MINNEAPOLIS _ The question was half in jest, but Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau was having no part of it.
It was Friday morning, after the Wolves' shootaround in preparation for their game with the Sacramento Kings.
The question was about the Wolves' place in the Western Conference. How, despite the growing pains during the season, despite the up-and-down play, that three wins in four games had put the Wolves in position to actually see the West's eighth spot. Thibodeau was having none of this, talking of daily improvement and focusing on the next game.
Still, the point: Minnesota, which entered the game on a two-game winning streak, had won three of four and was on the verge of relevance.
And then, in a 109-105 loss to the Kings, the Wolves _ who had played pretty good defense in four straight games _ had one of those quarters.
Up seven entering the fourth quarter, the Wolves defense absolutely collapsed. With DeMarcus Cousins scoring 12 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter and Anthony Tolliver scoring eight of his 17, the Kings swamped the Wolves, who were looking for their first three-game winning streak of the season.
The loss came despite a career-high 40 points by Zach LaVine, who hit 13 of 20 shots and 3 of 6 3-pointers.
Towns finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Ricky Rubio scored 13 points with eight assists. Andrew Wiggins had 15. Ty Lawson added 14 and Kosta Koufos 12 for the Kings, who won their third straight.
The Wolves were down 106-101 with less than three minutes left in the game when LaVine was fouled and made both free throws. Rubio stole a Cousins pass. At the other end Karl-Anthony Towns was fouled and made both free throws with 1:08 left to make it a one-point game.
LaVine stole the ball at the other end but then threw it away. Garrett Temple hit two free throws with 32.7 seconds left to put the Kings up 108-105.
Out of a timeout, Towns missed consecutive corner 3-pointers to seal the Kings' win.
Sacramento scored 31 fourth-quarter points on 12 of 17 shooting.
In a choppy first quarter that included 17 foul calls, Towns' nine points and the Wolves' 11-2 edge on fast break points made up for their six turnovers. Down two early in the quarter, the Kings went on an 8-0 run to take a six-point lead.
But, later in the quarter, a lineup of mainly reserves gave the Wolves a 26-25 lead on Wiggins' two free throws with 13.9 seconds left.
Neither team ever really took control in a second quarter that featured eight lead changes and six ties. At least, not until the half was winding down and LaVine took over.
The Wolves trailed 47-45 late when LaVine scored all 10 points in a 10-4 run to end the half that put the Wolves up 55-51. He hit a jumper, scored on the break after a Cousins miss, then hit back-to-back 3 pointers _ the last one with a second left in the half.
With Cousins hitting three straight 3-pointers to start the third quarter, the Kings quickly took back the lead.
But if the second quarter belonged to LaVine, the third belonged to Rubio. He scored 13 points on 4 of 4 shooting. He hit all three of his 3-pointers and had a driving layup as the Wolves ended another quarter well.
The Wolves trailed by two with five minutes left in the quarter when Rubio had 10 points in an 18-9 run to end the quarter that also included his driving layup and two free throws as well as a corner 3-pointer by Shabazz Muhammad. The Wolves' lead grew to as many as nine.
