During the NBA’s Monday night slate, the Sacramento Kings defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 118-111 with 32 points from De’Aaron Fox and 11 crucial points from Trey Lyles.
Keegan Murray scored 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Kings, who produced another signature win in their bid to end a 16-year NBA playoff absence. Malik Monk scored 19 points, Domantas Sabonis had 17 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out. The Kings recorded a season-high 15 steals, and 21 points were scored off of 18 Timberwolves turnovers.
“It’s just trying to be disruptive. If we get a deflection and it turns into a steal, great,” Fox said.
As a replacement for Sabonis at center, Lyles started overtime with a 3-pointer. With 37.8 seconds left, he dunked on Rudy Gobert and got wide open for a slam that put the game away and gave the Kings a two-game split after Saturday’s 117-110 loss.
NBA SCORES & NEWS: De’Aaron Fox, Sacramento Kings & Minnesota Timberwolves Updates
“Both those games were kind of ugly to our standards, so I thought we did a good job maintaining our composure down the stretch,” Murray said.
As double teams descended down the stretch, Edwards had six turnovers and 33 points, his fifth 30-point performance in six games.
“He’s drawing a big crowd,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said. “For the most part, he’s trying to make the right play. Maybe he needs to see it a little earlier.”
It was a timeless big man battle in which Gobert finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds, while Sabonis was whistled for a technical after hitting a contested layup and screaming at the officials about a no call.
Neither team led by more than five points throughout the fourth quarter until Edwards hit a three-point play with 2:12 left to give the Wolves a 98-95 lead. A clutch player himself, Fox tied the game twice in the last 1:48 with both shots, but was able to win it with his fadeaway at the buzzer of regulation.
NBA SCORES & NEWS: De’Aaron Fox, Sacramento Kings & Minnesota Timberwolves Updates
With 13.5 seconds left, Jaden McDaniels hit the game-tying 3-pointer, but the Wolves failed to capitalize on Sabonis’ absence and made unforced errors on both ends again in overtime. Their position dropped from fifth to ninth as a result of the crowded Western Conference race. The Kings are third, with just one more win.
“To go into overtime in someone else’s building and gut out a win is definitely big,” Fox said.
