Jonah Ballow
Wolves Editor/Writer
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Third Quarter: 79-67 Kings
The Wolves could only manage to knock down the Kings lead to five points in the fourth quarter. Sacramento recorded its sixth road victory with a solid dose of Diogu and Nocioni. Diogu led all scorers with 28 points and Nocioni added 17 points as the Kings shot 45.9 percent from the floor. McCants posted 14 points in his return to the Target Center. Sacramento also shot 7-for-17 from the 3-point line to help improve its league-worst record to 17-65 on the season. Minnesota received a solid performance from Smith, who fouled out but finished with 18 points.

More postgame coming soon...

Third Quarter: 79-67 Kings
Sacramento came out of the locker room on a mission to increase the lead and even pushed the advantage to 11 points at the six minute mark of the period. Diogu continues to impress with 26 points on 9-for-12 shooting from the floor. The Kings have relied on Diogu’s post play and activity on the glass to hold on to the lead throughout the third quarter. Diogu has also hauled down 13 boards. Minnesota is led by Smith’s 17 points but the power forward had to sit with five fouls early in the quarter. Miller increased his total to 14 points, six rebounds, and four assists.

Halftime: 49-47 Kings
The Wolves snagged the lead at the 4:12 mark after Smith recorded his 14th point of the evening. With the 16-5 run, Minnesota built solid momentum and Carney chipped in 11 points in 13 minutes of court time. McCants was defended by Gomes for most of the first half, only scoring eight points on 3-for-7 shooting from the floor. Diogu was just about the only scoring presence for the Kings with 16 points. For two teams heading to the lottery this summer, the competitive juices are certainly flowing. Nocioni and Smith were whistled for technical fouls in the second quarter. Love scored four points and snagged five board to stay on pace to surpass Christian Lattner for the most double-doubles for a rookie in franchise history. Miller drilled a rainbow 3-pointer to bring the Wolves within two points at the half.

First Quarter: 21-19 Kings
To much of the surprise of the Target Center crowd, head coach Kevin McHale decided to start: Jason Collins, Mark Madsen, Brian Cardinal, Mike Miller, and Kevin Ollie. For Sacramento, Udrih was able to suit up after missing the game against Denver on Monday night. The Kings jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the first five minutes of the game. Miller showed the shooting touch from the perimeter and scored seven points to get Minnesota back in the contest. At the five minute mark, McHale inserted Smith, Love, Telfair, and Gomes in the lineup in their normal positions. With Love and Smith providing production in the low-post, the Wolves increased their shooting percentage to 42.1.

Wolves Shootaround Audio
Kevin McHale Randy Foye Kevin Love Ryan Gomes

Scouting Report
The league's worst record resides in Sacramento after the team stumbled to a 16-65 record this year. In addition to extraordinary economic issues surrounding the franchise, the Kings made wholesale changes to the team. Kenny Natt stepped in for Reggie Theus while Sacramento acquired five new players to a squad that finished 38-44 in 2007-08. The Kings have not made the postseason in three years and a far cry from the days of challenging the Lakers for the Western Conference title in 2002. One of the main reasons behind the precipitous drop in wins is the lack of court time from star shooting guard Kevin Martin. In his fifth year in the league, Martin increased his scoring average to 24.6 points per game. Martin missed seven straight games and will now dress in street clothes for the remainder season. On the bright side for Sacramento fans, the team is assured of the best chance at grabbing the No. 1 pick in the upcoming lottery along with five expiring contracts that come off the books this offseason.

Game one of the three-game series against the Kings provided quite a thrill for the Target Center crowd. In fact, it was the first game of the season in which Minnesota topped Sacramento 98-96 to start the year in an exciting fashion. Kevin Love's NBA debut included 12 points, nine rebounds, and two blocked shots.

The next two contests against the Kings returned completely different results for the Wolves. Sacramento earned victories over Minnesota by an average of 13.5 points at ARCO Arena. In both wins, the Kings shot over 50 percent for a team that only connects on 44.7 percent for the season.

Much like the Wolves, Sacramento has utilized makeshift lineups to adjust to injuries. Starting point guard Beno Udrih did not play in the game against Denver on Monday due to a sore left ankle. Bobby Jackson will most likely take Udrih's place with the starting five after scoring 18 points in the loss to the Nuggets. The local fans will remember Jackson's amazing shot-making skills from the perimeter and off-the-dribble creativity. The former Golden Gopher is entering the twilight of his 13-year career in the league but still possesses the ability to fill-up the box score. At the shooting guard spot, Francisco Garcia offers the Kings an interesting prospect for the future. Garcia is dynamic because of his 6'7 frame and proficiency from the perimeter. In the last game against the Wolves, Garcia scored 21 and dished out five assists in the victory. Obviously, all eyes will be focused on former Timberwolf Rashad McCants. The 2005 Minnesota draft pick will make his first return to the Target Center since the trade that brought Bobby Brown and Shelden Williams to the Wolves. In 25 games, McCants has averaged nine points per game for the Kings. McCants was considered a mostly aloof and underachieving player in the Twin Cities, which could lead to an intriguing reception from the home crowd tonight.

In the Sacramento frontcourt, Spencer Hawes is out for the season after suffering a sprained left knee on Monday night. The seven-footer had enjoyed a nice run at center in replacing Brad Miller. Hawes averaged 11.4 points and 7.1 boards in only 29 minutes to give the Kings a solid presence in the post. The frontcourt will look a bit different without Hawes as Sacramento may turn to Ike Diogu. Against the Nuggets, Diogu recorded a career-high 32 points on 14-of-20 shooting from the field. Natt could place Diogu in the starting lineup at the power forward position and slide rookie Jason Thompson to the center spot.

The game tonight marks a fitting end to the 2008-09 year that started against the Kings on October 29. With several highs and lows throughout the season, Minnesota searches for momentum heading into 2009-10. Love can break Christian Lattner's rookie record for double-doubles tonight while the Wolves can give the home fans a win for the first time in three games. Sacramento is certainly an easy target with the NBA's worst road record at 5-35. Tipoff set for 7 PM.

WHERE TO WATCH: KSTC-45

WHERE TO LISTEN: NBA.COM / KFAN 1130

WHERE TO FOLLOW: WOLVES GAMETIME

Projected Starters
Sacramento Kings
Bobby Jackson PPG: 7.4 RPG: 2.8 APG: 2.0		Francisco Garcia PPG: 12.8 RPG: 3.4 APG: 2.3		Andres Nocioni PPG: 13.6 RPG: 6.1 APG: 1.9		Ike Diogu PPG: 7.1 RPG: 2.9 APG: 0.3		Jason Thompson PPG: 11.4 RPG: 7.1 APG: 1.9
Minnesota Timberwolves
Sebastian Telfair PPG: 9.8 RPG: 1.7 APG: 4.6		Mike Miller PPG: 9.8 RPG: 6.6 APG: 4.5		Rodney Carney PPG: 7.1 RPG: 1.9 APG: 0.4		Ryan Gomes PPG: 13.3 RPG: 4.7 APG: 1.7		Kevin Love PPG: 11.1 RPG: 9.1 APG: 1.1