This being a chronic issue, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch has probably already tired of the subject: winning streaks.
The Wolves entered their back end of back-to-back games in Sacramento on Wednesday to win consecutive games for the first time since the team opened the season with two victories. Before the game Finch talked about what it would take to get such a streak going, getting consecutive wins for his first time as head coach.
Desperation. "I firmly believe in the NBA, the most desperate team wins a lot of the nights,'' Finch said.
Guess the Wolves weren't desperate enough. Or, for long enough.
For the 14th straight time this season Minnesota followed a win with a loss, 128-125, to the Kings at Golden 1 Center, in a game with Marc Lore in attendance. Lore, along with Alex Rodriguez, have entered into an agreement to purchase the Wolves.
Here's what he saw: A Wolves team that fell behind by 11 at the half after playing little defense. One that, led by a bench that finished with 61 points, used a 39-25 third quarter to take a lead, extend it to 11 early in the fourth …
… and lose.
With Minnesota up 10 with 5:26 left following a Karl-Anthony Towns basket, the Kings responded with a 12-0 run to take a two-point lead on De'Andre Fox's free throw with 2:33 left. Towns hit two free throws and D'Angelo Russell a 3 to put the Wolves back up three with 1:28 left. Harrison Barnes scored for the Kings, then Towns hit a 3 for a four-point Wolves lead with 51.7 seconds left.
Fox hit two free throws with 46.7 seconds left, then Russell missed a 3. Buddy Hield's 3 with 8.8 seconds put the Kings up a point.
Out of a time out, Towns drove but failed to score. Fox hit two free throws with 1.4 seconds remaining.
Fox finished with 30 points, Hield with 29. The Wolves got 26 points from Towns, 24 off the bench from Naz Reid.
Finch talked about his team keeping its edge, noting that teams that lose a lot of games sometimes get a sense of relief following a rare victory. "And that relief will breed that relaxation, and that's what we need to get over.''
That's still a work in progress.
With Edwards scoring seven, the Wolves jumped out to a 17-11 lead on Ricky Rubio's jumper from the lane.
That lead didn't last long, with the Wolves going nearly four minutes without a field goal. Hield hit all five of his shots and scored 12 points in a 27-10 run. Hield had 12 and Barnes nine for the Kings, who shot nearly 70% in the first quarter and seven of 10 on 3-pointers to take a 44-34 lead.
The Wolves were down 11 early in the second quarter when the second team kick-started a run. Reid hit six of seven shots and scored 12 second-quarter points as the Wolves used a 16-7 run to pull within 56-54 on Reid's 9-footer with 4:41 left in the half.
But the Kings hit six of eight shots over the final minutes of the half, extending the lead back to 11, 70-59, when Hield fed Maurice Harkless for a jam in the half's final second.
The Wolves came out defending in the third quarter. And, while holding the Kings to 8-for-18 shooting and four turnovers in the quarter, the Wolves stormed back. Nine Wolves players scored in Minnesota's 39-25 quarter, with Towns scoring nine and the Wolves bench totaling 18 points.
Reid's 3-pointer with 4:13 left in the quarter gave the Wolves their first lead since the first quarter. After the Kings pushed to tie the game at 95 on Tyrese Haliburton's corner three with 9.7 seconds left, Juancho Hernangomez banked home an off-balance 3 at the quarter buzzer to give the Wolves a three-point lead entering the fourth.
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