Slipping defense catches up with Timberwolves in loss to Kings

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Timberwolves schedule luck of late helped mask an issue that the new-look Sacramento Kings exposed in a 132-119 victory – their defense has holes the size of frequently salted roads come spring.

The once reliable defense has taken a downturn in recent weeks. The Wolves were able to get by against lesser opponents like Detroit and Tuesday night when the Kings did not yet have Domantas Sabonis in their lineup fresh off a trade with Indiana. On Wednesday they did and he made a difference. The Kings snapped the Wolves' five-game win streak and the Wolves couldn't attain their first six-game win streak since 2004.

The Wolves had no answer for whatever the Kings wanted to do. Harrison Barnes scored 30 points, De'Aaron Fox had 27 points and eight rebounds while Sabonis had 22 points, 14 rebounds and five assists in his Kings debut.

"There's always slippage in the seasons when you don't have a chance to practice," coach Chris Finch said. "Young team or old team or experienced team. Just not containing the ball – it's disappointing because I thought we'd be more competitive on the ball."

The Wolves were without Patrick Beverley as the team manages his workload since he returned from a sprained right ankle, but Beverley's absence hasn't stopped the Wolves from playing solid defense in the past. The problem, Finch said, begins at the point of attack and containing the call. The Wolves haven't been doing that up to their standard earlier in the season.

"There's no excuses," center Karl-Anthony Towns said. "I understand the fatigue mentally and physically that we have. If I feel it, I know we all feel it. We got to dig deep. We got to trust our conditioning and trust our lifting and the work we put in and just be ready for whatever we got to do to get the win."

The Wolves had enough firepower to win, as they often have over the last month. Towns had 21 and D'Angelo Russell caught fire in the third quarter on his way to 29 points. Russell said the recent success may have made the Wolves complacent on the defensive end.

"We got to talk about it," Russell said. "Not just throw this to the side and prepare. We got to be better with our habits and see it on film and try to capitalize off what we didn't do."

Anthony Edwards had a bounce back game offensively with 26 after scoring just five on Tuesday. He was questionable entering the knee because of left knee tendinopathy. Edwards opened up about his injury and said it has been bother him a lot in recent weeks.

"I've really been hurt," Edwards said. "This is my first night actually feeling good in about a month and a half. I was just trying to be as aggressive as I can, and it wasn't enough."

Edwards said he hopes the worst is behind him when it comes to his knee. The Wolves hope they can say the same about their defense, which has ranked 24th in efficiency over their last 15 games.

"We should be able to control a lot more than we were able to tonight," Finch said. "I don't think it has much to do with fatigue. It's want to. You have to want to."