, but he took 22 shot attempts and played just 28 minutes due to foul trouble.

QUOTABLE: "It's not about me, it's about the team getting a win. We needed to get off that slump we were on." -- Love on his big night

THE STAT: The Sacramento Kings failed to shoot a single free throw in the first half. Instead of being the aggressor like they have over the last week, they settled for perimeter jumpers. When the jumpers stopped falling, the game was all but over.

TURNING POINT: In the closing moments of the fourth quarter, Love threw up a prayer as the shot clock wound down. Instead of a four-point deficit with the ball for the Kings, Love found the bottom of the net, giving the Wolves a big six point lead late.

QUOTABLE II: "The way we've been struggling, we had the lead and everything, I was going to go for this win. I wasn't going to worry about anything else." -- Wolves coach Rick Adelman on playing Love and Kirilenko big minutes on the first night of a back-to-back

HOT: After a lackluster 1-for-5 start in the first half, Love dominated the third quarter. The All-Star forward scored nine points and grabbed an incredible 10 rebounds, while his Wolves pulled away from the Kings in the third.

NOT: The last time these two teams met, Jose Barea scorched the Kings off the Timberwolves bench, finishing with 21 points and five assists. Tuesday he wasn't nearly as successful. The former Mavericks point guard scored just two points on 1-for-5 shooting. He did contribute six assists and four rebounds, but he wasn't nearly the game changer he was last time around.

GOOD MOVE: Kings coach Keith Smart had his team switch to zone in the fourth quarter and for a long stretch it worked. The Kings recorded four steals and scored seven points on the break as they fought their way back in the game.

BAD MOVE: Love is a great rebounder, but the Kings' roster is filled with plus rebounders. Allowing one player to grab 24 rebounds is unacceptable when you have players like Cousins, Jason Thompson, Chuck Hayes and Thomas Robinson in the post.

NOTABLE: After missing much of the first month of the season, this was Love's first 20-plus point and 20-plus rebound game of the season. Last season he accomplished the feat three times and on all three occasions, he finished with more than 30 points and 20 rebounds.

UP NEXT: For the Timberwolves, Wednesday @ L.A. Clippers, Friday vs. Milwaukee, Tuesday @ Philadelphia. For the Kings, Friday vs. Indiana, Saturday @ L.A. Clippers, Wednesday vs. Toronto.