National Basketball Association
Minnesota 86, Sacramento 84
When: 8:00 PM ET, Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Officials:
#17 Joe Crawford, #26 Pat Fraher, #44 Eli Roe
Attendance:
14073
By SportsDirect Inc.
Nikola Pekovic had 23 points and 10 rebounds and Michael Beasley had 17 points and 14 rebounds as the Minnesota Timberwolves notched an 86-84 victory over the visiting Sacramento Kings on Tuesday.
Rookie Derrick Williams scored 14 points and hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 56.8 seconds left to help the Timberwolves record their third straight victory.
Donte Greene missed a 3-pointer as time expired for Sacramento, which had a three-game winning streak halted. Marcus Thornton scored a team-high 22 points for the Kings.
Pekovic picked up the scoring and rebounding slack with All-Star Kevin Love sitting out the first of a two-game suspension and made 9 of 12 field-goal attempts. Ricky Rubio added 14 assists and five steals.
The Kings trailed by 11 points earlier in the fourth quarter but rallied behind rookie Jimmer Fredette, who scored all 13 of his points in the final stanza.
Sacramento finally caught Minnesota at 77-77 on two free throws by Greene with 4:13 left.
Pekovic scored 12 third-quarter points by hitting all six of his shots and has three double-doubles in four games.
Greene and Tyreke Evans tallied 11 points apiece and DeMarcus Cousins had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Kings.
Pekovic had 11 first-half points as Minnesota led 48-36 at intermission.
Love will also miss Wednesday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Top Game Performances
Sacramento |
|
Minnesota |
Marcus Thornton 22 |
Scoring |
Nikola Pekovic 23 |
Tyreke Evans 4 |
Assists |
Ricky Rubio 14 |
DeMarcus Cousins 11 |
Rebounds |
Michael Beasley 14 |
Marcus Thornton 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Nikola Pekovic 5 |
Jimmer Fredette 2 |
Steals |
Ricky Rubio 5 |
Donte Greene 2 |
Blocks |
Derrick Williams 3 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Sacramento
|
84 |
37.8 |
8-23 |
14-21 |
20 |
48 |
4 |
10 |
19 |
Minnesota
|
86 |
40.5 |
4-14 |
18-28 |
21 |
49 |
6 |
11 |
16 |
Upcoming Games
-
Minnesota will play their next game on the road against Memphis. The Timberwolves have a W/L % of .462 after a win and .583 after a loss.
-
Sacramento will play their next game at home against Oklahoma City. The Kings have a W/L % of .400 after a win and .333 after a loss.