Wolves fall apart late in loss to Sacramento – InForum

Minnesota led by 10 midway through the fourth quarter, and it looked as though the Wolves were going to ride a third quarter tsunami to their third victory of the season over Sacramento on Wednesday night at Target Center.

But then Anthony Edwards took a highly ill-advised 3-pointer. He missed it, it led to a Kings runout and layup the other way.

And it was all Sacramento from there. The Kings outscored Minnesota 25-6 from that point en route to a 115-104 victory at Target Center.

Minnesota has now lost four straight games. Boos were audible at multiple points in the contest, including at the game’s conclusion.

The Wolves had what was coming to them Wednesday. They played exactly one good quarter in the loss.

They were dominated in the first half, allowing a layup line in the paint while allowing 69 points over the first two quarters.

Finally, the defensive switch flipped in the third, as Minnesota held the Kings to just 12 points in a quarter in which Sacramento had as many turnovers (5) as made shots as Domantas Sabonis had to exit midway through the frame with five fouls, and Sacramento could find no other reliable options.

The Wolves won the quarter by 17 points to take a five-point lead into the final frame. That lead ballooned to as large as 12 in the fourth.

But nothing is that easy for this team. After the Edwards’ mental miscue, Malik Monk went on a personal 7-0 run to pull the game even with 3 minutes, 40 seconds to play.

The Wolves were in clutch time again. That’s where they seem to play every game. Earlier in the season, they were escaping with a number of victories on the strength of hero-ball shots. That well is quickly running dry.

Sabonis and Monk each scored 27 points, while Fox had 26.

Edwards scored 29, but it came on a 9 for 24 shooting performance.

It was Minnesota’s first loss on Thanksgiving eve since 2018. The Wolves will next play Friday at home against the Los Angeles Clippers.