Timberwolves Players Downplay Kings' Performance in Home Loss
The Sacramento Kings have had their ups and downs this season, but one thing has stayed consistent: Beating the Minnesota Timberwolves on the road. In two games in Minnesota, the Kings have utterly outplayed the first-place Timberwolves, continuing their trend of beating the top teams in the West.
The Kings are 7-3 against the top three teams in the Western Conference, most impressively going 3-1 against the reigning champion Denver Nuggets.
On Friday, the Kings picked up their second win of the season over Minnesota, taking them down on the road in a 124-120 overtime thriller. Sixth Man of the Year favorite Malik Monk led the way for Sacramento with 39 points, including 24 in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Sacramento got the job done without star point guard De'Aaron Fox, who missed his second consecutive game with a lingering knee injury.
Despite the statement win by the Kings, Minnesota players were not impressed. After the game, Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert were asked if they felt their matchup with Sacramento posed problems (via @DaneMooreNBA | X). McDaniels had a questionable response:
"Nah, I really don’t worry about them when they come here. I feel pretty confident we could beat them four times in a row if we had to play them. We just throw this one to the side, really."
McDaniels had a great game on Friday, leading the Wolves with 26 points on 9-11 shooting. Despite this, saying he does not "worry" about the Kings when they come to Minnesota is interesting, considering Sacramento is unbeaten in Target Center this season.
Star big man Gobert had a more level-headed response when asked if the Kings pose a difficult matchup for Minnesota:
"No, I actually think we match really well with them. In Sacramento, it was a really good game for us. The two games at home were for some reason different. But I really think, obviously a lot of teams are unable to really guard [Domantas] Sabonis one-on-one. They force them to help and then they’re able to shoot threes from everywhere. I think with us, with me, we’re able to guard Sabonis one-on-one, allowing us to give up less threes."
Gobert makes a fair point when talking about Kings' Sabonis, as Minnesota's star seven-footer is one of the best interior defenders the game has ever seen. When Sabonis gets most of his scoring done in the post, of course, Gobert will have a favorable matchup.
Sabonis has still managed to have productive games against Gobert. Through three matchups, Sabonis has averaged 17.7 points, 12.0 rebounds, and 7.7 assists, shooting 51.2% from the field.
If the Kings and Timberwolves met in the first round of the playoffs, it would be hard to say Minnesota would be the heavy favorite to win the seven-game series. The Kings put up an honorable fight in Friday's win without Fox, getting a much-needed road win against a top team in the league.
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