MINNEAPOLIS — The Timberwolves and Kings could be battling until the end of the season for the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference, so while this was only game No. 14 on the Wolves' season, it took on some added importance for a November game.
Neither team played like it was all that interested in a first-half that turned into a rock throwing contest, but in the second half the quality of play and intensity cranked up a notch.
The Wolves woke up a little earlier than the Kings and were able to gut out a 107-97 victory at Target Center.
After squandering some chances earlier in the season, the Wolves took advantage to beat a team they should on their home floor if they have designs on making the play-in, even if it wasn't pretty for most of the night.
Anthony Edwards, who was 5 of 15 entering the fourth quarter, caught fire for the Wolves at the right time. He hit five of his first six shots in the fourth and had 16 of his 28 points then. His 3-pointer put them up 94-89 with 5 minutes, 20 seconds remaining. Then another 3 put them ahead 99-91 with 2:35 to play.
The challenge for the Wolves in the final minutes, as it usually is, was to get enough stops to come away with a victory. They held Sacramento to just two points from 5:03 left on the clock to 1:56. D'Angelo Russell joined Edwards in hitting a few baskets down the stretch after Karl-Anthony Towns had led the team's surge in the third quarter.
Towns had 22 and Russell finished with 17. De'Aaron Fox scored 28 for the Kings and the Wolves shut down Buddy Hield (16 points) late after Hield caught fire from 3-point range in the second half.
Rebounding was a problem most of the night for the Wolves as Sacramento grabbed 20 offensive rebounds for 24 second-chance points.
The Wolves' rebounding had been trending upward of late but it took a step back in the first quarter as the Kings grabbed eight offensive rebounds, including one possession in which they had six looks at a shot. The energy inside Target Center matched the lethargy on the floor. Each team dared the other to jump out to a big lead. Nobody took it. The teams combined to shoot a painful 2 of 21 from 3-point range at one point and laid more bricks than on the road leading to Oz.
The Kings committed eight turnovers but the Wolves did almost nothing to capitalize on the Kings' sloppiness.
Towns played around early foul trouble after picking up two in the first 3 minutes, 22 seconds and had seven in the quarter.
The second wasn't any better for the Wolves, who found themselves behind 48-44 at halftime. They shot an identical 1 of 9 from 3-point range in the second quarter. They allowed another five offensive rebounds as the Kings had more offensive rebounds (13) than the Wolves had defensive rebounds (12) in the first half.
The difference in the second quarter was the Kings started making some shots from the outside — 5 of 9 from 3-point range. Naz Reid, playing after missing Monday's game because of right foot soreness, was 3 for 3 in the first half.
The Wolves came out with more of a pulse on offense in the third quarter. Towns led the charge as he scored on his first three shots of the quarter and the Wolves went on a 10-0 run to reclaim the lead 52-50.
The Wolves got to the basket with more ease and started hitting some shots from the outside as they went 13 of 20 from the field, a more digestible offensive performance than the dreadful first half. Towns had nine in the quarter, Russell had seven and the Wolves carried a 77-72 lead into the fourth, and for once the Wolves didn't squander the lead.
