Anthony Edwards recorded 34 points and 10 assists to help the Minnesota Timberwolves post a 110-98 victory over the host Sacramento Kings on Saturday night.
Rudy Gobert had 21 points and 17 rebounds and Jaden McDaniels added 20 points and four steals as Minnesota won for the 21st time in the past 25 games. Mike Conley had 12 points, nine assists and seven rebounds and Kyle Anderson added 10 points for the Timberwolves.
De’Aaron Fox had 27 points and six assists for the Kings, who lost for the second time in three games. Keegan Murray contributed 20 points and seven rebounds, Domantas Sabonis added 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists and Harrison Barnes scored 12 points for Sacramento.
Sabonis registered his second straight triple-double. It was his fifth of the season and 37th of his career.
Minnesota played without star Karl-Anthony Towns, who injured his left knee in Thursday’s victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
After seeing its 22-point lead cut to five, Minnesota finished the game with a 10-3 burst to remain tied with the Boston Celtics for the NBA’s best record at 22-6.
The Timberwolves made 50.6 percent of their shots, including 10 of 33 from 3-point range.
The Kings connected on 43.5 percent of their attempts and were 8 of 33 from behind the arc. Trey Lyles had 10 points for Sacramento.
After falling behind by 22, Sacramento got hot in the fourth quarter, going on a 13-0 run and scoring 21 of 25 points. Barnes and Murray each had five points during the spurt and Sacramento trimmed the deficit to 96-87 with 4:37 left.
The Kings continued their run and moved within 100-95 on Lyles’ basket with two minutes left.
But McDaniels made a basket and Edwards scored five straight points to boost the lead to 12 with 1:09 remaining and Minnesota closed it out.
The Timberwolves held a 12-point halftime advantage before opening the third quarter with a 12-4 run. McDaniels capped the burst with a 3-pointer to make it 71-51 with 8:26 left in the third quarter.
Sacramento used an 11-3 run later in the period, capped by Fox’s 3-pointer with 30.2 seconds that cut the deficit to 81-70.
Conley scored the final four points of a 10-2 surge as Minnesota increased its lead to 91-72 with 8:57 left in the game.
Gobert’s dunk made it 96-74 with 7:21 remaining before the Kings went on their frantic run.
The Timberwolves led 59-47 at halftime behind Edwards’ 19 points. Fox had 20 in the first half for the Kings.
–Field Level Media