|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME FLOW
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Usually, the Sacramento Kings are
frustrated and angry after playing Minnesota.
|  | | Terrell Brandon, who led the T-Wolves with 20 points, squeezes past Jason Williams. |
This time it was the Timberwolves leaving the court in a huff.
Chris Webber scored 22 points and Scot Pollard had 18 points and 13 rebounds as the Kings clinched a playoff berth, beating the Timberwolves 110-98 on Friday night.
Afterward, the Kings wore visors and T-shirts celebrating their third straight trip to the postseason. The clinching victory felt even better because it came against Minnesota, which has beaten the Kings in 12 of their past 16 meetings.
"This shows us that we can finally beat them," Pollard said. "It's not in the back of our mind anymore that they might be tough in the playoffs. We know we can beat them now."
Sacramento (49-22) won its third game in four days to
remain two games ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers for the Pacific
Division lead. The Kings beat the Knicks on Tuesday night and the
Lakers a day later while moving closer to their first division title in 22 years.
But it wasn't easy, and the Timberwolves weren't happy after the loss. Minnesota complained about the 44-11 free throw disparity and the frenzied booing of the Arco Arena crowd when the Timberwolves continued to foul and full-court press the Kings in the final minutes of a blowout.
Meanwhile, the Kings felt disrespected by Minnesota's odd strategy. Those thoughts had both teams looking forward to the possibility of a meeting in the playoffs' first round.
"They have some (fans) who are disrespectful," said Minnesota coach Flip Saunders, who claimed he was teaching his new players the team's late-game strategies with constant fouls.
"We could do well, but they have some fans who are not knowledgeable. It would be a good series, and fun."
The Kings broke open a close game in the third quarter with a
string of baskets from Doug Christie and Webber. Christie got nine of his 18 points in that decisive 2½-minute span to spark the
Kings, who won for the 11th time in 14 games.
Terrell Brandon scored 20 points and Kevin Garnett had 18 points and five blocked shots as the Timberwolves lost their sixth straight road game. Seattle's victory over the Clippers pulled the
SuperSonics (41-34) within 2½ games of Minnesota (42-30) for the
last playoff spot in the Western Conference.
"I don't think they shot the ball well, and they made 20 turnovers, too," Sacramento coach Rick Adelman said of the Timberwolves. "Moreover, I think we were just ready to play this game. We knew it was a pretty big one for both teams."
Webber wasn't exceptional, missing eight straight shots at one
point, but he and Pollard controlled the paint against Garnett,
who's usually on top of his game against Webber.
Pollard had four steals and tied his career high with five blocked shots while playing exceptional defense, holding and pushing Garnett into relative ineffectiveness.
Felipe Lopez had 16 points and nine rebounds for Minnesota,
which hasn't won on a three-game road trip concluding Sunday in
Portland.
The Kings got a scare in the final minute when rookie Hedo
Turkoglu went down in a heap under the basket after a collision
during a rebound. Turkoglu, who scored six points, sprained his
left ankle and will be re-evaluated on Saturday.
Game notes
Divac drew wolf whistles from the crowd when he changed his uniform shorts on court. Divac was cut in the final minute of the
first half, and his teammates gathered around him and grinned as
Divac changed his blood-spattered shorts. Improbably, Webber did
the same thing during the fourth quarter. ... The teams split their
season series. ... Timberwolves starter Wally Szczerbiak scored four points -- two meaningless baskets in the closing minutes -- in 34 minutes. ... Garnett's five blocks tied his season high. He also picked up a technical foul in the second quarter.
 Send this story to a friend
|
|
ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Minnesota Clubhouse
Sacramento Clubhouse
RECAPS
Philadelphia 102
Golden State 89
Toronto 110
New Jersey 99
Indiana 92
Boston 87
Denver 103
Charlotte 96
Detroit 100
Orlando 97
Utah 95
Cleveland 88
Portland 96
New York 79
Seattle 94
LA Clippers 84
LA Lakers 98
Dallas 89
Sacramento 110
Minnesota 98
|
