Scouting Report: Wolves vs. Kings

The Minnesota Timberwolves finally reached the .500 mark after defeating the Houston Rockets 100-91 at Target Center Saturday night. However, the team will need to execute another strong performance tonight as they host the Sacramento Kings without Kevin Love.
Love was suspended for two games for stepping on Luis Scola during Saturday’s matchup with the Houston Rockets. The suspension was announced Monday afternoon and marks the first in Love’s four-year NBA career.
Love’s absence will likely play a factor in tonight’s game, as he leads the league in minutes played (39.5 MPG), second in rebounding (13.5 RPG) and fourth in scoring (25.0 PPG) along with 25 points and 13.7 rebounds a night.
Tonight’s game starts off a busy week for Minnesota as the team will head to Memphis on Wednesday and host the Dallas Mavericks and New York Knicks this weekend. By the numbers
Tonight will be the Timberwolves’ second matchup with the Kings this season. Minnesota won the first matchup 99-86 on Jan. 16 at Target Center. In the first meeting, Kevin Loved scored 22 of his 33 points in the second half, while Luke Ridnour added a season-high 25 points to help seal the win. Sacramento is 3-11 on the road, 6-4 at Power Balance Pavilion and is looking to execute a win in the absence of the Wolves leading scorer. The Wolves are 5-2 in their past seven games and 8-4 in their past 12. They are currently 9-5 against the Western Conference.Filling in for Love