Kathryn Sears
By Dave Campbell | The Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — De’Aaron Fox had 36 points and 12 assists, and the Sacramento Kings prevented the Minnesota Timberwolves from clinching a spot in the quarterfinals of the NBA In-Season Tournament with a 124-111 victory Friday night.
The Kings improved to 3-0 in Group C of the Western Conference, which they could clinch later Friday if Golden State lost to San Antonio. The quarterfinals start on Dec. 4.
Harrison Barnes had 10 of his 18 points in the first quarter, Malik Monk scored 17 points and Domantas Sabonis added 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Kings, who beat Oklahoma City, San Antonio and Minnesota in group play and have one game to go.
Anthony Edwards scored 35 points and Karl-Anthony Towns added 27 points and 11 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who took their first loss of the tournament. Their 11-3 start overall and 7-0 at home were the best in franchise history, and they took the court with the best record in the NBA. It was their first loss in eight home games.
The Kings led for all but 79 seconds of the first quarter. Nickeil Alexander-Walker swished a 3-pointer that brought the Wolves within 72-70 less than three minutes after halftime, but they didn’t get nearly enough deep shots to drop down the stretch.
The Kings had the decided edge in points in the paint (58-42), on second chances (26-15) and off the bench (45-25). They shot a season-best 48.6% from 3-point range, hitting 17 of 35.
This fast-paced matchup between two on-the-rise clubs was Minnesota’s first home game in the soccer-style tournament, with a special sky blue court unveiled to look like the players were walking on water.
The Kings looked unsinkable at the beginning, with a surge of energy for the final stop on this six-game road trip. Entering the evening just 25th in the league in 3-point shooting (34.4%), they heated up in a hurry with a 7-for-9 start from deep. The Wolves brought the NBA’s second-best 3-point defense to boot, yielding to opponents at a 32.3% clip.
Fox, who was one of six Kings to make multiple 3s, pitched in a soaring left-handed slam off a crossover dribble in the paint that put them up 48-33. They built their biggest lead of the game (57-35) on a dunk by Monk that punctuated a 19-4 spurt to open the second quarter.
Edwards wouldn’t let the Wolves stay that far behind, continually attacking the rim the way the coaching staff has long urged him to. Towns capped a 13-0 run with a layup. Edwards flicked one in with 32 seconds left before the break, cutting the lead to 70-64.
UP NEXT
Kings: Host Golden State on Tuesday, their final group play game of the in-season tournament.
Timberwolves: Visit Memphis on Sunday. Their last scheduled game for the round-robin portion of the tournament is Tuesday against Oklahoma City.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
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