Kings Survive Minnesota Comeback, Win 113-109
Feb 3, 2020, 11:01 PM | Updated: 11:01 pm
Photo by Kimani Okearah
The streak for Karl-Anthony Towns continues. The Minnesota Timberwolves still have yet to win a game that he has played in since November. Monday night, the Sacramento Kings defeated Minnesota 113-109.
“We talked about after the Laker game, it’s important that we get to a point where, when we lose a home game, we come back the next night laser focused locked in,” said Kings head coach Luke Walton.
After falling behind 44-22 in the first quarter against Los Angeles on Saturday, Sacramento outscored Minnesota 29-20 early, building up a 15 point lead in the first few minutes. The Kings’ largest lead of the night, 21 points, was only cut to single digits late in the third quarter.
Minnesota got within two points, but couldn’t take the lead at any point in Monday’s game.
“Tonight we were up 20 but we knew they wouldn’t stop,” said Kings guard De’Aaron Fox, “We found a way to win the game. At the end of the day that’s what matters”.
Fox turned in another fantastic performance, scoring 31 points on 16 shots, including three three-pointers. He also added five assists, two steals and 12 trips to the foul line to his impressive stat line.
The Sacramento Kings are now 4-2 since changing their starting lineup, moving Bogdan Bogdanovic in and Buddy Hield to the bench. Both players have shined in their new rotational roles, leading to the recent success.
“It goes back to the message all year, it doesn’t matter who starts it matters who finishes…” said Walton, “One of the thinks I love about Buddy is just his desire to go non-stop”.
Hield provided 16 points off the bench, while Bogdanovic had an extremely efficient night, scoring 23 points on just seven shots. Nine of his points came from the free-throw line.
The Kings’ next game is this Friday, when they will look for their 20th win of the season, hosting the Miami Heat.
