Anthony Edwards steps up down stretch as Timberwolves hold off Kings 138-134

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. – All night long, the shots were falling for the Timberwolves. And Anthony Edwards delivered at the end when they needed those shots most of all.

Edwards scored 27 points, including two critical baskets down the stretch, and the Wolves held off the Sacramento Kings 138-134 on Saturday night to complete a 3-1 California road trip.

"I thought we played great all night long," Wolves coach Chris Finch said. "Especially when they tightened it up at the end. … we play a lot in flow. A lot of it was Anthony stepping up at the right time."

After losing to Golden State on Sunday in San Francisco to fall below .500, the Wolves responded by beating the Clippers on Tuesday and Lakers on Friday in Los Angeles, before coming back a day later to beat the Kings, the team with the third-best record in the Western Conference.

"I think we have really good chemistry right now," Finch said. "I think we have great leadership, we have guys who really complement each other on the floor. I see it growing and growing — we just have to get some of the focus mistakes out, and then we can continue to get a little bit better."

Edwards also had eight assists for the Wolves (34-32), who shot 60% from the floor and 51.3% (20-for-39) from three-point range. They led by as many as 17 points, but five times in the fourth quarter that lead shrank to a point. Each time, the Wolves answered.

When the Kings pulled within 131-130, Edwards got the ball at the three-point line, blew past defender Kessler Edwards and was fouled making a layup in traffic. The free throw put the Wolves up 134-130 with 1:51 to play.

With the lead down to 134-132, Anthony Edwards' turnover gave Sacramento a chance to tie or make the lead, but the Kings missed twice: De'Aaron Fox at the rim and Harrison Barnes from three-point range. Edwards secured the second miss, then pulled up for a fadeaway jumper from the free-throw line that swished with 33.2 seconds left. Fox hit two free throws after that, but Mike Conley hit two of his own with 15.7 seconds to go,

Fox missed a three-pointer and the clock ran out. Fox finished with 25 points, ending his run of scoring at least 30 points at eight.

"De'Aaron Fox has been playing out of his mind," Edwards said. "We were happy to hold him under 30 tonight. He still played great though in the fourth."

Edwards shot 10-for-20, and his 50% shooting percentage was the worst among Wolves starters. Conley, in his second consecutive strong performance, shot 7-for-12 on his way to a season-best 24 points, Jaden McDaniels shot 8-for-11 in scoring 19 points, Kyle Anderson shot 7-for-8 and scored 18 points to go with nine assists and seven rebounds. Rudy Gobert was 5-for-9 and had 13 points along with 14 rebounds.

"The ball was moving, the guys were willing to make the next play and we got a lot of great looks as a result of it," Finch said.

Finch also made note to praise newcomer Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who added 16 points and five assists in nearly 24 minutes off the bench, making four three-pointers.

"It's just been great to come in and they've been giving me confidence, and they've been boosting me up to be myself," Alexander-Walker said on the Wolves' postgame radio broadcast.

Kevin Huerter scored 29 points for Sacramento (37-26). He made six three-pointers. Domantas Sabonis had 24 points, 14 rebounds and five assists. Sacramento made 22 of 30 free throws after going 26-for-26 in a victory over the Clippers on Friday night.

This is the second time this season the Wolves have won three games in a row on the same road trip — they also did it in November at Cleveland, Orlando and Philadelphia. Before that, the last time they had accomplished that feat was in December 2017, when they beat Denver, Phoenix and the L.A. Lakers.