Andrew Wiggins scored a career-high 29 points and had four steals, but his effort wasn’t enough as the Minnesota Timberwolves lost 113-101 to the Sacramento Kings Saturday night at Target Center.
DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings with 31 points and 18 rebounds against a Minnesota team that’s still playing shorthanded, with four starters out of commission, the Associated Press reports.
The Wolves started out strong, and led for much of the first half and went into halftime up 52-48. But they went cold in the third quarter, hitting just five of 20 shots while the Kings started heating up, according to the Star Tribune. Sacramento outscored the Wolves by 11 points in the third quarter and never led by less than four the rest of the way.
The Kings out rebounded Minnesota 50-37, taking advantage of the absence of Nikola Pekovic and Thaddeus Young, according to the Associated Press.
Minnesota (3-9) is still playing without Ricky Rubio and Kevin Martin as well; both are out with injuries along with Pekovic. Young is away from the team after the death of his mother.
Head coach Flip Saunders emphasized the bright spots after the game, including Wiggins’ performance.
“He’s gaining more confidence and I believe that he sees that the team is calling for him and is showing more trust and confidence in him and he’s feeding off that,” Saunders said, according to NBA.com. “They know the pressure he has of being the pick that he was … and they want him to be successful.”
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Saunders said Pekovic’s wrist and foot injuries will be evaluated on Monday. If he needs to remain out for another 10 days or more, the team could get roster exception to bring on another player without having to trade or release someone else, according to the Associated Press.
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The Wolves’ next game is Wednesday against Milwaukee.
