THE Minnesota Timberwolves have been one of the best home teams in the league this season, leading an energetic Target Center crowd to a 22-6 record when they took the court against the Kings of Sacramento Friday night.
That’s one of the main reasons the Wolves have prioritized trying to secure the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. They believe home-field advantage could propel them into a deep playoff run for only the second time in franchise history. Their No. 1-ranked defense has even more bite at home, where they give up nearly 7.0 fewer points per game on average.
So far, one team seems immune to the Timberwolves’ dominance at home. The Sacramento Kings offense has run through Minnesota in their two games at Minnesota, including their 124-120 victory in overtime Friday night.
Even without a star guard De’Aaron Foxwho missed the game with a knee injury, the Kings shot 50 percent from the field, outshot the Wolves 19-0 in transition, 68-54 in the paint and 20-16 in scoring. second chance and got 39 super-under points Monk Malik to achieve victory. The Kings became the first team this season to win the series against the Wolves (2-1) and won both games in Minnesota, including their 124-111 victory in November.
MONK MALIK. 31 points.
6TH MAN HIM ALREADY. pic.twitter.com/jar0cesFNd
– Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) March 2, 2024
You’d think that would make the Wolves wary of a potential playoff matchup against Sacramento, a distinct possibility given that Minnesota (42-18) is in first place and the Kings (34-25) are in seventh. But the majority of Wolves interviewed Friday night after the game didn’t seem too concerned.
“I really don’t worry about them when they come here,” said Jaden McDaniels, who led the Wolves with 26 points. “I’m confident we could beat them four times in a row if we had to play them. We just put this one aside.
Coach Chris Finch said the success they had with a big three lineup of Karl-Anthony Towns, Naz Reid And Rudy Gobert in the fourth quarter Friday night gives them reason to be optimistic if their paths cross in the playoffs.
“They have an identity. They play there every night,” Finch said. “We know what works and what doesn’t work against them.”
Domantas Sabonis had 21 points, 15 rebounds, eight assists and three blocks before fouling out, and David Mitchell had a rare hot shooting night with 16 points on 7 of 8 shooting to help the Kings overcome Fox’s absence. Sabonis was terrific in the first half, scoring 17 points and 12 rebounds in 19 minutes. But the Wolves adapted and held him to four points, three rebounds and five assists in the second half and overtime.
Gobert had 16 points, 16 rebounds and three blocked shots and highlighted a 110-98 win at Sacramento in December. He said his ability to guard Sabonis one-on-one allows his teammates to stay home on the perimeter and limit Sacramento’s 3-point shots. Sacramento averages 39.4 3-point attempts per game, which is fourth highest in the rankings. NBA. But Minnesota held the Kings to 29 3-point attempts Friday.
“I actually think we get along really well with them,” Gobert said.
The only player who expressed any level of concern was Mike Conleythat highlighted Sacramento’s frenetic pace as a challenge for a bigger Timberwolves team that likes to play in the half court.
“They have shooters everywhere,” Conley said. “Playing big like we do, it’s a wild ride. Once they get the ball, they throw it, they try to drive and kick, and you ask our 7-footers to guard the wings, and that puts a lot of pressure on us, and they have to be perfect for making saves and getting back on defense.
It was Finch’s decision to grow up, giving Wolves a chance. They were down by nine early in the fourth quarter, but Finch then went to Gobert, Towns and Reid all on the floor at the same time, resulting in a 33-24 quarter for Minnesota that forced overtime . The only thing they couldn’t do was contain Monk, who scored 18 points in the fourth and six more in overtime to secure the victory.
Anthony Edwards had just 11 points on 2-of-11 shooting before leaving at halftime for personal reasons. Towns wasn’t sharp either, scoring 19 points on 7-of-17 shooting and missing five of his six 3s. He also made three turnovers, including a costly one in overtime when he knocked away a pass to Reid, who was open in the corner.
“We fought hard,” Towns said. “We did enough, just the little things that matter and cost you a game, they killed us tonight.”
The vets stop their games
Gobert and Conley have been two consistent and very influential players for the Wolves this season. That’s why it was shocking to see them not play their best basketball in back-to-back games this week, against Memphis and Sacramento.
The Wolves were outscored by 22 points in the 35 minutes Conley was on the court Friday night, an unfathomable number for a player whose net rating is plus-22 this season, according to Basketball reference. He had 14 points and eight assists, but he turned the ball over three times. He was also the victim of a 15-2 start to the game by the Kings which dug a big hole for the Wolves. This comes after he scored just four points on 1-of-4 shooting in the win over the Grizzlies on Wednesday.
“I always felt like when I was out there, I was making a lot of plays, getting deflections, getting offensive rebounds, trying to make the right reads,” Conley said. “A few turnovers here and there that weren’t characteristic, but other than that, I just try to be myself when I’m out there.”
Gobert had solid numbers and played superb defense against Sabonis in the second half. But Gobert was one of many starters to lack energy early in the game. Sabonis had 12 points and eight rebounds in the first quarter alone, the second straight center to get off to a strong start against the Wolves. Jaren Jackson Jr. had 19 points and 10 rebounds at halftime Wednesday, and Gobert watched the final seven minutes of the game from the bench.
Finch estimated that Gobert is currently about 85 percent healthy. He has been dealing with an ankle injury for about 10 days, but was not listed on the injury report before the Kings game.
In overtime, Gobert dropped a good pass from Conley that could have generated an easy dunk and also made a rare mistake on defense when he tried to shut down Monk at the 3-point line by pointing at Reid to check him down . But it was too late and Monk scored the triple to tie the game at 120.
“I tried to reverse so I could be the low man and Naz could take it, but he has the ball at the same time and it was a little far away too,” Gobert said. “But he shot right away and he made the shot. This one was on me. It was a big room.
McDaniels shines
In a season with so many pleasant surprises and exciting developments, McDaniels’ stagnant offensive production has been one of the few negatives. Virtually all of his stats are down this season, which is not how things were supposed to go after he signed a five-year, $136 million contract extension this summer.
He has a very tough job, covering the other team’s best perimeter player every night and then often serving as a fifth option on offense, meaning his opportunities to show what he can do are few and far between. The Wolves have made a concerted effort to get him going lately, including Friday night when they played to him on their first possession and got him a bucket. That got him started on a night where he made 9 of 11 shots, including 5 of 7 3s.
LET IT FLY, DAMN ???? pic.twitter.com/mtqy6ncqY4
– Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) March 2, 2024
“It got me in a rhythm early on and then just not trying to force anything and just playing right away and knocking down shots, really,” McDaniels said.
There have been times this season where McDaniels has pushed the limits a little too much. He has a high level of confidence in his offensive game. But with Towns and Edwards at the top of the offensive food chain, McDaniels hasn’t had as many opportunities to look for his chance.
“It was great. He was really confident,” Finch said. “I stepped into his shot, let it go. We needed that too. We needed someone else to step up and score for us.
McDaniels also grabbed seven rebounds, an unusually high number for him and indicative of his overall activity. In the first half, he attempted to dunk on Sabonins, but lost his handle on the way up and was fouled. His teammates loved his aggression and encouraged him to continue to step it up. It was the second strong match in a row for him. He had 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting with three assists and three blocks against the Grizzlies.
“Jaden is one of the top talents in this locker room, so when he does that and he has confidence, especially offensively and defensively, we know what he can do,” Towns said. “We are a different team, we are on another level.”
(Photo by Rudy Gobert and Domantas Sabonis: David Berding / Getty Images)
