Turnabout proved fair enough for the Timberwolves on Saturday night in Sacramento, where they avenged a month-old home loss to the stubborn Kings by winning 110-98 at Golden 1 Center.
Timberwolves beat Kings 110-98 behind Anthony Edwards' 34 points
The Kings made two strong comeback tries in the second half, but the Timberwolves held them off with key defensive plays and clutch baskets.
December 24, 2023 at 10:11PM
Young attacking star Anthony Edwards scored 34 points despite his 3-for-12 three-point shooting. Center Rudy Gobert had a double-double well before halftime, finishing with 21 points, 17 rebounds and two blocks.
Between Edwards and Gobert, the Wolves dominated scoring in the paint 66-52 and on fast breaks — an unusual 28-5 margin — without injured big man Karl-Anthony Towns, whom versatile veteran forward Kyle Anderson replaced in the starting lineup.
The Wolves also had 31 assists, an indicator of how well they moved the ball.
"A complete performance by us on both ends," Wolves coach Chris Finch said in a postgame news conference.
The Wolves led by as many as 22 points, but the Kings pulled within 81-70 after an 11-3 run at third quarter's end. Gobert and point guard Mike Conley led a 15-4 run that stretched the lead back to 22 points to start the fourth quarter.
The Kings replied with a 21-4 run of their own that knocked their deficit back to single digits — just five at 100-95 with two minutes left. But Edwards' steal and slam keyed a game-ending 10-3 Wolves flourish that finally repelled the home team.
"Anthony was special tonight," Finch said.
The first time the two teams met, the Kings won 124-111 on Black Friday at Target Center in an NBA in-season tournament game that kept the Wolves from advancing to the final four in Las Vegas.
That's also the Wolves' only blemish in a 12-1 home record, thanks much to Kings point guard De'Aaron Fox's 36-point, 12-assist performance that night. He scored 27 points on Saturday, but he didn't score a point in the fourth quarter. Wolves forward Jaden McDaniels defended him all over the floor all night.
McDaniels had four steals and made critical defensive plays, including a big blocked shot late. Kings star Domantas Sabonis scored 17 points, but he didn't score another in the fourth quarter, either.
"That's a tough one to guard somebody like Fox, who's having his best season ever," Finch said. "Jaden just battled him and got the big block there to seal it."
Edwards credited both Gobert and McDaniels.
"I don't see how they're not going to be on the all-defensive first team," Edwards said. "Both Timberwolves players. Jaden made three great plays at the end."
The victory kept the Wolves even with Boston for the NBA's best record. Both are 22-6 after the Wolves got even on the Kings' home court while the Celtics thumped the Clippers in Los Angeles 145-108.
Saturday's game was the Wolves' fourth in six days. They notched a 3-1 record, in three different time zones — from Miami and Philadelphia to Target Center on Thursday and finally on to Sacramento on Saturday.
Edwards playfully hugged Conley from behind during a Bally Sports North postgame interview.
"We have a long way to go, actually," Conley said. "We have a lot of guys who can win these games and win them in a bunch of different ways. We haven't really tapped into our potential yet. That's the beauty of it. We know we have a great journey ahead of us."
The Kings on Saturday ended a six-game homestand by losing at home for the fifth time this season, 24 hours after they beat Phoenix there.
Towns left Thursday's 118-111 home victory over the LeBron James-less Los Angeles Lakers with five minutes remaining because of what the team called right knee soreness. Finch after Thursday's game attributed it to a "bang" Towns took early in the second half.
Finch chose to start Anderson next to Gobert, calling Anderson a "Swiss Army knife" because of his ability to play multiple positions.
"His ability to play one, three, four for us, sometimes small-ball five," Finch told Bally's pregame show, referring to Anderson playing point guard, small forward, power forward and even a little center. "Last year, he was maybe our most important player in a lot of ways. He helped save our season. He's a team-first guy, a pass-first guy who does all the dirty work."
While the Wolves played without Towns, the Kings did the same Saturday without Sixth Man of the Year candidate Malik Monk, who sat because of irritation in his right foot.
The Star Tribune did not send the writer of this article to the game. This was written using a broadcast, interviews and other material.
The Wolves are coming off back-to-back losses in Portland and are on a three-game losing streak.
