SACRAMENTO – For the first six quarters of the season, the Timberwolves offense had little rhythm. They found it in the second half Thursday night in Sacramento for a 117-115 victory over the Kings.
Julius Randle carried them through the first half with 22 of his 33 points, while Anthony Edwards took them over the finish line with 32 points, 13 in the fourth quarter. Edwards’ free throws with 2.4 seconds to play won the game. Keegan Murray’s three-pointer missed at the buzzer.
The Kings project to have an explosive offense all season with the addition of DeMar DeRozan, who had 26 points. His presence allowed more room for Murray to operate, and Murray had 23 while Domantas Sabonis had 24. The Kings gave the Wolves fits, but the Wolves hit enough threes (20-for-50) to win it.
The Wolves were again sloppy with the ball to start the game with eight first-quarter turnovers. Their three-point shooting kept them around early as they hit 7-of-14. Randle had 11 points, which included three threes. The Wolves’ defense looked lost at times in the first quarter, especially when the newcomers of Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and Joe Ingles shared the floor in the final minutes.
Sacramento came out shooting 63%, led in paint points 14-4 and had a 32-29 edge after the first.
The Wolves took their first lead since early in the first quarter at 51-50 as they kept hoisting away from three. Randle finished with 22 first-half points while Naz Reid had 11. Malik Monk and De’Aaron Fox combined to shoot 8-for-10 while the rest of the Kings were 12-for-29 in the first half. Edwards took just two shots inside the arc in the first half.
The Wolves played awful defense to open the second half, and Sacramento scored on its first seven possessions. They allowed the Kings to lead by as many as 12, but the Wolves found something late in the third with a lineup that featured Edwards, DiVincenzo, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Reid and Rudy Gobert. They clamped down defensively and hit open looks at the other end, going on an 11-0 Wolves run to close the quarter. The Wolves led 89-88 after three.
The Wolves held a small lead through the fourth as Edwards kicked it into gear for 13 points, including the game-wining free throws.
