Despite playing a tough game, the Sacramento Kings didn’t have enough to keep Karl-Anthony Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves from closing out the 111-106 victory on Sunday night.
De’Aaron Fox led the way for Sacramento with 23 points. Buddy Hield had 16 points off the bench, and Bogdan Bogdanovic racked up 13 points and a team-high eight assists.
Winning in Minnesota has not been easy this year. The Timberwolves latest victory extends their home winning-streak to 13 games. The Kings, on the other hand, have dropped their last two games and hold the worst record in the league.
Fox Attack
Getting out to a quick start was not an issue for Fox in this contest. In the first quarter, he posted an impressive 14 points on just 4/5 shooting from the field.
This was one of the first times this season where he didn’t wait for the more experienced guard, in this case Jeff Teague, to dictate his pace of play.
He attacked the rim quickly and often. When he’s playing with that intensity, there is a true vision of what he could become in the NBA.
Charity Stripe Woes
In step with the rest of the season, the Kings lost this game at the free throw line. Minnesota scored 28 points from the free throw line on a phenomenal 32 attempts. Sacramento, on the other hand, had just 17 attempts from the charity stripe.
Comparatively, the Kings had one more three and five more total shots made than the Timberwolves. If they are going to become competitive, the Kings have to get more aggressive getting fouls.
Towns (29 points) and Jimmy Butler (18 points) made more combined free throws than the entire Kings squad.
Aiming for the Draft
Following this loss, Sacramento now sits at the bottom of the league standings, but they currently hold the best chances for the upcoming lottery.
There are, however, many teams within striking distance of the Kings’ placement. Two games are all that separate Sacramento (17-38) and the eighth worst team (Chicago, 19-36) in the NBA.
Securing a high pick in the upcoming draft is vital for Sacramento’s continued rebuild. This drafts is particularly talented, and standouts Marvin Bagley, Luka Doncic, and Michael Porter Jr all fill positional needs for the Kings.
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